WriteGirl Welcomes New Mentors at Our Annual Volunteer Retreat

Our 15th Anniversary Season gained real momentum at our annual Volunteer Retreat on Oct. 24, spearheaded by Kirsten Giles. Held at the Recording Academy in Santa Monica, the retreat got us oriented and super charged up to get out there and work with our young writers.

Breakout sessions on Creative Process; Coaching and Editing; and 10 Years of Mentoring Wisdom got everyone’s creative minds flowing. We met high school senior Sha’terra Myles who gave us a mentee’s perspective on WriteGirl. Her advice to all our mentors? "Don't be nervous, all the girls are really nice."

Our WriteGirl teams got organized for Season 15. Keren Taylor moderated an industry panel featuring Kim Dower, Julia Drake and Cerentha Harris, who shared their savvy advice and experience in marketing digital media content, book publishing and literary publicity.

Thank you to all who contributed to our potluck lunch -- always a highlight of the retreat -- this year’s spread was delicious, colorful and nutritious. Oh, man, those desserts!