Fact Sheet

We Are
Girls Write Now:
Mentoring
The Next Generation Of Women Writers Since 1998.

"Writing is the ladder to my future... I can't imagine life without Girls Write Now." ~Saba Moughal, 17

We are a community of women writers—educators, editors, poets, novelists, playwrights, journalists, literary agents, publishers, and more—on a mission. Since 1998 we’ve provided guidance, support, and opportunities for New York City's high school girls to develop their creative, independent voices, explore careers in professional writing, and learn how to make healthy choices in school, career, and life.

Girls Write What?

At the heart of our program are one-to-one mentoring relationships that blossom during the academic year through:

weekly pair meetings
intensive, genre-based monthly workshops and craft talks
the Girls College Bound college-prep series
the widely publicized Girls Read Now series, which culminates in the publication of our anthology

Girls Write Why?

New York City’s public school system enrolls more than one million children; almost half will not graduate on time.
As writing programs exist at few city schools, and girls still lack leadership opportunities available to boys, GWN serves as a lifeline for creative but underchallenged young women who have yet to see their ideas and ideals coalesce into polished, publicly recognized written work.

The best measures of our success are the girls’ remarkable achievements: For the past five seasons, 100 percent of mentees who have completed our program as seniors have been accepted into college, many with significant scholarships. This year our girls won 13 Gold and Silver Keys, and a national award, from the prestigious Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.

In April 2009, Girls Write Now was featured on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams as part of its “Making a Difference” series. We’ve also been chosen as a 2009 Coming Up Taller Semifinalist (one of 50 selected out of more than 420 nominations from 46 states) by the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities and its partner agencies. Last year, Girls Write Now received a Union Square Arts Award for creating educational opportunities, building community, and promoting progressive social change.

Girls Write Who?

Our mentees are young women ages 13 to 20 who attend high school throughout New York City’s five boroughs. Our membership reflects the dynamic population of our home: We recruit primarily from large, overcrowded, highly diverse or international high schools with limited extracurricular programs. Roughly 40 percent of Girls Write Now mentees are recent immigrants.

Our mentors, who work for publications and institutions such as The New York Times, Essence magazine, Simon & Schuster, and Columbia University, stand as shining, real-life examples for our girls of who they can be as women, as writers, and as professionals.

Our board of directors and advisory board include some of New York City’s most distinguished professors, filmmakers, editors, and literary publicists. We’re proud to host guest speakers such as National Book Award winner Judy Blundell, Pulitzer Prize winner Annette Gordon-Reed, Academy Award–nominee Anne Hathaway, and NBC National Correspondent Amy Robach.

Girls Write Where?

Girls Write Now headquarters are in midtown Manhattan; workshops and readings are hosted by our community allies at institutions around the city including Barnard College, Scholastic, CUNY Graduate Center, The New School University, and The New York Society for Ethical Culture. In addition to NBC Nightly News, we’ve been featured in The New York Times, The Christian Science Monitor, and many other local and national publications.

Help Girls Write Forever!

Now more than ever, we are depending on our community of individual supporters and dedicated volunteers to stay healthy and strong. A donation of any size will have a real impact on the lives of girls in New York City; time or resources are also invaluable.

The Girls Write Now programs and publications are supported in part by public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, The NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, and the Manhattan Borough President’s Office as well as by a range of corporations, foundations, and generous individuals like you.

For more information or to get involved, please e-mail info@girlswritenow.org.