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Life@GWN introduces the storykeepers of Girls Write Now—our diverse and multi-talented community members living their lives and embodying our mission.
Life@GWN
Life@GWN
“Writing is taking the reins of my life into my own hands”…Davia Schendel and Carolyn Zheng’s Life@GWN
“Writing is taking the reins of my life into my own hands”…Davia Schendel and Carolyn Zheng’s Life@GWN
Seek Joy in Everything You Do… Alex Ewing & Elizabeth Stone’s Life@ GWN
Mentee Alex Ewing and her mentor Elizabeth Stone may come from opposite ends of the country and have a 50-year age gap, but when they meet up over coffee, a good book, or an in-depth Twilight presentation, they’re thick as thieves. Neither knew what to expect when they joined Girls Write Now for the Summer 2025 cycle, but both wanted community and collaboration to shape their creative practices. In their second cycle together in the Collaboratory, they’ve only grown closer, each gaining new insights, perspectives, and hope for their future together and in their own creative practices. Read on to learn more about how this pair struck their balance.
“Anything you do, let it come from you. Then it will be new. Give us more to see…” Irene Cho and Alexis Grusby’s Life@GWN
In their second cycle together, this peer-to-peer pair bridges seven years and certainly feels more like mentor to mentee. Considerable distance lies between the two as geographic opposites, with one on each coast of the United States, East and West.
“All You Have to Do is Not Give Up, Okay?” Winnie Holzman’s Life@ Part II
In the second part of our candid conversation with WICKED’s co-writer Winnie Holzman, she opens up about how she copes with fear and defines success—through authenticity, laughter, honest critique, and the power of persistence.
“We’re Not in Kansas Anymore…” Winnie Holzman’s Life@GWN
“We’re Not in Kansas Anymore…” Winnie Holzman’s Life@GWN To Winnie Holzman, co-writer of WICKED, writing is all about what happens
Part of storytelling is making sense of chaos…Dana A. Williams’ Life@ GWN
Dana A. Williams is not just a scholar; she’s a storyteller. Her CV boasts accolades from the Dean of Howard University Graduate School to this year’s Girls Write Now Honoree because she knows that the best way to get to the truth is to tell a story. And she learned from the best. With Toni Morrison as a personal and professional mentor, Dana built a deep understanding of storytelling as sense-making, self-making, and collective building. The best lessons are not taught, but learned, and in Toni at Random: The Iconic Writer's Legendary Editorship, Dana documents how Toni Morrison built community, identity, and legacy for Black literature
“For me, making do isn’t just about food; it’s also about making do in life”… Kardea Brown’s Life@GWN
We are proud to honor Chef Kardea Brown at the Girls Write Now Awards, and excited to share with you a must-read interview that is not only inspiring, it’s going to have you thinking about food, cooking, recipes, and the power of community in a whole new light. After premiering her cooking show Delicious Miss Brown on the Food Network in 2019, she’s reached 3.5 million viewers, judged Chopped, and authored her first cookbook The Way Home. Now, she’s coming off the heels of her second cookbook Make Do With What You Have, which will be released by Amistad Books in November.
When you laugh, you defy death…Rachel Bloom’s Life@GWN
During the height of the pandemic, Rachel Bloom gave birth to her firstborn, with complications that put her daughter in the NICU, and suffered the loss of her longtime friend and collaborator Adam Schlesinger to complications with COVID-19 as the world grappled with grief and transformation on an unprecedented scale.
The Artist in Me is Finally Being Fed… Kayla Dudley’s Life@GWN
Kayla Dudley lives on art; it is her energy, what she constantly consumes. Admittedly, she couldn’t go a day without
Make the World Feel a Little More Hopeful…Ayah Al-Masyabi’s Life@GWN
Meet Ayah Al-Masyabi, a Girls Write Now mentee since 2021 whose journey through creativity and self-discovery has been deeply shaped
