Friends of Women's Studies Sponsors Writing Workshop, Annual Dinner

Maya Nussbaum, co-founder and executive director of "Girls Write Now," a writing and mentoring organization that matches teenage girls with professional women writers, is the featured guest at a workshop and annual dinner being held this week. ODU's Sheri Reynolds and Luisa Igloria will also participate.

"Girls Write Now" is New York's premier writing and mentoring organization, matching creative teenage girls with professional women writers through weekly one-on-one sessions. The organization has been recognized in The New York Times and O: The Oprah Magazine for its achievements, among which are receiving the 2008 Asian Women's Giving Circle Award, a Rona Jaffe Foundation Award and a Union Square Award. Of particular note is that 100% of the high school senior girls who complete the program have continued on to college.

During the workshop, from 3 - 5 p.m. Monday, Feb. 23 in the Portsmouth/Virginia Beach Rooms of Webb University Center, Nussbaum and two of the program mentors will discuss how to become a mentor to teens and young women through writing, including how to establish a nonprofit organization. A graduate mentee of the program, Samantha White, will also be on hand to offer insights from her experience with the program.

The Friends of Women's Studies 2009 Annual Dinner will be held Tuesday, Feb. 24 beginning at 6 p.m. with a reception and dinner at 7 p.m. Nussbaum, Reynolds and Igloria will all speak at the dinner.

Reynolds, professor and director of creative writing, and the Ruth and Perry Morgan Chair of Southern Literature at ODU, will talk on the importance of mentoring girls and young women's voices. Reynolds recently published her fifth novel, "The Sweet In-Between."

Luisa Igloria, associate professor of creative writing, will introduce the speakers. Igloria recently won the 2009 Ernest Sandeen Prize in Poetry for "Juan Luna's Revolver," a poetry collection published by University of Notre Dame Press. She is a National Book Award winner in the Philippines, the author of nine books and recipient of numerous writing awards.

For more information on the workshop or dinner, contact Kathy Pim of the women's studies department, at 683-3823 or kpim@odu.edu.