For 25 years, the nationally award-winning nonprofit Girls Write Now has broken down the barriers of gender, race, age & poverty, elevating the voices of writers who are too often not heard—or worse, silenced.
An Array of Writing & Mentoring Programs that Engage & Inspire
At Girls Write Now, we use writing as a vehicle to build real relationships and offer holistic services for woman-identifying, trans* and gender-expansive young adults from systemically disadvantaged backgrounds—mentoring them throughout high school, college, career and beyond.
We are a diverse, multi-generational community of writers, creatives, leaders, artists and activists with endless opportunities for friendship, networking, and professional development support.
Our mentees are passionate dreamers and innovative thinkers who have a story to tell. Our mentors are dedicated professionals who care deeply about communication—no matter the industry they work in. Mentors and mentees hail from all five boroughs of New York City, across the nation and originally from around the world.
All writing and mentoring programs include:
- one-to-one mentoring relationships
- community workshops led by expert teaching artists that build a wide range of writing, communication and digital skills
- performance & publication opportunities
- wellness-minded programming
- college & career development
Get to Know Our Programs
Explore & Expand Your Creative Potential in Writing 360
Writing 360 matches woman-identifying, trans* and gender-expansive young adults with professional writers and media makers for a one-to-one mentoring relationship, structured around creative, critical and digital skill-based programs and services. Mentors and mentees explore a wide range of genres and media, from poetry, fiction, memoir, journalism and screenwriting to podcasting, animation, video editing and more.
Envision & Experiment with the Future of Storytelling in Publishing 360
Community members who have completed one year of Writing Works or Writing 360 are invited to apply to Publishing 360—a new program that emphasizes creative collaboration. Mentee/Mentor pairs in the program will dive deep into editorial and multimedia production skills at monthly workshops led by expert teaching artists and learn the ins and outs of digital publishing as members of Girls Write Now’s Website Editorial Team.
Step Confidently into College & Career through Writing Works
Writing Works inspires mentees to be creative thinkers, clear communicators and competitive candidates for the trails they choose to blaze. This program operates on the principle that writing is crucial across all industries—from publishing and advertising to entertainment, finance and beyond.
Amplify Diverse Voices as an Agent of Change Corporate Partner
Inspired by a sense of urgency to elevate diverse talent across industries, Girls Write Now proudly aligns with academic, community-based and corporate institutions—our Agents of Change—to build customized holistic partnerships. Through employee engagement, talent referrals, in-house mentorships, speaker features and more, Girls Write Now creates meaningful experiences for employees and helps shift the cultural landscape of publishing, media, finance, beauty and beyond.
Mentees Lucia Kim and Kilhah St Fort share how Girls Write Now has inspired them to explore new creative mediums, build confidence and find the fun in writing.
In the Girls Write Now Community, You’ll Have Access to…
PUBLICATION & PERFORMANCE OPPORTUNITIES
Amplifying voices is the heart of our mission, so every community member has an Author Page on our site! Mentees will also have opportunities to show off their best work in our annual anthology and performance series.
Exciting events with STAR-POWERED SPEAKERS
We bring in expert storytellers and media makers as teaching artists and make space for mentees to chat with mega-mentors like Shonda Rhimes, Roxane Gay, Allison Davis and more celebrated champions of our mission.
Creative & College/Career RESOURCES
In our digital Community Hub, you’ll get access to a library of writing prompts, editing tips and more! We also share numerous scholarship, internship and job opportunities from our vast network across industries.