Project Write Now

06/03/2026

Join PWN and River Road Books for an intimate evening with as she reads from her debut memoir, "Brother Epistles: A Sister's Memoir," a series of letters written to her brother Monir, killed in a drive-by shooting when she was a first-year medical student.

Shanda sits down with fellow writer Jennifer Gallo Gaites to talk about writing through grief and what it takes to write as both a sister and a physician. Expect reading, conversation, and community, with light refreshments and a book signing to follow.
Come out and support your hometown author and friend.

📖 Book Talk & Signing with Shanda McManus
📅 Wednesday, June 24
🕖 7 to 9 p.m. ET
📍 The Columbus Club, 200 Fair Haven Rd, Fair Haven, NJ

An advance ticket is required and includes a copy of "Brother Epistles."

Register through River Road Books
🔗https://riverroadbooks.net/event/2026-06-24/book-talk-signing-author-shanda-mcmanus

06/03/2026

We brought "word ingredients" to Shore House last week and each member pulled a few ingredients to build their own "story recipe." The biggest question of the day: WHAT AM I MADE OF? It was so fun to see how everyone responded!

➮ Your support keeps our expressive programs thriving for people who need them most—creating spaces like this, where stories are shared, voices are heard, and healing happens.

🔗 Donate today: https://projectwritenow.org/donate/

We are so grateful for your support! 🙏

06/02/2026

Join us for a fun evening of storytelling, conversation, and community!

Mark your calendar! 🗓️ Our next Write Out Loud is ONE WEEK FROM TODAY, Tuesday, June 9, starting at 7 p.m. at Asbury Book Cooperative.

At Write Out Loud, we use creative prompts to generate new writing and then share our work in our supportive community.

🔗 Register today: https://pwnwriters.org/course/write-out-loud-june

🗣️ Your story matters and we want to hear it!

06/02/2026

A simple Tuesday Tip today from program director Elizabeth Jannuzzi ...

DON'T QUIT‼️

Why should you not quit? Well, one day, if you don't quit, you will publish a book(!!!), just like Shanda McManus.

Join us to celebrate Shanda's book launch on June 24! (🔗 https://pwnwriters.org/course/book-talk-signing-with-shanda-mcmanus)

And if you keep at it, keep going, keep writing, maybe we'll be celebrating YOUR book launch, next! ✍️

🔗 Join us and get more great writing tips at pwnwriters.org.

06/01/2026

What do we inherit from the people we come from? Whose stories are you still carrying?

In Writing Family Histories, you'll turn family anecdotes, inherited memories, and lived experience into narratives that bring your people to life on the page. Over six weeks, we'll dig into voice, scene, memory, and emotional truth, treating memoir as a space for discovery and preservation, not just publication.

Led by writer and editor Michele Canto Garcia, this class welcomes seasoned writers and thoughtful beginners alike. Come explore the stories that made you.

📅 Wednesdays, July 8 to August 12
🕡 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. ET
📍 In-person at PWN's Maple Ave office, Red Bank, NJ

Register now at https://pwnwriters.org/course/writing-family-histories/

06/01/2026

Pull up a chair, grab a warm drink, and cozy up with words this JULY! 🏳️‍🌈

⭐️PLEASE NOTE THE NEW DATE & TIME⭐️

Join us for our next Teen Café Open Mic—a comfortable, low-pressure space to share your voice and listen to others. Bring an original poem, song, short story, something you made five minutes before you walked in—anything goes.* Or just come to listen and vibe.

📍 The Art of the Bean and Leaf
🗓️ Wednesday, July 14
⏰ starting at 5:30 p.m.

If you plan to read during this event, please be sure to arrive on time. We will have a sign-in sheet for readers at the door.

All genres and experience levels are welcome. The open mic is for teens, but all are welcome to join our supportive audience, too. The Art of the Bean and Leaf is open to the public during this event and light bites & beverages are available for purchase.

🔗 Register: https://pwnwriters.org/course/pwn-teen-cafe-open-mic

Your story matters and we want to hear it! 🫰🫰🫰

06/01/2026

🏳️‍🌈 EVERY STORY MATTERS. 🏳️‍🌈

Celebrate PRIDE with us!

