Girls Write Now

Girls Write Now

Log in

Join Our Email List

  • About
    • Intro
    • Mission
    • Impact
    • Racial Justice
    • Digital Media Growth
  • Community
    • Mentors/Mentees
    • Speakers
    • Team
    • Board
    • GWN Circle
    • Agents of Change
    • Fdn/Govt
    • All Donors 2020
  • Programs
    • Writing 360
    • Writing Works
    • Salon Series
    • Community Chats
    • GWN Live
    • Publications
    • Summer Edition
  • Join
    • Enroll
    • Support
    • Careers
    • Get Involved
    • Contact
  • Girls Write Now Awards
  • News
    • Media Mentions
    • Blog
  • Calendar
    • APR 16: WRITING YOURSELF INTO POEMS WITH DIANA WHITNEY AND LYNN MELNICK
    • Celebrate National Poetry Month
Home / Programs / Writing Works Program / Highlights from our Editing Workshop with Dutton, Putnam and Berkley!

Highlights from our Editing Workshop with Dutton, Putnam and Berkley!

Girls Write Now is giving young women the tools and confidence to tell their stories, and fostering a new generation of writers. These girls are being not only told but shown that their words matter. It is hard to find a more inspiring model than this, and Dutton is so proud of bringing these voices to print.
—Christine Ball, Senior Vice President and Publisher of Dutton, Putnam, and Berkeley

Girls Write Now is proud to partner with Agent of Change Penguin Random House embracing our joint mission to amplify diverse voices and create a pipeline of talent into the publishing industry.

We recently collaborated on a deep-dive, roll-up-your-sleeves employee engagement workshop with the talented teams from Dutton, Putnam, and Berkley. Gathering at tables in the expansive “Julia Child” room in the Penguin office, each Girls Write Now mentee was paired with a Penguin “Mentor for the Day” to work closely on editing and shaping their submission to Taking Our Place in History: The 2020 Girls Write Now Anthology—a book passionately produced by Dutton, including design and editorial expertise.

The results? An impactful exchange between publishing professionals and the next generation of women writers! Quantitative and qualitative survey data indicate that nearly all employees and mentees felt strongly the workshop was helpful, inspiring, a good use of time, and worth coming back for and recommending to a friend!

Measuring themselves before and after the workshop, mentees also demonstrated tremendous growth from the experience: Before they felt stuck with their piece, and lacked confidence in both their piece and their editing skills to improve it; After they had a clear understanding of how to further edit, and felt confident their work would be improved based on the guidance they received.

A few testimonials from our mentees:

There were moments when I could easily be myself and let myself talk about personal things when I wrote my piece.

Even though I was initially nervous, it felt rewarding to read my piece aloud to my mentor.

I absolutely loved getting to meet such cool professionals and laugh about high school with them. They give such great advice too.

Overall, this partnership met our curricular goals and surpassed participants’ expectations, underscoring the impact and benefit of this workshop and its take-away value. Thank you, Penguin Random House!! We are grateful for your support.

Enjoy highlights from the event—as well as a sneak peek of this year’s anthology cover-design options—below!

When reflecting on the workshop, mentee Lorena said  “I could easily be myself and let myself talk about personal things…”

Mentee Pilar said that she felt “the whole experience was enlightening and I loved learning about the business side of publishing.”

Mentees were happy to be together, experience this unique opportunity with publishing professionals. “Even though I was initially nervous, it felt rewarding to read my piece aloud to my Penguin mentor,” says mentee Nora.

Mentees enjoyed talking professional development with the Penguin team and had a chance to pick the brains of their mentors for the day. “I loved meeting my mentor and hearing about her job at a publishing company and what that entails. I was so curious about this!” mentee Isabelle reports back.

 

Donate Now

Presenting Girls Write Now Live: Unmuted Spring Performance Series!

Join Girls Write Now mentees and mentors and special guest honorees for a boundary-pushing performance series! This season, we’re proud to bring you eight shows—March 12, March 26, April 9, April 23, May 7, May 18, May 21 and June 11. Register now to join us in celebrating the power of shared stories!

Life Resources and Events

At Girls Write Now, we work to challenge and change the systemic racism and inequality by breaking down the barriers of race and poverty to elevate the voices of girls and gender nonconforming youth who are too often not heard—or worse, silenced. From mental and emotional wellness to advocating for racial justice, we are here to support you individually and as a community through our robust programming. Check out our calendar to see our current offerings or visit our Life Resources page to support you during this time.

Friday Night Salon with Diana Whitney and Lynn Melnick

Join us on Friday, April 16 from 6-7:30PM ET for Speaking the Unspeakable: Writing Yourself into Poems with Diana Whitney and Lynn Melnick!

Girls Write Now Stands in Solidarity with the AAPI Community

At Girls Write Now, we are alarmed and deeply disturbed by the recent incidents of violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders across the country. As ever, we are committed to challenging systemic racism and xenophobia, and standing in solidarity with our community as we process and heal through art and storytelling.

Become a Part of Our Community!

Girls Write Now is a dynamic, multi-generational community of writers on a mission. Complete our Inquiry Form to be notified when enrollment for the 2021-22 program year opens!

We’re Hiring!

Looking for more purpose-driven work in the new year? Check out available roles to join the team! 

GIVE. WRITE. NOW. And Thank you!!

Girls Write Now’s services are more essential than ever before—serving the hardest hit communities—and many of our young women and gender nonconforming youth have themselves become essential workers to help their families. They carry an enormous burden and face devastating loss, slipping further into poverty. To meet the need, we have enriched and extended our programs, leading the historical transition to virtual learning.

Get Involved!

Are you a licensed mental health professional who’d love to work with our community of writers and creatives? We’re seeking volunteer Wellness Advisors. Get more info & apply here!

Relive the Girls (Re)Write Now Awards

If you missed the awards, you can still watch it! Relive this revolutionary night of mini–master classes with honorees on empathy, art, activism & humor and Girls Write Now mentees on writing with purpose, climate justice & self-care. 

Writing from our Future Leaders

Taking Our Place in History: the Girls Write Now 2020 Anthology was published with support from Dutton and Amazon Literary Partnership, available for purchase from McNally Jackson Books and anywhere ebooks are sold!

Girls Write Now in the News

Girls Write Now’s work has recently been featured by the National Endowment for the Arts, Time Out New York, NYXT and more!

Girls Write Now

247 West 37th Street, Suite 1000
New York, NY 10018
212.336.9330
Please donate at girlswritenow.org/give
or make checks payable to Girls Write Now

Connect With Us

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2021 · Girls Write Now · Designed by Alex Yeske and built by Tadpole · Powered by WordPress and Genesis · Log in

Copyright © 2021 · Girls Write Now Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in