Please Join Us to Honor Carol Muske Dukes at  WriteGirl's 2nd annual Bold Ink Awards being held at the Grammy Foundation  on January 24th in Los Angeles.




[Click To Download an Info Sheet on the Event]

December 12, 2007

Re: Honoree at WriteGirl's Bold Ink Award

Dear Carol Muske Dukes,
We are awed by your incredible achievements as a poet, author and essayist. Your books are an amazing example of the power of the written word.

This letter is an invitation from the women and teens of WriteGirl to receive a Bold Ink Award which was created to honor the strong voices of fearless women writers. WriteGirl admires your talent for breaking barriers for women worldwide through creative self-expression. Our 2nd annual award ceremony is also our 6th anniversary celebration and will be held at the Grammy Foundation in Santa Monica on Thursday, January 24th, 2008 (6:30pm – 9pm).  

The whole event is a fun, uplifting celebration of accomplished women writers as well as the next generation that we are helping to nurture. At this time, we will also launch our latest anthology of creative writing by our mentors and mentees Lines of Velocity: Words that Move from WriteGirl . This book makes every teen girl in the program a published author. Last year's recipients were renowned author Janet Fitch (“White Oleander”), NPR journalist and author Sandra Tsing Loh, TV and memoir writer Jill Soloway (“Six Feet Under”), TV writer and producer Carol Flint (“ER” and “The West Wing”), and poet Suzanne Lummis (“In Danger”). 

WriteGirl is a non-profit organization of professional women writers who mentor under served teen girls. www.writegirl.org  Among our volunteers are professional women journalists, novelists, poets, TV and film writers, songwriters and business executives. WriteGirl serves 60 high schools in the Los Angeles area. Since the student population is usually high-density and most of our girls come from low-income families, they don't always receive the attention or guidance needed to succeed. While many of the public schools in LA suffer a 50% drop-out rate, we're proud to report that our graduation success rate is 100%.  In addition, every girl who has completed the WriteGirl program has gone on to college. We’re in our 6th season and are watching our alumni girls enter into meaningful and productive lives.  
We hope that you be able to attend and accept your award. Your prompt response is greatly appreciated as it allows us to best alert the media and the greater Los Angeles writing and youth education community.  

Sincerely,

Reparata Mazzola
On behalf of WriteGirl

WHAT IS WRITEGIRL?

WriteGirl is a creative writing and mentoring program for at-risk teen girls in Los Angeles.

Through mentoring, workshops, performances and publications girls are given techniques and insights for creative writing in all genres from professional women writers.

Women and girls support, encourage and challenge each other to express their ideas and dreams on paper and out loud. WriteGirl’s season runs from October through June.

WriteGirl was launched in December 2001 by Keren Taylor. From an initial group of 40 women and girls, WriteGirl has grown to a membership of over 200.

WriteGirl is a project of nonprofit incubator, Community Partners (www.communitypartners.org)

OUR PROGRAM

• Weekly one-on-one mentoring with professional women writers

• Monthly creative writing workshops exploring poetry, journalism, fiction and more

• Public readings and special events throughout Los Angeles

• Publication of an annual anthology distributed nationwide.
  
  
  

OUR GOALS

• Teach a robust set of writing and critical analysis skills

• Encourage girls to explore and develop their creative talents, both written and oral

• Equip girls with communication skills to confidently navigate the challenges they face

• Nurture girls and promote healthy behaviors and life choices through positive mentoring relationships

• Prepare girls for college
  

WRITEGIRL PUBLICATIONS

Each season, WriteGirl publishes an annual anthology of writing from all members. WriteGirl’s 5th anthology, “Untangled,” is now available on Amazon.com.

OUR GIRLS

• Girls participate from more than 20 high schools throughout the Los Angeles region.

• Girls come from some of the highest density schools in the country.

• These girls face a drop out rate of 50% at their schools.

  
  

WRITEGIRL WORKS!

100% of WriteGirls graduate from high school and go on to college!

CONTACT WRITEGIRL

Contact WriteGirl through our website, www.writegirl.org
or call us at 213-253-2655.

WriteGirl Program Elements

ONE-ON-ONE MENTORING

WriteGirl mentors are novelists, poets, songwriters, screenwriters, marketing & public relations professionals, editors, journalists, story analysts and more. These women share their expertise and passion for creative writing with teenage girls in weekly, one-hour sessions over a nine-month season (October through June). 