In-Person:
🏳️‍🌈 June 6 PRIDE IN THE PARK (Red Bank)
🏳️‍🌈 June 7 JERSEY PRIDE PARADE (Asbury Park)
🏳️‍🌈 June 7 LGBTQIA READING & CELEBRATION (Asbury Book Cooperative)
🏳️‍🌈 June 9 WRITE OUT LOUD (Asbury Book Cooperative)
🏳️‍🌈 June 10 TRUE COLORS (Monmouth Arts)

Virtual:
🏳️‍🌈 June 4 POETRY WITH ALINA & SKYLA
🏳️‍🌈 July 14-28 WRITING Q***R LOVE STORIES

Publishing:
🏳️‍🌈 Deadline July 1 RAINBOW INK ages 12-18

Find out more at projectwritenow.org. We can’t wait to celebrate with you! ❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜🩷

06/01/2026

A look back 👀 at our community events this May ...

✍️ We hosted our 6th Annual Writers Celebration with students from Asbury Park High School who participated in our Spoken Word Project.
✍️ After six consecutive weekly sessions, the Youth Journaling Club at Asbury Park Public Library concluded for the season.
✍️ We had such a good time celebrating the chapbooks of PWN writers and instructors Liz DeBeer, Jenny Morelli, and Eileen Toomey.
✍️ We were honored to have acclaimed poet Chen Chen share his poetry alongside PWN Friends Lisa Hartsgrove, Jaz, and Eileen Toomey.
✍️ We’ve been hard at work writing plays with residents of HABcore (Red Bank) as part of the Community Playmaking program in collaboration with River Theater.
✍️ We explored the themes “Rabbit,” “Tea,” “Flower,” and “Sky” in Lunchtime Write-In.
✍️ We returned to Markham Place School in Little Silver to guide 6th graders through the art of short film writing in four engaging lessons.
✍️ In addition to screenwriting lessons, we’ve also brought back poetry sessions at Markham Place School.
✍️ Committed writers continued to meet on Zoom for Morning Pages.
✍️ PWN Teen Ambassadors Alina & Skyla ran an inspirational workshop around confessional poets.
✍️ In our PWN India adult journaling club, we celebrated AAPI Heritage month.
✍️ We closed out our ten-week PWN India program for teens this month with our final three classes.
✍️ Our 7th & 8th grade AVID students at Red Bank Middle School have been hard at work revising pieces for our final end-of-year anthology project.
✍️ At Shore House, we personified Time.
✍️ We wrapped up our writing sessions at Soldier On, a veterans’ community in Tinton Falls.
✍️ We held a journaling workshop for members of the WATT (We Are Thriving Together) group at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Monmouth County.
✍️ We hosted a workshop for participants in the Success Training Employment Program at United Against Poverty in collaboration with Pamela Major of Melia Bloom.
✍️ And we celebrated National Limerick Day at Write Out Loud at Asbury Book Cooperative.

🔗 Check out all of our May updates: https://projectwritenow.org/may-community-outreach-7/

05/30/2026

🎨✍️ Happy National Creativity Day!🎨✍️

Yes—writers are artists too! In our first post on The Imprint's new Substack home, book inc intern Emma Moriarty makes the case that writers belong right alongside painters and sculptors. Just like painters have paint and sculptors have clay, writers have language.

Read the full essay and subscribe at the link—then celebrate your own creativity in one of our summer writing classes! Register at pwnwriters.org.

Happy creating, everyone! 💫

Yes, writers are artists, too!

05/28/2026

Shhhhhh, let’s party … 🤫

The North to Shore Silent Reading & Writing Party in The Carousel House is hosted by your nerdy friends: Asbury Book Cooperative, Project Write Now, and Asbury Park Public Library.

You are in for some literary fun!

📍 The Carousel House, 104-108 Asbury Ave, Asbury Park, NJ
🗓️ Thursday, June 18
⏰ 4 to 7 p.m.

The Carousel House will be filled with new and used books and bookish merchandise for browsing and shopping. 📚

At 5 p.m., THE PARTY STARTS! This party is BOYB (Bring Your Own [note]Book). …

•󠁏󠁏 Dedicate one hour to your book or your own writing. We at PWN provide prompts and quotes to inspire your work and aid your progress.
•󠁏󠁏 Asbury Park Public Library provides a silent kids’ corner featuring children’s books, sensory toys to aid concentration, and Asbury Park inspired coloring sheets.

Everyone is invited, but an RSVP is essential!

🔗 RSVP: https://pwnwriters.org/course/n2s-silent-reading-writing-party-in-the-carousel-art-house

When you RSVP, you will be asked about your desired level of social interaction, whether you would like to rent noise-canceling headphones, and if you will have a little reader accompanying you. The Carousel House is technically an outdoor venue so the sounds of ocean waves and excited beachgoers are unavoidable.

THIS IS ONE PARTY YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS! 🥳