WRITEGIRL MEETS AND HONORS NOVELIST AND JOURNALIST ISABEL ALLENDE

The Momentum Awards were held May 8, 2009 at the Montage in Beverly Hills. Sponsored by the Women’s Foundation of California, the event honors women of great achievement. And I can only think of one adjective that describes the atmosphere there—fierce. As a guest presenter, representing WriteGirl, I was a little nervous. I was the only high school girl on hand, and I’d be giving an award to Isabel Allende as a “truth-teller, philanthropist, and storyteller.” Her debut novels “House of Spirits” and “Of Love and Shadows” have been translated into dozens of languages and have sold tens of millions of copies. But excitement overcame fear when I was told that I would sit next to Isabel the entire luncheon. I took the chance to ask her what advice she would give to a young writer like myself: “Start with journalism. Journalism will give you the skills you will need to branch out in all types of writing.” Her favorite writing advice? “Write what should not be forgotten.”

– Fahiya, age 17

 

PlayWriteGirl – May 3rd – One Night Only

WriteGirl is partnering with the acclaimed Pasadena Playhouse for PlayWriteGirl, which will be held May 3 at the Pasadena Playhouse.
From 11:30 a.m.-4 p.m., more than 65 teen girls from Pasadena and beyond, along with their mentors, will participate in the workshop part of PlayWriteGirl. They will learn about monologue and scene-writing in sessions led by guest writers, including screenwriter Robin Swicord (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), screenwriter Gina Prince-Bythewood (Secret Life of Bees), producer Jennifer Crittenden (The New Adventures of Old Christine, Seinfeld), Martha Williamson and Jule Selbo (Touched by an Angel) and playwrights Laural Meade and Jennie Webb.
The pieces the girls write during the day will be performed on stage at the Pasadena Playhouse during a benefit event that evening at 6pm. The proceeds will go toward bringing the WriteGirl program to Pasadena for the 2009-2010 season.
Keren Taylor, WriteGirl’s executive director, said, “Seeing the actors perform the words that the girls wrote just that day is an amazing, can’t-miss experience. This year, we are incredibly grateful to have such talented writers and actors taking part in PlayWriteGirl.”
The evening event kicks off with a short reception and silent auction on the plaza at 4:30 p.m., followed by a performance of WriteGirl works presented by celebrated actors (6:00 p.m.–7:30 p.m.).
The actors include Melora Hardin and Kate Flannery (The Office), Erin O’Brien, Sprague Grayden (24), Ellyn Stern, Dana Delany and James Denton (Desperate Housewives), JoBeth Williams (Dexter), Annie Potts (Designing Women, Boston Legal), and many more.
There also will be a post-cocktail reception at which guests can mingle with the actors, with catering by Nancy Silverton, Border Grill and Ciudad Catering and Silverlake Wine, among many others.
Tickets are available online at www.pasadenaplayhouse.org or by calling (626) 737 – 2867. Ticket prices are $20 for the performance ($10 for students); $50 for the pre-reception, silent auction and performance; and $100 for the pre- and post-reception and the performance.
“I am tremendously happy that the Playhouse is hosting this collaboration with WriteGirl, especially as part of our year long celebration of WOMEN: The Heart and Soul of Theatre on our stage,” said Pasadena Playhouse Artistic Director Sheldon Epps. ”When I heard about their work, I was immediately attracted to the valuable creative opportunities that this organization offers and I wanted the Playhouse to find a connection with this program as part of this special season. I look forward to having the energy and creativity of these young women filling our theatre in early May.”

 

Mentee Welcome Day 2008

WriteGirls are inspired by a writing experiment at the Welcome Day.

October 28, 2008, Expo Center.  The mentee welcome day was a great chance for old friends to reconnect and for the new members to become integrated into the WriteGirl community. Everyone had a chance to pick out an awesome journal, a trusty side kick for all writing endeavors. Along with meeting and greeting, we participated in some great activities. We had the chance to discuss locations by putting our houses on a map which became the jumping off point for some creative writing. We were also inspired from old photographs and decorating journals with stamps, tissue paper, magazine cutouts and other materials. Everyone who came had a great time. What a wonderful way to kick off the new season.

– Janelle F., age 17

 

Women’s Conference 2008

October 21-22, 2008.  Long Beach California.

Living, laughing, loving, crying are the four words that describe the 2008 Women’s Conference.  Organized by California First Lady Maria Shriver, it’s the only place I can think of where you’ll find Condoleezza Rice, Bono, Gloria Steinem, Warren Buffet and Jennifer Lopez can all be seen in the same room. The conference covered topics starting from strength and courage to business and entrepreneurship. They succeeded in covering every topic in between. Whether it was advice or a personal story, I can guarantee that everyone in the audience learned something. The Women’s Conference was spiritual, environmental; it offered information about parenting, finance and activism. Although it was a little lengthy and there wasn’t any place to rest our legs (especially in the seats we were given), the important thing is that it was informational and enjoyable.

– Fahiya  R., 17

 

WriteGirls Celebrate the End of the Season

The lights dim as the show begins.

On June 29th, 2008, WriteGirls and their mentors, the WriteWomen, celebrated the end of the season at the Writers Guild of America Theater in Beverly Hills. WriteGirls read their pieces from the new anthology and gave writing tips to an audience of mentors, volunteers, parents, and even some actors from a screenwriting workshop, including Sprague Grayden from the TV show Jericho.

This was the first opportunity for the girls to see the anthology, Listen to Me: Shared Secrets from WriteGirl. Everyone flipped through their copies. They looked to see which of their submissions ended up being published and read pieces written by their friends and mentors.

