The siren blares.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
My body freezes.
Living through uncertainty reminds me how powerful community is.
In my new Substack post, I reflect on:
• fear
• co-regulation
• WhatsApp communities
• the lifeline of belonging
Read it here:
🔗 https://bit.ly/40mtcG9
The siren blares.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
My body freezes.
Living through uncertainty reminds me how powerful community is.
In my new Substack post, I reflect on:
• fear
• co-regulation
• WhatsApp communities
• the lifeline of belonging
Read it here:
🔗 https://bit.ly/40mtcG9
Witnessing isn’t passive.
It’s refusing to let fear erase our humanity.
New Substack post on mattering and belonging in times of conflict.
🔗 https://bit.ly/4cjbgDu
#MSWL Day is here!
I'm seeking more narrative nonfiction for children and adults. Think THE MONA LISA VANISHES (Day) or Candace Fleming's books for kids.
More like THE ART THIEF (Finkel) or NO HUMAN INVOLVED (Neely) for adults. Also seeking nonfiction that really brings setting to life!
Writers! 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼 (Follow @manuscriptwishlist.bsky.social, read the guidelines for #MSWL Day, & go forth and query smartly!
#kidlitchat For those who haven't heard, there will be an official #MSWL day on Thursday this week. If you're currently in the query trenches or will be soon, it's a great resource and may put some wonderful agents on your radar based on what they're looking for.
New Substack post:
Witnessing Belonging: Healing, Mattering, and Becoming in Real Life
A shift from framework to practice.
From telling to witnessing.
🔗 https://bit.ly/4aRoaq5
This week’s Substack completes my series on the heroine’s journey through the lens of my mother’s life. She lived her life with courage, contradiction, grief, joy, and ultimately, balance.
🕊️ Integration: The Final Phase of the Heroine’s Journey
🔗 Link in bio or here: https://bit.ly/4kHMtev
Some healing isn’t loud.
It arrives quietly—through movement, connection, and letting go of control.
This week’s Substack explores healing the wounded masculine through my mother’s heroine’s journey.
Read it here: https://bit.ly/4a7cRee
Hello Writing Community! We are delighted to announce our Second Official Bluesky *** #MSWL Day *** February 26, 2026. 🎉🎉🎉
Agents + editors can post what they ✨wish✨ they had in their inboxes; writers can find their next best fit for querying.
Learn more: manuscriptwishlist.com/2025/01/the-...
Wonderful news!!
“Love and large-hearted giving… can leave deep marks.”
— O. Henry
I keep returning to this line as I think about the mother–daughter split—and how love can be fierce, generous, and still wounding. If this resonates, I wrote more about this stage of the heroine’s journey on Substack.
✨ Link in bio.
New Substack post in my series The Heroine’s Journey to Belonging.
This one explores one of the hardest stages: healing the mother–daughter split, where generational wounds surface, and healing means holding complexity rather than erasing the past.
Read here: https://bit.ly/4arWXuM
Story Studio and CAIABB present Words Without Walls writing contest. What happens when a story is silenced? Who decides what we get to read? We invite writers age 12 to 18 across Canada to share their voices in defense of intellectual freedom. Whether it's fiction, poetry, or a personal essay, tell us why the freedom to read matters to you. Free to enter, one entry per person. Submissions open February 1 to February 28th, 2026. Length 500 to 1500 words. Winners and runners up will be published in an anthology. Learn more at storystudio.ca.
Words Without Walls writing contest. Open to youth (ages 12 to 18) across Canada. Deadline 1159 p.m. pst on February 28th, 2026. Length: 500 to 1500 words. What happens when a story is silenced? Who decides what we get to read? Whether it's fiction, poetry, or a personal essay, tell us why freedom to read matters to you. Submit and learn more at storystudio.ca. Read freely, write boldly.
Story Studio and Canadian Authors and Illustrators Against Book Bans are teaming up to launch a national youth writing contest on the theme of freedom to read! Please share!
@caiabb.bsky.social
y.social #FreedomToRead #ftrw2026 #writingcontest #bookbans #caiabb #bced #abed #onted
New Substack post in my series The Heroine’s Journey to Belonging.
This one explores a quieter stage—yearning for the feminine—when success no longer satisfies, and a woman begins to miss parts of herself she left behind.
Read it here: https://bit.ly/3Zx2rhH
#belonging #heroinesjourney
Friends! Thrilled to be in convo tmrw for an Instagram Live on Sat 1/24 at 2pm EST with the wonderful author educator @torreymaldonado.bsky.social to discuss his new picture book, Just Right. Join us to hear about Torrey’s process. This is one of my new faves for sure. Tune in at @nqarooni on IG.
New Substack post in my series The Heroine’s Journey to Belonging.
This one sits at the threshold—after voice and success, before the inward descent.
"There’s More to Life than Achievements"
https://bit.ly/4jNha1n
⭐️New Substack post in my series, The Heroine’s Journey to Belonging, is live.
This one explores what happens after a woman finds her voice—when success, leadership, and visibility still don’t bring the belonging she expected.
#Belonging #LifeJourneys #Wellbeing
https://bit.ly/4qMi7Jx
Check out the latest in my series The Heroine’s Journey to Belonging! 🌟
Explore a transformative moment as a young mother finds her voice live on radio. This story challenges the idea that success guarantees belonging.
Read here: https://bit.ly/4bhzIo4
Leave a comment👇
#belonging #lifejourney
Google docs. I find it easier to make notations, keep track of drafts…
My newest Substack explores the road of trials, when women learn to belong by doing, achieving, and enduring rather than being nurtured or seen.
I write through my mother’s story, and through a question many of us hold quietly:
Is competence enough to feel whole?
Read here: https://bit.ly/4quSI79
A light pink background with the word WITNESS in all caps. Below it are 3 phrases. Be present. Listen for understanding. Carry each story with care. By Ilene Winokur
What is your #oneword2026?
New Substack series: The Heroine’s Journey to Belonging
My 1st post explores how women often begin their journeys by adapting to the world.
Through my mother’s life, and my own reflections, I’m tracing the inward descent toward identity and belonging.
Link: https://bit.ly/4j6kYKC
#Belonging
Research doesn’t travel untouched across borders.
When education policy is shaped by research without context, students’ identities and a sense of belonging are often the first casualties.
Why contextualization matters in Gulf education ⬇️
https://bit.ly/4oZ6X31
Y'all. I created this "Library Wrapped" template to help #librarians share their mid-year data BEFORE the end of the year when many budget/staffing decisions are already made. Access the template here: www.librarygirl.net/post/your-li...
I hope y'all find this resource useful!
#TLSky #Skybrarians
New Substack post!
'Piggy, Garbage, Stupid': How Words Can Shape a Child's Sense of Belonging
Today, as public figures weaponize language to demean entire groups, children are listening.
But we can disrupt that pattern. We can choose words that heal rather than harm.
https://bit.ly/4rKtDGu
Thank you for reposting!
