She Writes celebrates 1st anniversary

On June 29th, She Writes (www.shewrites.com), the largest community and
resource for women writers online, will celebrate its one-year anniversary.

Since the launch of She Writes, with 40 founding “alpha” members, including Amy Sohn, Hope Edelman, Katha Pollitt, Gretchen Rubin, and Alix Kates Shulman, growth has been explosive. One year later, the site boasts nearly 10,000 members from 30 countries and all 50 states, including well known writers like A.M. Holmes, Francine Prose, Kathryn Harrison, and Jacquelyn Mitchard.

To celebrate the one-year anniversary on June 29, local groups will host meet ups in 16 cities—including London, Nashville, St. Louis, Austin, San Francisco and New York. In addition, She Writes founders Kamy Wicoff and Deborah Siegel will announce a contest, The Passion Project, open to an emerging author and member of She Writes who has a non-fiction project in the works.

Based on the market data showing that women buy 65% of books (the average woman is a $500-a-year customer for publishers and booksellers), and that 43% of women readers also have plans to write a book, She Writes aims to empower the millions of women with a passion for writing by providing them with tools, support and resources to they need to improve at their craft. Media coverage of the She Writes phenomenon, even in its early, grassroots stage, has appeared in the NY Times, Salon, About.com, Poets & Writers, and Charlie Rose, underscoring its reflection of an emerging zeitgeist.

The site was founded by Wicoff, a Columbia MFA in Creative Nonfiction, in partnership with Siegel, a PhD in English and American literature. “As authors ourselves, we know how much heavy-lifting writers are expected to do when it comes to marketing and promoting their books,” said Wicoff. “She Writes changes that, providing a place where writers can help each other, and find curated services and support.” This spring, She Writes brought on its third founding partner, CEO Daphne Kis, who has served as an advisor to digital properties such paidContent, Smart.fm, DailyGrommet and Startl.org. Previously, she was president and ceo of EDventure Holdings, publisher of Release 1.0, and executive producer of PC Forum.

She Writes offers one-on-one consulting by a hand-picked team of experts in publishing, book marketing, social media, website design, agent-advisement, editorial advice, author photography, and more. Members have already organized themselves into over 200 groups based on geography, affinity, genre, and profession, with new groups forming constantly.

“Women have long understood reading and writing as social activities, so we’re ahead of the curve on this one,” said Siegel. “We’re the originators—and majority—of book group and literary salons. Women have tremendous power not just as consumers, but as creators who connect.”

www.shewrites.com