Lena Dunham, Random House, and Girls Write Now Join Forces for Mental Health Awareness: Announcing Writing Contest and Philanthropic Fund to Support the Creativity and Wellness of the Next Generation

With the Publication of Her New Memoir Famesick, Lena Dunham, Random House, and Girls Write Now Announce Writing Contest and Philanthropic Fund for Mental Health Awareness Month

May 6, 2026

Girls Write Now is thrilled to announce a new initiative with Lena Dunham and Random House inspired by Lena’s #1 NYT bestselling Memoir, Famesick.

The initiative has two parts, a writing contest and a philanthropic fund.

Lena Dunham’s Famesick Writing Contest with Girls Write Now is open to all women and gender expansive individuals age 14-24 from anywhere in the U.S. In 800 words or less, writers are asked to submit a piece in any genre about “a moment you stopped performing, named something you’d been told to keep quiet, or found relief in writing down what you couldn’t say out loud.” Girls Write Now invites all writers submitting to the contest to meet with one of the organization’s “Mentors on Demand” to help guide the writing and editing process. Winners will be awarded a cash prize and publication on Lena’s website and Girls Write Now Media, with honorary mentions being published on the sites of Lena’s author friends. The deadline to submit is June 1, 2026.

The Lena Dunham Fund for Girls Write Now is a tribute and lifeline to the next generation of creative minds. Generously seeded by Lena Dunham, and amplified by the public, the fund invests in writers learning the craft of telling the truth about their lives. Donations fuel Girls Write Now’s Collaboratory—the central home where multi-generational writers connect, create, and build community. Says Girls Write Now Founder and Executive Director, “This is a moment when more young people than ever are reckoning publicly with mental health, performance, and the cost of being seen. When a writer puts down what they can’t say out loud, something shifts. For the writer. For their readers. For the culture that hears them. Gifts donated through this fund catalyze that change—at scale, and across years.“

Lena Dunham on Girls Write Now

“Reading, writing and being encouraged to do both is what made being a young woman tolerable for me. The teachers who fostered my young self expression remain the heroes of my life. Girls Write Now is doing the essential, joyful work of nurturing the next generation of writers, and of giving them not just the tools, but the permission, to tell the truth about their lives. This organization means so much to me, both personally and creatively. As the beneficiary of a transformative and life-affirming education in creative writing, I know firsthand the gift that kind of mentorship and community can be—for both the writers and for all of us lucky enough to read them.”

This initiative is an extension of a Girls Write Now partnership with Lena that began a decade ago when Lena first donated proceeds from her writing to support Girls Write Now. Together with Random House, they are building something designed to outlast a single book launch: promotion of original work from the next generation of writers, and a fund that will support young writers season after season, elevating the shared belief that lived experience belongs at the center of the page.