Writing Workshops

Organized around an annual theme ("Becoming Women", "Bridging Worlds", "Where We Live"), Girls Write Now's monthly workshops place up to seven writing genres within the context of theme-related topics: our October 2009 “Memoir/In My House” workshop, for instance, explored and illustrated this non-fiction genre with examples and individual/small-group exercises connected to girls’ homes.

Each workshop includes a craft talk with a published author. Past speakers include Hannah Tinti, founder of One Story magazine and author of The Good Thief, Jenny Lumet, screenwriter of Rachel Getting Married; and Janice Erlbaum, author of Girlbomb.

As with mentor pairings and our annual reading series, we want to give mentees intimate access to successful writers – women who exemplify and demystify success, while reinforcing the habits, skills and craft that can lead there. To quote one of our mentees: “Real writers exist; they’re not legendary heroes in some faraway place that you can’t get to. It’s possible. This dream is possible.”

Unlike many youth education organizations, GWN creates each new workshop largely from scratch – and largely through volunteers and mentors. With help from their mentors, girls incorporate each genre into an annual portfolio.

Memoir

Poetry

Fiction

Playwriting

Journalism

Wildcard Genre - Graphic Novel