Summer is right around the corner here in the northern hemisphere, and with summer come inevitable changes in schedules.
I’m gearing up to travel from Virginia to California for my brother’s wedding, where I will visit with friends and family until the end of June. When I return to my desk in early July, I’ll continue working with the phenomenal women in my Transform Your Writing/Transform Your Life mentoring program. I’ll also be behind the scenes working on a website redesign and preparing for my fall course offerings.
During this time, my newsletter and blog will not be published, but they will resume weekly publication the first week in August.
Until then, I wanted to leave you with some of my favorite resources for women writers so that you can continue to grow in your writing and in your life.
Hedgebrook: Women Authoring Change
Founded in 1988 by Nancy Nordhoff and located in Whidbey Island overlooking Useless Bay, with a sweeping view across Puget Sound to Mount Rainier, Hedgebrook is committed to promoting women’s voices by providing residencies, master classes, readings and other literary events across the genres.
From the website:
Hedgebrook is a global community of women writers and people who seek extraordinary books, poetry, plays, films and music by women. A literary nonprofit, our mission is to support visionary women writers whose stories and ideas shape our culture now and for generations to come. We offer writing residencies, master classes and salons at our retreat on Whidbey Island, and public programs that connect writers with readers and audiences around the world.
Hedgebrook is currently accepting applications for their 2016 Writers in Residence Program. Application deadline: July 28, 2015. See application guidelines here.
Shebooks
Look no further for your summer reading list. If you are not yet familiar with Shebooks, you are in for a treat. Cofounded in 2013 by Peggy Northrup and Laura Frasier, Shebooks publishes short e-books by women authors. Shebooks titles are shorter than traditional books but longer than essays, meeting the “too long for an essay, not longer enough for a full-length book” niche, while making it possible to finish reading a book in one sitting.
Shebooks first anthology Whatever Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger: Six Memoirs of Resilience, Strength, and Forgiveness won and Independent Publishing Book Award. Shebooks e-library is chock full of memoir, fiction, and journalism by women and for women. Perfect for summer travel.
AROHO: A Room of Her Own Foundation for Women: Writers: Artists
From its Gift of Freedom Award to its literary awards for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry to its biennial Writing Retreat for women writers, AROHO offers a network of support and opportunities that are transforming the literary landscape for women writers.
From AROHO’s website:
Founded in 2000, A Room of Her Own (AROHO) is the preeminent nonprofit organization working on behalf of women writers today. AROHO’s mission is to inspire, fund, and champion works of art and literature by women. AROHO has channeled more than 1,000,000 publicly gifted dollars into new awards, fellowships, and life-changing opportunities for women and has inspired thousands of books and works of art by women.
While advancing Virginia Woolf’s belief that ‘women need money and a room of their own if they are to write,’ AROHO also works to cultivate an environment of collective fellowship in which creative women bravely unearth, articulate, and contribute transformational literature and art.
She Writes
She Writes is a thriving online community for women writers of all levels and genres. She Writes offers a wealth of resources, from publishing tips to discussions on craft to support and encouragement, and is a virtual treasure trove of opportunities to connect with women writers worldwide. Consider becoming a member of the She Writes community this summer so that you can join the many forums and discussions that women writers are engaging in around the world.
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What are your favorite resources for women writers? Share them in the comments below so that together we can pool our resources as we continue to grow in our writing and in our lives.