Think about it — when flipping through pages in a book, do you ever think about the author? About how the story affects them, about how they must have felt when holding their book and seeing their name on the cover? How did they feel when all of their hard work had paid off?

Girls Write Now, a nonprofit organization based in New York City, provides young writers the opportunity to showcase their work, and readers the opportunity to see that work. This opportunity is through their mentoring program, where mentees can get matched with a mentor or other mentees to develop their skills. Through this program, Girls Write Now gives mentees and mentors access to community studios, publications, and writing contests.

One of these publications is the annual anthology. In its 25 years, Girls Write Now has been publishing its anthology for 18 of them, allowing young writers to be a part of a book going to print. This year the book was titled “Here & Now” and was published through Dutton Book, Dottir Press, and Amazon Literary Partnership.

Each Girls Write Now mentee has a different story and perspective to share. Poetry pieces were prevalent in the anthology, each one intricate in its own right. One of the mentees who wrote poetry for the anthology was Salma Elhandaoui, a student at Vanderbilt University.

“My poem, ‘Symphonic Skyscrapers,’ explores the multifaceted nature of the American Dream through the lens of my father’s journey as an immigrant, by juxtaposing the lofty aspirations often associated with the American Dream with the more grounded, yet equally profound, achievements of everyday resilience and determination,” Elhandaoui said.

The piece is specifically taken from her father’s experiences as an immigrant through his persistence toward his individual American Dream. But for the piece, Elhandaoui read numerous pieces, such as “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, along with detailing her father’s perspective through conversations to experience the different views and variations of the American Dream. 

“While the writing process was far from easy, it involved a rewarding journey of multiple drafts and relentless refinement of imagery and flow to ensure the poem truly captured the essence of our experiences,” Elhandaoui said. 

Elhandaoui labels the program as indispensable to her, as she’s grown in ways she couldn’t imagine. 

“It has enveloped me in a supportive network of like-minded individuals who share my passion for writing and storytelling, creating an environment where creativity and camaraderie flourish,”  Elhandaoui said. “Through the invaluable mentorship and workshops, I have not only honed my technical skills, but also expanded my creative horizons in ways I never thought possible.”

Girls Write helps young writers flourish and grow under the help of a mentor or mentee. However, it’s not all writing, it’s growing as a human being. It’s reflecting on yourself as an individual and becoming cognizant of the perspectives of others. Girls Write Now helps mentees succeed by teaching them to become a voice of change, and to be inspired by it.

Chloe Lee, a rising senior in New York, is a second-year mentee at Girls Write Now. She has participated in the Lead 360 program and is a community Studio Leader. Her piece, “A Love Letter to My Apartment on 69th Avenue,” was published in the 2024 anthology. She said that, originally, the work was not for others to read.

“This piece was not intended to be published or ever shown to anyone,” Lee said. “Specifically, it was written around a year ago when I was experiencing a lot of emotions and I needed to get all my words out, so I turned to writing. It was such a therapeutic experience and a couple of days later I read it and saw its potential to be turned into a personal essay and something meaningful beyond just a private document … However, once I showed it to my mentor, that is when we started refining certain sections, expanding on sentences, and trying to apply it to my present life.”

Lee is also a member of the Lead 360 program, a program focused on teaching mentees to become leaders in their communities. She also led community studios on public speaking.

Lee said she has felt empowered by Girls Write Now, which has given her a welcoming space to thrive.\

“Girls Write Now and its community has been extremely supportive, welcoming, and helpful as a writer, advocate, and high-schooler,” she said. “Furthermore, Girls Write Now has given me the platform and opportunity to become a better youth advocate through the Lead 360 Program I joined this year.

“In addition, I am extremely grateful I had the chance to lead a community studio on public speaking this year, where I have connected with so many bright individuals and have been able to share my passions with the GWN community.”

The program encourages youth in writing to join to grow, but also motivates them to stay through its welcoming atmosphere and plethora of opportunities, as Lee noted. 

Ilana Drake, another seasoned mentee at Girls Write Now – and also at Vanderbilt University – had her piece “delicate” published in the anthology.

“I am proud and grateful to have been published in the 2024 anthology. Because I joined Girls Write Now as a sophomore in high school, I have had the opportunity to be featured in multiple anthologies.” Drake said.

Joining the program when she was 15 years old, Drake has returned to the program multiple times. Drake has had the opportunity to explore different kinds of writing, which she credits to her mentorship with her mentor.  

“Girls Write Now focuses on the power of mentorship in mentees’ lives, and my mentor and I have worked closely on writing in different genres and formats this year,” Drake said. “I am also inspired by my fellow mentees who have found and amplified their voices through the program.”

Sophie Da Silva, a junior in high school based in Texas, is a mentee who has also been published in the anthology.

Da Silva’s poem has a special format that uses columns to portray both her and her mentor’s experiences and further the purpose of the poem.

“It’s a lot of reflection and it is written in the form of a prose poem with the left column being my writing in the right column, my mentor Angela’s,” Da Silva said.  “Its intended purpose is to take the reader on a journey for this span of 10 years to, you know, reflect on change and expectations set in life and dreams and goals and a lot of deep sort of reflection essentially.” 

Her collaboration piece is titled “The First Decade,” a prose poem from both her mentor and her.

After coming up with the idea of a collaborative poem, Da Silva and her mentor started to work to create the final product together, communicating and comparing with each other along the way. Da Silva and her mentor have different strengths, according to Da Silva, which assisted in improving their piece because they have different sets of expertise. 

“I am more of a creative writer rather than a nonfiction writer. And my mentor, Angela, she’s working in the publishing industry, so she has more knowledge with more technical writing,” Da Silva said. “So I feel like with both of our skill sets combined, we were able to create something very understandable and relatable because sometimes my work tends to get a bit abstract. And it was nice to have someone who helped me keep it a bit more concrete this time while still retaining its emotion and sort of delicacy.”

Da Silva found community in Girls Write Now, as she found individuals with the same interest as her along with a mentor who can help her further her goals. 

“It was just perfect to find a whole community of other individuals who share the same passion and joy for writing,” Da Silva said. “It’s been amazing having a mentor who can guide me through this journey, who can, I know it sounds cliche, but it’s true. It’s been a journey.” 

Megumi Jindo, another mentee from the program, is a rising freshman at Swarthmore College, who published poetry in the anthology. When starting her piece “everything turns kind of cold,” Jindo was at first uncertain about what to write. She expressed her emotions at the time without a certain theme.

“At first, I honestly did not know what I was writing —I did not have a particular idea but all I knew was that I was feeling a bit sad and that I just wanted to let that emotion out. I then started to write the first seven lines.” Jindo said.

But then came the next line, and the entire poem was brought together. 

“The eighth line, ‘God, everything is rotted,’ came after I stopped writing for a few seconds and realized that it was not just me that felt this dark way, but the world was also like this right now. Fearing that the world was flushing down the drain and nothing would ever be the same, the rest of the lines were born.” Jindo said.

Jindo expounded on the effect that Girls Write Now has had on her, not only as a writer but in teaching her lessons of life.

“Girls Write Now provides writing and self-help resources with gifted mentors, community discussions that offer a safe space to share your stories, teaching lessons on various writing styles, and numerous opportunities to craft and perform your poems,” Jindo said. “Taking part in each of these moments has cultivated me to not only become a better writer but to become a more aware and empathetic human who realizes the power of voices — in which change can be activated.” 

–Aug. 22, 2024–