Leading Online Community for Women 50+ Honors Hahn as Founder of International Women's Writing Guild
VibrantNation.com, the leading online community for smart, successful women over 50, today announced that Hannelore Hahn, founder and executive director of the International Women's Writing Guild (IWWG), a non-profit worldwide network for the personal and professional empowerment of women through writing, has been named Vibrant Nation's "Vibrant Giver" for December 2009.
Always testing her own creative abilities from a young age, Hannelore Hahn began contributing articles and essays to magazines like Mademoiselle and Vogue in the 1970s. In 1975, she and a group of women friends in New York formed a group to help the United Nations celebrate the first International Women's Year and she was appointed to Literature Chairperson. Her first programs involved creating a temporary satellite of the New York Public Library on the Staten Island Ferry so commuters could check out books by women authors, and later hosting an open reading by women authors in New York's Town Hall – featuring both known and unknown authors. After hosting a women's writing conference, Hahn decided to start the IWWG in 1976 as a pioneering organization to help women find their own voices through writing.
"From the start, the Guild proposed the writing from personal experience as the beginning of this transformational process," stated Hahn. "Everyone in the Guild, sooner or later, cuts her teeth on the journal, the memoir, and the autobiography—like the scales on the piano — this daily practice does eventually make a 'silk purse out of a sow's ear.' It does develop writers into 'writers.' More importantly however, from the Guild's point of view, it furthers personal growth, transformation, and an authentic voice."
Over the past quarter century, IWWG has empowered thousands of women to grow personally. The Guild has established a remarkable record of achievement in the publishing world, as well as in circles where lifelong learning and personal transformation are valued for their own sake. Over 4,000 books have been published by members of the IWWG, including self-published titles. Every year the Guild has a week-long summer conference and two weekend conferences in New York. Between conferences, members stay connected through a newsletter, website, and by forming local "Kitchen Table" groups.
"I think women, especially women our age, have spent our lives constantly trying to figure out what was expected of us," added Hahn. "But the ritual of writing every day helps you find a thread to something that's genuinely you. That's the true purpose of the Guild: to help women discover their true self."
VibrantNation.com will continue to announce and profile one Vibrant Giver each month. Because no one recognizes the strength in Vibrant Women better than other women like them, members of the site are invited to nominate others for this honor. To nominate a Vibrant Giver, visit http://www.VibrantNation.com/vibrant-giver.
Contacts:
VibrantNation.com
Ceci Conway, 502-568-5555
ceci@vibrantnation.com
