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February 2010 Newsflash
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Mentoring The Next Generation of Women Writers Since 1998 |
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NEWSFLASH February 2010
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This month, after connecting and goal-setting at Check-In Day, our talented mentee-mentor pairs are gearing up for the CHAPTERS Reading Series! We're also looking ahead to our adventures "Throughout My City" at the Playwriting Workshop, shopping together on Eileen Fisher Day, and much more! Read on for all the details. Do you have news to share? E-mail us! |
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MENTOR-MENTEE PAIRS SET SPRING GOALS
At Mid-Year Portfolio Check-in Days on Jan. 30 & Feb. 6, Girls Write Now mentors and mentees connected with program leaders to reflect on their writing partnerships and set new writing goals for the spring. The pairs also had a chance to polish their public speaking skills at all-day performance technique workshops. Huge thanks to to the Institute for Expressive Analysis, psychotherapist and Girls Write Now advisory board member Julie May, and social worker and art therapist Francesca Compagnone, who provided essential relationship support; Special Events Co-Chairs Erica Silberman and Josleen Wilson, who led a performance tech workshop in preparation for CHAPTERS; and to volunteer photographer Ann Marie Reilly!
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CELEBRATING NATIONAL MENTORING MONTH
At Mentor Training Part II, held on Saturday, Jan. 9th at Girls Write Now, Board member and long-time mentor Andrea Juncos led a toast to GWN’s mentors saying: “We wanted to take this time to celebrate all of you, the mentors, for working with your girls on writing and so much more. Your impact is huge, even when you don’t feel like it is…and our girls are so lucky to have you. President Obama calls mentoring a ‘unique and timeless gift’ – we feel the same way and clearly so do your mentees, as they acknowledge, in their own words, the dedicated the dedicated professional women women writers who have changed their lives: "My mentor helps me the most when she listens to my ongoing problems, shows that she understands my innermost and outermost struggles, makes my writing stronger by helping me to reveal the truth in it, and, just when I think I'm ready to fall over, she lifts me up with her amazing words of advice, and her own personal stories. She gives me confidence!". Read more mentee acknowledgments here. |
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COUNTDOWN TO 2010 ANTHOLOGY! DEADLINE APR 1
Only four more months 'til the debut of this year's anthology, Where We Live! While mentees and mentors refine their pieces for submission, the hardworking anthology committee is mapping out editing and production plans. Anthology submission guidelines were handed out at Portfolio Check-In Day: If you need a copy, download the handout here. Remember, the deadline for all anthology pieces from mentees and mentors is April 1!
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GIRLS WRITE NEXT: CHAPTERS READING SERIES, FEB. 26
Attention Mentees: If you're scheduled to read on February 26, it's time to start rehearsing! Reading aloud is the best way to prepare, so be sure to practice your piece with your mentor during your next few pair sessions. Mentees reading on Feb. 26 must arrive at the Center for Fiction, 17 E. 47th Street, by 4:30PM for a required pre-reading warm-up. Mentees and mentors who are not reading can arrive at 6PM to support their fellow writers. If you have a question about which event you will be reading at, please email Meghan. |
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SAVE THE DATE: PLAYWRITING WORKSHOP, SAT. MARCH 6 Ever wanted to be on stage...alone? On Sat., March 6, mentees and mentors will explore the one-woman show, discussing the form's characteristics and choosing topics for their own show! Special guest authors Petronia Paley (On the Way to Timbuktu) and Susan Stein (Etty) will join us to discuss writing and starring in their own one-woman shows. |
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GIRLS COLLEGE BOUND
This spring, Girls Write Now has lined up a series of college prep events to help junior and senior mentees at every stage in the college application process. At the March 6 Playwriting Workshop, we will have a financial aid information session, and at the April 10 Journalism Workshop, Macaulay Honors College will provide an info session just for GWN juniors. Both the financial aid and the Macauley info sessions will take place at Girls Write Now between 2-3PM, so plan to either stay a little late or come a little early to the March and April Workshops to take advantage of these valuable opportunities! Look out for more information about how to sign up in the coming weeks.
