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WriteGirl News

Teen girls read their work on stage at the beautiful USC campus, in front of friends, family and the community.
WriteGirl Teens Take to the Stage at the LA Times Festival of Books
On April 20th and 21st, WriteGirl participated in the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at the USC campus. At the WriteGirl booth, volunteers shared information about our program, sold anthologies, and encouraged visitors to participate in a creative writing activity with prompts like, "What do you do when there's a power outage?" and "Describe the scent of a place you remember from long ago." It was the only booth with brightly colored index cards hanging from strings all over, covered in creative writing.
Sunday afternoon, WriteGirl held a reading on the Hoy stage. Mentees read pieces from No Character Limit: Truth & Fiction from WriteGirl, along with new work they've produced this season. Some of the girls read work for the first time, while others have become seasoned performers.
In addition to the reading, special guest Elizabeth Espinosa of CNN Latino and KTLA was interviewed on stage by a WriteGirl mentee on her career path and advice for aspiring young journalists. She kindly stayed after the reading for an impromptu Q&A, where she shared writing tips and career advice with the girls, many of whom are interested in pursuing journalism.
Special thanks to the Festival of Books for hosting us, and to Elizabeth Espinosa for her participation.
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Renowned Songwriters Help Teen Girls Write Lyrics
In anticipation of the GRAMMY Awards, non-profit organizations come together to create beautiful music for inner city teens at Walt Disney Concert Hall
Imagine being in high school and hearing your lyrics performed at Walt Disney Concert Hall? Nearly 100 teen girls experienced just that at WriteGirl’s 12th Annual Songwriting Workshop.
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No Character Limit launches at Mark Taper Auditorium
"The No Character Limit book launch and reading at the Mark Taper Auditorium was quite noteworthy. Many amazing teenage girls shared their wonderful poems and short stories. Many parents even joined in to experience the wonders of a pencil put to paper."
To read more from our WriteGirl mentee, Sharmin, age 14, go to Sharmin covers the WriteGirl book launch
A huge thank you to our special guest moderator, Cecil Castellucci, and to the Los Angeles Public Library for generously hosting our book launch.

WriteGirl Cafe: Serving Up Writing Advice

Drawing on the tradition of writers gathering in cafes, WriteGirl created a lively bistro setting, complete with delicious pastires donated by Porto's Bakery, for girls and their mentors to choose and refine their pieces for the upcoming 13th annual WriteGirl anthology.
To help inspire and direct them, stations were set up around the room. Forever-WG offered agirl who wasn't sure what to submit a closet-full of probing questions - draped playfully on hangers - to tease out which piece in her journal was ripe for a rewrite. At the Emo Drive Thru, she could explore the tone and mood of her piece, trying on a new attitude or strengthening the one she already had. WriteGirl Radio gave her an opportunity to smooth out the rhythm and flow by recording and listening to a playback of her piece. On The Boardwalk, a WriteGirl could consult with Madame Reviso, who gazed into her crystal ball and issued editing instructions for a brighter future. Learn more
More WriteGirl News
College Acceptance Letters Rolling in for WriteGirl Seniors WriteGirl's Bold Futures Program, which provides college support and internship opportunities for WriteGirl teens, has helped high school seniors submit over 100 college applications thus far this year, and their efforts are beginning to come to fruition. They've already received acceptance letters from Reed College, Oberlin College, Bucknell University, Cal State Channel Islands and California College of the Arts, just to name a few.
We're so proud of them! We'll be sure to update you as our girls continue to learn about this exciting new chapter in their lives. |

Dr. Allison Deegan, WriteGirl Associate Director, wins SHeroes
WriteGirl is proud to announce that Senator Curren D. Price, Jr. will be honoring WriteGirl volunteer, Associate Director and Education Team leader, Dr. Allison Deegan, at his 7th “Annual Tribute to SHeroes” Awards Ceremony. Learn more |

The Power of Words -WriteGirl at the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy
The power of words was not lost on our teens as they wandered the rooms and halls of the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy. Learn more |

Articles about WriteGirl
Imagine being in high school and hearing your lyrics performed at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Nearly 100 teen girls experienced just that at WriteGirl's 12th Annual Songwriting Workshop, held Saturday, February 9th and supported by ASCAP and The ASCAP Foundation. Read article
WriteGirl 6th Annual Bold Ink Awards
The 6th Annual WriteGirl Bold Ink Awards on November 5th,2012 were a huge success! The Eli and Edythe Broad Stage in Santa Monica was the perfect location for this memorable event, which included inspiring remarks by our honorees Melissa Rosenberg, Lisa Cholodenko, Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl and Zoe Kazan. Learn more
The Bold Ink Awards benefit our creative writing and mentoring program for at-risk teen girls.
"What's right with WriteGirl is that professional women writers are jumpstarting the muse within teenagers. No vision is beyond the horizon, no expression suppressed. And the girls' families get it, too! Community at its finest."
– Lauren Deutsch, WriteGirl supporter
In Our Own Words |