IWWG Mission

IWWG is a network for the personal and professional empowerment of women through writing. Our mission is to encourage women to tell their stories, provide support and instruction as they seek to improve their craft, open avenues for them to bring their writing into the world, and build their confidence.

The International Women’s Writing Guild

We know as a guild we stand in a long tradition dating back to the 14th century, when mostly men organized according to their trade to control their craft, as well as to gain more social and economic power. The wives of merchants and artisans rarely received the same training and camaraderie their husbands, fathers, brothers, and sons enjoyed.

With our guild, we used our imaginations.

We dreamed of a unique gathering for women to write together in an environment of mutual support and learning. And then we built it.

The Guild was founded in 1976. As a women’s writing guild, we are culturally diverse. From the beginning, we’ve represented women from many backgrounds.

We wanted to make a place where all women writers feel welcome, inspired, and empowered by skills, resources, and mentoring.

Now, after 40 years of enriching women writers’ lives, we are still growing and changing with the times. We have a robust membership, a membership publication, a signature summer conference, and a dynamic and growing list of established regional conferences.

We’ve been listening to women writers around the world. Many of us yearn for writing and publishing resources, friendship, self-expression, professional writing guidance, and development of craft. Many of us yearn for a community, but may not have the means or time to travel to a Guild event in person.

We refuse to let the voices of emboldened women writers go unheard.

We’re ushering in a movement of mighty, soulful women writers. Together, we’re changing the way women writers’ stories get heard, crafted, and spread around the globe.

We’re also growing our digital village where we can gather in community from anywhere we are in the world.

We’re creating a place where we craft our stories, grow our souls, and change our world.

Who We Are

We’re a global community of women with diverse backgrounds who share core common values.

COURAGE

We believe courageous women change the world. We bring together diverse women under the same global roof where all voices are heard and empowered.

DIVERSITY WITHIN UNITY

In our global family, our diversity is our strength. We bring the power of words to women around the world. We value learning and growing together in a safe, intelligent, open-hearted community. Through our differences, we unite.

ARTISANAL CRAFT

We offer the highest calibre instruction in craft so that women’s voices can have the greatest impact.

IMPACT

We view publishing in all of its forms in the early 21st century as a vehicle for women’s stories and voices to make a difference in the lives of their readers, communities, and beyond. We offer women exceptional guidance in finding the means to publish their work for greatest impact.

WISDOM

We believe that wisdom, both of the heart and the mind, empowers women writers. Many of our workshop leaders and mentors have decades of experience writing, publishing, and teaching. They generously share their knowledge and leadership to help women writers grow inside and out.