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PAIR SPOTLIGHT
 "We are two girls, just trying to make life happen in the big city." So begins the introduction to first year mentee-mentor pair Emily and Jana's spring reading piece, "New York." "This is our spoken word poem about what New York means to us, how we live in New York, how we feel about it, and how it has made us who we are," explains mentor Jana. "New York" was written collaboratively as Emily and Jana traversed New York City each week to find the perfect pair meeting location. To hear more from Emily and Jana, join us on Friday, Feb. 26 for the first event of the Girls Write Now CHAPTERS Reading Series where Emily and Jana will be joined by nine other mentee-mentor readers and guest author Dolen Perkins-Valdez!
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| DEVELOPMENT NEWS |
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GRANTS UPDATE With gratitude, GWN is pleased to acknowledge the Colgate-Palmolive Company and the Beth M. Uffner Arts Fund, whose recent generous grants will help support our writing and mentoring program this year. |
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EILEEN FISHER DAY, MARCH 27! EILEEN FISHER, a CHAPTERS co-sponsor and Girls Write Now funder (we received the company's prestigious Self-Image Award this December) recently named GWN its philanthropic partner. EILEEN FISHER will hold a sale on Saturday, March 27, at all nine NYC metro area locations, with 10 percent of every purchase, all day, benefiting Girls Write Now. Details and discount coupons are forthcoming. Please mark your calendar today, and spread the word! |
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SIGNIFICANT OBJECTS VOL. 3 BENEFITS GWN! Significant Objects, the online literary project that recruits top creative writers to invent stories about thrift-store doodads, then sells the paired story-and-object on eBay, will donate the proceeds from the next cycle of 50 narrative auctions to Girls Write Now. Past Significant Objects contributors have included Meg Cabot, Aimee Bender, Lauren Mechling, Laura Lippman, Myla Goldberg and many others. |
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ADVISORY BOARD SPRING UPDATE Girls Write Now charges into 2010 grateful for the Advisory Board's resources, know-how, and enthusiasm, which are helping to power this program year.
How You Can Get Involved This Spring:
* Bring guests!! Please invite any prospective mentors, board members, and/or donors to GWN events. This is the perfect opportunity to show off our community in action!
Also, if you've expressed interest in organizing your own creative fundraiser this spring (for example, a cocktail party at a downtown restaurant or a clothing swap in Brooklyn) or finding an underwriter for our annual anthology, or if you have other innovative ideas for Girls Write Now, now's a great time to get started--let us know how we can help! |
| COMMUNITY NEWS |
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CHAPTERS READING SERIES BEGINS FRIDAY, FEB. 26
 CHAPTERS, Girls Write Now's highly anticipated Spring Reading Series, begins Friday, February 26! These five monthly readings will showcase the original work of New York's best teen writers and the professional writers who mentor them, with a dynamic, diverse line-up of special guest authors curated by Maud Newton. CHAPTERS is co-sponsored by The Center for Fiction, EILEEN FISHER, American Eagle Outfitters, and glassybaby, and is supported, in part, by public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency; and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership wtih the City Council.
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GWN PAIR FINDS POWER IN POETRY
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GWN ON LENA'S LIT LIFE!
Girls Write Now mentor Léna Roy's new blog, Léna's Lit Life, is live, and one of her first posts is about GWN! Thank you, Léna, for your amazing mentoring and your kind words! Léna's first young adult novel, Edges, is forthcoming from Farrar, Straus, Giroux on December 7, 2010. |
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SOAPBOX INTERNS BLOG ABOUT BOARD
On January 13, Girls Write Now hosted Michelle Gonzalez and |
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MENTOR NEWS! Mentor Rolaine Hochstein recently had a short story published in Confrontation magazine. Congrats to mentor Heather Kristin on the birth of her baby girl, Daisy! |
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WRITING AROUND TOWN Looking for a fun pair activity? Check out our Writing Events page for local literary events such as GWN mentor alum Tara Betts' reading at Bluestockings Bookstore, Urban Word's 12th Annual Teen Poetry Grand Slam, Upstairs at the Square featuring an all-girl teen band, and more! |
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WRITING OPPORTUNITIES FOR TEENS Mentees--are you looking for a summer writing program or college scholarship opportunities? Check out our Resources for Teen Writers page for details about the Answers.com Scholarship, Teen Ink Summer Writing Program, and more! |
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WRITING OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN Our website is chock-full of opportunities for women writers! Check out our Resources for Professionals page for information on the Ellen Levine Fund for Writers Award, Constance Saltonsall Foundation Summer Residency Program, Poets & Writers picks, and much more! |
