2023 Reflections

2023 reflections

Happy 2024! Instead of creating a list of resolutions or setting new goals, we at Project Write Now thought it would be nice to take a moment to look back.

So much happened in 2023 that we are grateful for. We expanded our programs and impacted more and more people, especially our youth. And we more than doubled our one-day in-person workshops.

No matter where we were or whom we connected with, one thing remained the same: our commitment to build communities of hope and empathy through storytelling.

Here is a list of our 2023 accomplishments:

-We published three anthologies of writing by students in Red Bank Middle School and Asbury Park High School.

-We provided 11 after-school writing clubs.

-We launched a new four-week, full-day summer program in collaboration with STEAMpark and the Monmouth County Vocational School District at Red Bank Middle School. 

-As part of the Two River Theater’s Crossing Borders Festival, four of our young adult writers performed original pieces on stage.

-We adjudicated more than 100 pieces of teen writing as part of Monmouth Arts’ Teen Arts Festival. 

-More than 50 teens and teachers participated in our annual PWN Teen Lit Fest.

-We brought back our Writing on the River Retreat at the Oyster Point Hotel for more than 40 teachers. 

-More than 30 teens participated in our summer internship program.

-We published six issues of our online young adult literary journal Bridge Ink with writers from California; Georgia; Pennsylvania; Maine; Massachusetts; New Hampshire; New Jersey; New York; Nevada; Oregon; South Carolina; Virginia; Washington; Washington, DC; Wisconsin; Canada; Pakistan; Philippines; and Taiwan. We partnered with the literary journal Let’s Say Gay for a special pride-themed issue, Rainbow Ink.

-We celebrated 12 winners of our annual teen Voices & Verse poetry contest. We then published their pieces in Bridge Ink in collaboration with Blissful Pursuit. 

– We continued our three PWN India writing clubs: one for children (ages 10-12); one for adults; and one for teachers (of children ages 3-6).

-We partnered with more than 28 organizations/schools to deliver our community outreach programs. Among our new partnerships are Stephy’s Place, the Art Alliance of Monmouth County, Basie Center Cinemas, Bell Works, Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Asbury Park), the NJ courts, and the Mayor’s Wellness Committee for Stigma-Free Asbury Park. 

-We provided more than 600 hours of creative and expressive writing, impacting nearly 2,000 children, teens, and adults through our community outreach programs.

-We gave 43 scholarship seats totaling $14,205 for our fee-based programs.

-We brought our annual fundraiser, CringeFest, to the big stage at the Vogel in Red Bank with lots of laughs and lots of funds raised!

-We provided in-school multi-session writing programs for grades 3 through 8 at Sickles and Knollwood schools in Fair Haven.

-We held 47 adult classes, 3 youth classes, 24 virtual one-day workshops, and 39 in-person workshops.

-Twenty-three writers completed full-draft manuscripts (50,000+ words) through book inc’s Novel and Memoir Incubator programs.

-Thirty writers revised their novel or memoir manuscripts in book inc’s Book Revision Lab.

-Ten adult writers and eight instructors had their works published in literary magazines or other publications. One writer was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. 

– One writer published her debut children’s book. Another won a contest for her poetry chapbook. Another had her second novel published. 

-We released Season Five of PWN’s Debut Review podcast.

-We hosted our end-of-year Writers Showcase with 23 adult writers performing!

We could not do any of this without all of YOU! We are so grateful to our amazing staff, our incredible community partners, and all who participated in our classes, workshops, and events.

Together, we are changing lives through writing.

Watch the recap video of our 2023 programming here.