The performance ran smoothly. The onstage choreography coordinated by Keren Taylor did not fail the girls, and pieces were read lucidly and passionately. Parents were blown away by the sophisticated writing that they might not have known their daughters wrote, while mentors enjoyed watching their mentees present the pieces that they helped them to write.

After the performance, the girls grabbed their goodie bags filled with books, notepads, and toiletries donated by WriteGirl sponsors and headed out to the lobby to mingle with the audience. Delicious snacks were served and parents bid on items in the silent auction.

As the gathering neared an end, people started taking pictures together and saying goodbye. This was the saddest part of the event, for the girls would not see each other until the next season, and many girls were off to college in other cities in the fall. This also meant that some mentor-mentee pairs would be split up.

Overall the performance was a great experience for WriteGirls to show off their writing skills to the world and an excellent end to the season. Listen to Me is a fabulous book filled with beautiful writing that covers all genres and appeals to all interests. It is an essential addition to any bookshelf, so I suggest you buy it! It is available on Writegirl.org and Amazon.com.

–Evelyn H., age 17

 

Poetry Workshop Gets Real With WriteGirl Café

The second semester of my senior year has shot my memory. So that’smy excuse for barely remembering the WriteGirl “Poetry Workshop” held Saturday, February 23 at the Expo Center. I do remember snippets: the daguerreotype of Emily Dickinson on the Writer’s Altar poster,presented by a mentor and her mentee; eating several delicious noodle-related casseroles at lunch; and, listening to three out of seven “poetry muses” recite their work before admiring crowds. Cassandra Love was my favorite of those three. She writes raw, realistic poetry about her teenage years. She demonstrated that it’s admirable and brave to share even your painful moments through writing.

Cecilia Woloch was a special guest lecturer toward the end of the workshop—interesting and articulate. I wished she could have spoken longer. Poet RoniGirl was another muse I heard recite; I liked her pop culture references to singers of past eras. Sholeh Wolpe, Gail Wronsky, Ashaki Jackson, and WriteGirl Executive Director Keren Taylor were also acting as muses. I was sad that I didn’t have time to hear all of them.

Every WriteGirl event workshop ends with a reading. This month someone had the brilliant idea of setting up the reading as an Open Mike Afternoon at WriteGirl Café. It seemed like a real poetry reading, with live drumming, an MC, and a cushioned seating area.

I’ve read only once or twice in my year plus at WriteGirl. I onlysigned up to read this time because I didn’t realize I was supposed to read poetry that very day. Unprepared, I read an excerpt from a nonfiction piece I’d written during the workshop. The mentors – warm, encouraging, smart women who really know how to make girls feel good about themselves and their accomplishments – are a big reason WriteGirl is special to me, and they combined with the supportive mentees to be a great audience, so I felt pretty good about reading.

I realized after I’d read that reading isn’t all that scary. I might even be willing to try again – this time with a little more confidence. Reading also made me want to polish my first drafts up directly after writing them so I have something really good ready to go.

-– Nell G., age 18

 

Write Girl Bold Ink Awards 2008

Last Thursday, January 24th, WriteGirl volunteers, supporters, and honorees gathered at the Grammy Foundation in Santa Monica to celebrate the 2008 Bold Ink Awards. Despite some rare heavy Los Angeles rain, the festivities went on fabulously!

This year, WriteGirl honored eight female writers for their accomplishments.

Diablo Cody: Screenwriter, Juno. Author of “Candy Girl”.<P.Liz Craft and Sarah Fain: Executive Producers and Writers, The Shield and Women’s Murder Club. Authors of “Bass Ackwards and Belly Up” and “Footfree and Fancyloose”.

Callie Khouri: Directed Mad Money. Adapted and directed The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, and written the Golden Globe nominated Something to Talk About. In 1992, she won an Oscar for her screenplay Thelma and Louise.

Carol Muske-Dukes: Author of “Channeling Mark Twain”. She is the recipient of several awards including The Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Mona Simpson: Author of “Anywhere But Here”, “The Lost Father”, “A Regular Guy”, and “Off Keck Road”.

Robin Swicord: Playwright, “Last Days at the Dixie Girl Cafe”. Screen adaptations of Little Women, The Perez Family, Matilda, Practical Magic and the Oscar-winning Memoirs of a Geisha.

Patt Morrison: Reporter, columnist, commentator and media personality. Ms. Morrison has won five Emmys, four Golden Mike Awards, and a Pulitzer.

Our 2008 honorees from left to right: (middle row) Diablo Cody, Robin Swicord, Keren Taylor, Carol Muskie Dukes, Mona Simpson (back row) Sarah Fain, Liz Craft. (bottom row) Melissa Castillo, Nadine Levyfield, Corie Coleman and Allie List

With all the wisdom these Bold Ink honorees have gathered through their experiences, we asked them to tell us what advice they have for aspiring young writers. Here is what they had to impart:

“It doesn’t matter what you write, just keep writing.” - Diablo Cody

“Be fearless. You know your own mind.” - Carol Muske-Dukes”

We feel riddled with self-decrimation. But that’s where the ‘bold’ comes from. It’s okay to be scared. It’s necessary.” - Liz Craft and Sarah Fain

“When I was young, people asked me what I wanted to be when I grow up. I said, ‘I am a writer’. They asked again, ‘what do you want to be when you grow up?’ I said, ‘I am a writer’.” - Robin Swicord

“Stop making noise and say something!” - Callie Khouri

We are proud to announce that during the ceremony, Norma Vega, on behalf of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, presented an award to WriteGirl commending the accomplishments made in work with Los Angeles youth. Including the astouding accomplishment of sending 100% of WriteGirl mentees to college.

Thank you to everyone who made the 2008 Bold Ink Awards possible!