FROM BOYS & BODY IMAGE...TO RACISM & WRITER'S BLOCK:
GIRLS WRITE NOW—CLASS OF 2005—COMING OF AGE TALES
GIRLS WRITE NOW—a nonprofit, volunteer mentoring organization that pairs bright, creative teenage girls from New York City's public high schools with professional women writers in the community—announces its Annual Spring Reading & Bookfair Fundraiser, hosted by Barnes & Noble, Astor Place, NYC on Sunday, May 15th, 2005; the late afternoon Reading (4-6 PM) and all day "Voucher Bookfair" (10 AM-10 PM) are open to the public, feature free admission, and:
25 TALENTED TEENAGE GIRL WRITERS (AKA GWN MENTEES)—sharing their original, impassioned, and highly personal works of poetry, essays, and spoken word—with coming of age themes ranging from boys and body image to racism and writer's block—in pieces developed together with their mentors, and inspired by fieldtrips to URBAN WORD NYC Teen Poetry Slam Finals, HBO's DEF POETRY JAM, and EVE ENSLER's one-woman show, THE GOOD BODY, on Broadway.
SPECIAL GUEST MC's + PRIZES—The Brooklyn-based writing team of Lauren Mechling and Laura Moser will introduce the girls, speak about their writing lives, and read from/raffle off autographed copies of THE RISE AND FALL OF THE 10th GRADE SOCIAL CLIMBER (Graphia/Houghton Mifflin, May 2005), their new teen novel chronicling a young woman's journey from Texas to New York.
BARNES & NOBLE "BOOKFAIR VOUCHERS" (TO BENEFIT GWN)—for an easy good deed, grab your must-read list, email info@girlswritenow.org to request a special "Bookfair Voucher," present it when you buy books at the Astor Place store on Sunday, May 15th (10 AM-10 PM), and the generous giant will donate a % of total net voucher sales to GWN's all-volunteer, community-based program.
EVENT: GIRLS WRITE NOW ANNUAL SPRING READING + BOOKFAIR FUNDRAISER
DATE: Sunday, May 15th, 2005
READING: 4-6 PM
FUNDRAISER: 10 AM-10 PM "Voucher Bookfair" (% of B&N voucher purchases to benefit GWN)
COST: FREE Admission + Open to Public
HOST: Barnes & Noble, 4 Astor Place, NYC (between Broadway and Lafayette), 2nd fl/ 212-420-1322/ 6 to Astor Pl or N,R to 8th St
GUEST MCs: Authors Lauren Mechling & Lauren Moster, THE RISE AND FALL OF THE 10th GRADE SOCIAL CLIMBER (Graphia/Houghton Mifflin, May 2005)
PRIZES: Autographed Copies of Guest MC's book
INFO: info@girlswritenow.org or 212-330-7682 (to request vouchers, etc.)
PRESS INQUIRIES: Liz Thompson, GWN Communications Director, liz@girlswritenow.org or 212-652-5217
ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION: Girls Write Now is a nonprofit volunteer mentoring organization that has been matching bright, creative teenage girls from New York City's public high schools with professional women writers in the community since 1998. Through regular one-on-one mentoring sessions, monthly genre-based workshops held at Teachers & Writers Collaborative on Union Square, and special fieldtrips and events, the program provides a safe and supportive environment where girls can expand their natural writing talents, develop independent creative voices, and build confidence in making healthy choices in school, career, and life.
