This piece is dedicated to my grandma.
Class of 2023
Story Finds
By buying the church, he bought the graveyard and used his children and grandchildren to become the librarians of the dead.
A Perfume Named Nostalgia
Memories branch the past and present. Through four vignettes, this piece documents the continuities of life and the importance of revisiting and appreciating past experiences through olfaction.
Speaking on Following the Script
In this final episode of Speaking in First Draft Season One, Mentee Justine Ramirez and Mentor Viviana Leo engage in a conversation about authentic representation of humanity in scriptwriting, the importance of planning and discipline in your craft, and the struggles with getting others to read your work. Join in on the laughs and enjoy this lighthearted conversation between two amazing storytellers.
Speaking on Ancestral Storytelling Pt. 2
Our celebration of Pride and Caribbean American Heritage continues in part 2 of the conversation between Girls Write Now Fellow Sally Familia and Mentee Carissa Ceasor. Last episode, our guests dove deep into how they use poetry to process and release their emotions, in addition to the impact their ancestry has on them. This week, Sally and Carissa talk more about poetry and give tons of great advice for all of you fellow writers listening in.
Speaking on Ancestral Storytelling Pt. 1
In this riveting conversation, both our guests talk about what it means to explore their Caribbean ancestry and queerness through writing poetry. Carissa opens with three excerpts from their in-progress poetry chapbook entitled “Messages from the Radical Diaspora.” If you’re all about culture, identity, emotional liberation, and history, this episode is for you.
Speaking on Embodying Resistance
Sometimes mere existence is resistance, especially when you’re a woman in the midst of a war the entire world is watching. In Episode 9, our Senior Community Systems Coordinator here at Girls Write Now Lisbett Rodriguez interviews Ukranian-American poet and Girls Write Now Mentor Vera Sirota.
Lost in Time
If Jing is the nebulous future and Anjeel the immortal past, then they meet in the hopeful present.
The Devouring
Faced with systemic oppression, two lovers choose a ritual called The Devouring and a world made from love.
Speaking on Body Liberation with Chrissy King
Tune in to hear author Chrissy King and host Kathryn Destin get candid about body image, fatphobia, disordered eating, social media, and collective liberation.
Speaking on the Writer’s Guild of America Strike
In this special episode, two writers working in TV, Micharne Cloughley and Hannah Rothblatt, discuss their involvement in the WGA strike and what it means for the industry at large.
Speaking on Queer Boricua YA Fauxmance and Family
For episode 6 of Speaking in First Draft, Mentee Jamilah Araf interviews Mentor Elle Gonzalez Rose about her debut novel Caught in a Bad Fauxmance.
Speaking on Night Emotions
This week’s theme is dreams. Episode five of Speaking in First Draft dives deep into the raw emotions that come up in relationships and in first-draft writing.
Speaking on Family Worlds
This week brings you a special episode where both of our guests, Ayah Al-Masyabi and Anne Hellman White, share the first drafts of their current works in progress.
Remembrance: An Index From My Grandmother
with moons. you taught me such cryptic languages.
I would spend the rest of my life decoding them.