NEW YORK, N.Y. — Girls Write Now (GWN), New York’s premier creative writing and mentoring organization for high school girls, today announced its Annual Winter Reading, co-sponsored by the New York Society for Ethical Culture. On Saturday, January 17, join participants in the program for an afternoon with young women writers and the women who inspire them — including guest speaker Judy Blundell, author of the 2008 National Book Award-winning “What I Saw and How I Lied” (ISBN 978-0439903462; Scholastic) in Young People’s Literature — at the New York Society for Ethical Culture, located at 2 West 64th Street at Central Park West on the Upper West Side. The event will take place from 5-7 p.m., and a $10-20 donation to GWN for admission is suggested (although no one will be turned away at the door for lack of funds).
“This is a wonderful opportunity to see the Girls Write Now community in action,” said Maya Nussbaum, Executive Director of Girls Write Now. “The spirit of our mission is perfectly encapsulated in this collaborative showcase.”
Praised by Publisher’s Weekly as “a stylish, addictive brew,” in which “readers can taste Evie’s alienation and her yearning,” best selling author Judy Blundell’s “What I Saw and How I Lied” (Scholastic, November 2008) is a story about why some truths are never meant to be revealed. In awarding her the 2008 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, the judges noted, “this novel has all the hallmarks of a classic noir, but Judy Blundell shifts these tropes into the equally elusive and shady realm of adolescence. A young girl moves from innocence to desire, from prejudice to justice and from the tumultuous bonds of family into a sad, enduring wisdom.”
About Girls Write Now
Founded in 1998, Girls Write Now Inc., a nonprofit organization (tax exempt under 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code), 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. GWN provides at-risk high school girls with emerging writing talent the unique opportunity to be custom matched with a professional woman writer who serves as her individual mentor and writing coach, meeting with her weekly for one entire school year, and for up to four years. GWN also enrolls each student in a vibrant writing community and professional network — all mentees and mentors gather monthly for genre-based workshops conducted at Teachers & Writers Collaborative — the home of the oldest writers-in-the-schools program in the country — in midtown Manhattan. The year is punctuated by four public readings, college and career prep seminars, a social action series, community library workshops, field trips to cultural events, and endless opportunities for scholarships and publication.
The magic of the program is reflected in a solid ten-year track record, a 100-percent college acceptance rate for all seniors who have competed the program, an annual anthology of original writing, and the seven-genre portfolios each student emerges equipped with each season.
For more information about Girls Write Now, please visit http://www.girlswritenow.org .
Send2Press(R) is the originating wire service for this story, Copr. 2009.
[tags]Girls Write Now, creative writing and mentoring[/tags]
