A multicultural background provides rich material for an aspiring writer. That is, if you get the encouragement and information you need to get started writing at all.
Girls Write Now, a New York City-based non-profit, is an incubator for multicultural writers. The organization, founded in 1998, teams young women who want to be writers with women authors, journalists, playwrights, poets and editors in a program that annually produces an anthology of student writing and several public readings.
Girls Write Now works with disadvantaged girls 13 to 20 years old, about 40 percent of whom are immigrants; most of their parents don’t speak English and often they are the first in their families to apply for college. A program of classes and tutorial guides, Girls College Bound, assists high school juniors and seniors with the often onerous college application process.
Here’s a New York Times article featuring personal stories of these young writers and their mentors. Here’s an interview with founder and director Maya Nussbaum. If you’re New York-based, and want to volunteer to help with the program, click here.
Hats off to Girls Write Now for their inspiring, dedicated work. Perhaps some multicultural books for children will emerge from the program!