Mentors & The Girls Write Now Awards

The Fifth Annual Girls Write Now Awards: Rise Speak Change

For nearly 20 years, Girls Write Now has been dedicated to mentoring the next generation of writers. A beloved tradition, the Girls Write Now Awards celebrate the fearless leaders who are evolving the narrative and igniting change for our girls. Our Fifth Annual Girls Write Now Awards will take place on Tuesday, May 23, 2017 at City Winery in New York City, including reception, awards ceremony, a mentor-mentee pair performance, and live auction.
Our lineup of honorees includes Zadie Smith, author of Swing Time; Sophia Amoruso, Author & Founder of Girlboss; Ilana Glazer, Co-creator & Co-star of Broad City; Melissa Harris–Perry, Editor-at-Large at Elle.com; Abbi Jacobson, Co-creator & Co-star of Broad City; with Elaine Welteroth, Editor of Teen Vogue, as emcee for the evening and accompanied by a mentee co-emcee.
This year’s Awards takes on special significance as we implement an innovative growth plan to expand programs to serve twice as many girls, and to extend and enrich our college prep and alumnae services. Our theme this year is Rise Speak Change: Never has our mission been more important.

Mentors and The Awards

Five years ago, Girls Write Now developed our first high profile, large scale fundraising event model to generate critical funds to make our programming sustainable, to maintain its high quality, and to allow for strategic growth. The Awards are also mission-driven: They highlight the power of mentoring and showcase our talented mentees’ work. This year’s event marks the release of Rise Speak Change: The 2017 Girls Write Now Anthology.
Girls Write Now is indebted to you, the mentors who make our programming possible. And as you share the stories of your writing and relationships, you also become our best ambassadors. For those reasons and many more, we would love to invite every single mentor as our guest. But our challenge is how to afford this, and still net funds to support the program, when each head costs us over $100. So, each year we’ve experimented with ways to creatively share the Awards with more mentors…

Top Five Ways Mentors Can Get Involved

• Discount Week for Mentors & Mentor Alum: Last week, we offered an “Early Bird” ticket price for the public. As a thank you to our mentors, we’re extending this offer of $25 off for another week just for you. Until Friday, March 10, just enter the promo code “MENTOR17” and click “apply coupon” when purchasing your tickets at any level.

• Mentor Lottery: At each CHAPTERS Reading event from March through May, we’ll conduct a lottery exclusively for active mentors. The winner at each reading will receive a pair of tickets to the Girls Write Now Awards. These tickets are underwritten by a generous donor.

• Events Committee: If you are already a member of the 2017 Events Committee and assigned to the Awards, you will be one of up to ten mentors volunteering for the evening, helping to run the event while enjoying the festivities.

• Awards Host Committee:  We are excitedly building the Awards Host Committee, and we invite mentors to join. Being a member of the Host Committee means that you represent Girls Write Now to your friends and networks through ticket sales, sponsorships, and/or journal ads. In return we will provide regular updates on the event, resources and customized support, and an invitation to a special reception at the Awards. If you, or anyone in your network, wants to be a part of the Committee, please email development@girlswritenow.org and we will send over the details.

• Spread the Word: Help get the word out about the Awards through your networks and on social media, approach your employer(s) about sponsorship opportunities, and reach out to local businesses about journal ads. Download our handy Social Media Tool Kit, and please reach out to development@girlswritenow.org with ideas and questions. Everything you need to know will be accessible at: girlswritenow.org/Awards2017

Our team is busy working to make this year’s Awards our most successful yet, and we look forward to engaging you and your community. Infinite thanks for your dedication to all things Girls Write Now.