Mentoring relationships offer girls a powerful and consistent relationship with someone outside their homes and schools.  Girls gain valuable communication skills for a lifetime of increased opportunities.

WORKSHOPS

Imagine over 120 women and girls all in one room writing! WriteGirl’s full-day, monthly group workshops are based on creative and interactive approaches within a standards-based curriculum. 

Mentor, mentees, volunteers, and special guests enjoy a day of inspiration, empowerment, fun, creativity and WRITING. At WriteGirl workshops girls explore such powerful themes as identity, family, community, cultures, and the world at large.

Previous special guests:

• Geena Davis, Academy Award-winning actress and founder of See Jane, which explores gender equality in media

• Jill Soloway, writer/producer on HBO’s Six Feet Under and author of Tiny Ladies in Shiny Pants

• Carol Flint, television writer/producer (ER, The West Wing)

• Kirstin Smith, screenwriter, Legally Blonde

• Sarah Fain and Liz Craft, writers for television’s The Shield

• Ann Taylor Fleming, a journalist whose credits include CNN, The New York Times and Newsweek

• Abigail Goldman, Pulitzer Prize-winning Los Angeles Times journalist

• Melissa Manchester, Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter

READINGS AND SPECIAL EVENTS

WriteGirl produces 15 large and small events annually to share members’ work with family, friends and the community.  Public readings help girls develop oral presentation skills and confidence speaking in public. 

Portrait of a Bookstore in Studio City, Skylight Books in Los Feliz, Dutton’s Books, and Book Soup in West Hollywood host WriteGirl readings. WriteGirl also has a presence at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, UCLA Writers Faire, the California Governor and First Lady’s Conference on Women, the West Hollywood Book Fair and Feria del Libro. 

The WriteGirl season culminates with a celebration at the Writer’s Guild Theater in Beverly Hills, where WriteGirls and special guests share their work onstage. This sold-out event brings together government officials, members of the literary and education communities, film and television executives and WriteGirl supporters.

WriteGirl Publications

Since 2001, WriteGirl Publications has been producing award-winning anthologies that showcase the bold voices and imaginative insights of women and girls. Unique in both design and content, WriteGirl anthologies present a wide range of personal stories, poetry, essays, scenes and lyrics, as well as a selection of WriteGirl writing experiments to inspire readers to find their own creative voices.

Carol Flint, TV writer producer ER, The West Wing:
LINES OF VELOCITY is full of magic. Not just the wonder of raw, vivid writing, but also the alchemy of writers, leaping across age and cultural divides to inspire each other. The resulting work crackles with energy.  

R.L. STINE (about PIECES OF ME):
“Wow! I couldn’t stop reading this. Talk about goosebumps! This book will shock you – and make you think – and make you FEEL – all at the same time!”

David Ulin, Los Angeles Times Book Editor: About Nothing Held Back
“The fourth annual anthology from WriteGirl [Nothing Held Back]…suggests that reports of literacy’s death have been greatly exaggerated, that language remains a transformative force. For these girls (and their mentors), writing is a lens, a filter, a way to cut through the nonsense and see the possibilities.”

Benjamin Schwarz, Editor, The Atlantic (about UNTANGLED):
“The writing here, always moving and sometimes painful, displays freshness, an exuberant inventiveness, and ­– surprisingly – a hard-won wisdom.”

Publishers Weekly (about UNTANGLED):
"This fifth anthology…is a worthwhile and highly motivational compendium of poetry, short stories, nonfiction and dramatic excerpts from both students and teachers. Including great topic suggestions, writing experiments and insight into the creative process, this volume is a perfect fit for the high school classroom. Sharp observations abound… unconventional writing exercises…motivational quotes…nonstop inspiration.”
 

New from WriteGirl Publications:
LINES OF VELOCITY: Words that Move from WriteGirl
PENS ON FIRE: Creative Writing Experiments for Teens from WriteGirl

Also from WriteGirl Publications:
UNTANGLED: Stories & Poetry from the Women and Girls of WriteGirl
NOTHING HELD BACK: Truth & Fiction from WriteGirl
PIECES OF ME: The Voices of WriteGirl
BOLD INK: Collected Voices of Women and Girls
THREADS (2002)