Bestselling authors Amber Tamblyn, and Renée Watson were the featured Agents of Change honorees in the second installment of our 2019 Spring Series—the April CHAPTERS Reading at the N-Y Historical Society. Both honorees shared experiences, memories of their own mentors, and advice with our mentees in their keynote addresses. Amber and Renée also signed their latest books, Era of Ignition: Coming of Age in a Time of Rage and Revolution and Watch Us Rise, respectively.
Our emcees and honorees (left to right): Amber Tamblyn, Mariah Galindo, Renée Watson, and Nikki Palumbo
Honoree Amber Tamblyn speaking to a mentee during our book signing
Honoree Renée Watson speaking to a mentee during our book signing
Girls Write Now Readers
Today’s mentees bravely and confidently showcased their best work, tackling personal and social struggles, from overcoming fears and insecurities, to social injustice, to losing family:
JoliAmour DuBose-Morris, i don’t own a villa; Bianca Jeffrey, What They Told Me; Simera Ladson, 8 Years; Stephanie Quintero, To Myself; Ria Parker, The People v. The “Innocent” v. The Innocent; Jordan Che, Your Name; Leslie Pantaleon, Judge Ready? Partner Ready? Opponent Ready?; Irene Hao, Sinking Feeling; Sadia Haque, Toxic; Laila Dola, Letter to Grandpa; Carolyn Schmit, Understand; Daleelah Saleh, ode to eleventh grade; Lena Habtu, Belonging; Kaitlyn Yang, Doll House; En Yu Zhang, On Dialects; Lorena De La Rosa, My Mother; Aniya Greene, When We Visit Now; Clementine Avery, The Troll; Gyana Guity, 6/14/02; Maeve Slon, ode to my childhood, or there’s a lemon tree in my living room
Mentee JoliAmour DuBose-Morris kicking off the reading event with her piece, “i don’t own a villa.”
Mentee Laila Dola hugging her mentor, Jill Chodorov, after reading her emotional piece, “Letter to Grandpa”
Mentee Gyana Guity reading “6/14/02”
Our readers of the night posing with honoree Renée Watson
EMCEES
- Mariah Galindo is a third-year Girls Write Now mentee and proud lifelong Mexican-American Harlem resident. As a senior at Success Academies High School of the Liberal Arts, Mariah mentors underclassmen with both academic and emotional support. She’s the first member of her family to be accepted to college and is proud to be attending Tufts University in the fall. Until then, you can probably find Mariah at the Starbucks where she works—and practically lives.
- Nikki Palumbo is a Girls Write Now mentor, writer, and comedian. She most recently crafted the personality of the Google Assistant, i.e. wrote jokes for a robot. For humans, her work can be found on McSweeney’s, Reductress, and Funny or Die. Nikki writes, teaches, and directs at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater and co-hosts the monthly(-ish) standup show Queer Tiger Beat at The Duplex. Born very Italian in New Jersey, Nikki now resides in Harlem with her cat-son Fonzie and his other mother, Taylor. In her free time, she says “What free time?”
Mentee/Mentor pair Mariah Galindo (L) and Nikki Palumbo (R) hosting as emcees
PERFORMANCES
Watch the speakers of the night, from our honorees to our mentees, in the playlist below!
HONOREE INTERVIEW
Watch our exclusive interview with Amber Tamblyn and Renée Watson below! And you can watch Amber and Renée’s respective keynote speeches here and here!
Thank you to all who attended our Spring Series events!