Monday, August 10, 5:30-7:30 p.m. ET

Arthouse Bar, Arthouse Hotel Lobby, 2178 Broadway (entrance on West 77th Street)

WMG members only; FREE (attendees pay for their own food and beverages)

Join Women's Media Group member Candi Cross for IRL networking with friends new and old. This Manhattan gathering at Arthouse Bar will provide an evening of genuine connection and in-depth conversation. Enjoy your favorite drinks, mocktails, and bites during this relaxed evening of networking and camaraderie with fellow WMG members.

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Wednesday, August 12, 10-11 a.m. ET

WMG members only; FREE (Virtual)

Are you unemployed, underemployed, or just thinking about a career change? Convene with WMG member Betsy Loredo and other job seekers in this weekly, informal online meetup. It’s a supportive space to share job-seeking ups and downs, pass along tips, and network with friendly peers who might have contacts to opportunities. On alternative weeks, we'll use the hour to work on resumes, applications, and other job search actions together–making it feel less overwhelming and more supportive.

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Wednesday, August 12, 12-1 p.m. ET

WMG members only; FREE (Zoom)

Set aside an hour to focus on a project you've been meaning to tackle. Whether you're working on a new idea or writing project, or simply just need an hour to get through your to-do list, this WMG Small Group Social provides dedicated time to focus alongside fellow members. No preparation is required—just bring your project and join us for a supportive session facilitated by WMG Co-President Jacqueline Cripps.

WMG’s Small Group Socials are a long-standing tradition and remain one of our most popular program series. This is a wonderful way to facilitate meaningful connections among members. If you have any specific questions, please reach out to the host directly. All member contact information can be found in the Member Directory.

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Thursday, August 13, 6-9 p.m. ET

WMG members only; $17 fee for court rental

CityPickle at Wollman Rink in Central Park, 830 5th Avenue, NYC

Stacey Gill invites members to join her for an hour of fun at CityPickle at Central Park's Wollman Rink, where all skill levels are welcome to play a friendly game of pickleball. If you've never played, this is the perfect opportunity to learn in a low-stakes, fun environment with a pickleball coach. Stacey has been coaching pickleball clinics for the past two years and will lead the open play with instruction and rules of the game before battling it out on the courts! Afterward, we'll head over to Central Park Cafe at 910 7th Ave. to refuel and chat about the epic matches and anything else.

Sneakers, comfortable gym clothes, a water bottle, and a paddle (if you have it) are all you need for a good time. CityPickle provides paddle rentals for an additional $6 fee.

Due to court booking logistics, no refunds will be granted for cancellations made within 72 hours of this event. We appreciate your understanding!

WMG’s Small Group Socials are a long-standing tradition and remain one of our most popular program series. This is a wonderful way to facilitate meaningful connections among members. If you have any specific questions, please reach out to the host directly. All member contact information can be found in the Member Directory.

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Wednesday, August 19, 10-11 a.m. ET

WMG members only; FREE (Virtual)

Are you unemployed, underemployed, or just thinking about a career change? Convene with WMG member Betsy Loredo and other job seekers in this weekly, informal online meetup. It’s a supportive space to share job-seeking ups and downs, pass along tips, and network with friendly peers who might have contacts to opportunities. On alternative weeks, we'll use the hour to work on resumes, applications, and other job search actions together–making it feel less overwhelming and more supportive.

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Wednesday, August 19, 5:15 p.m. ET

New York Society Library, 53 E. 79th Street, NYC

WMG members only; FREE

For more than a quarter of a millennium, the New York Society Library has played a pivotal role in the book life of New York City. Founded in 1754, this library is the oldest cultural institution in New York City and served as the nation's first Library of Congress. Among its members have been George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Willa Cather, and Stacey Schiff. The current Director and Chief Librarian is Carolyn Waters.

The Library remains a private nonprofit organization today. Women's Media Group President Emerita Jennifer A. Perry has arranged for WMG to join the Library's members-only happy hour. WMG attendees will enjoy a presentation tailored to our group about the library's history, collections, and membership options. Then, we will join the wider audience for tours of the 1917 Italian Renaissance building.

WMG’s Small Group Socials are a long-standing tradition and remain one of our most popular program series. This is a wonderful way to facilitate meaningful connections among members. If you have any specific questions, please reach out to the host directly. All member contact information can be found in the Member Directory.

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Monday, September 14, 5:30-7:30 p.m. ET

Arthouse Bar, Arthouse Hotel Lobby, 2178 Broadway (entrance on West 77th Street)

WMG members only; FREE (attendees pay for their own food and beverages)

Join Women's Media Group President Emerita Julie Blattberg for IRL networking with friends new and old. This Manhattan gathering at Arthouse Bar will provide an evening of genuine connection and in-depth conversation. Enjoy your favorite drinks, mocktails, and bites during this relaxed evening of networking and camaraderie with fellow WMG members.

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Wednesday, September 16, 5:30-7:30 p.m. ET

Penguin Random House, 1745 Broadway (between 55th & 56th Streets), Toni Morrison Room, 3rd floor, NYC

$20 for WMG members and partner organizations; $25 for non-members; $10 for active Scholars

Some books don't need a rewrite. They need a different shelf.

Many successful literary projects began as something else entirely: a memoir became narrative nonfiction, a magazine article turned into a biography, or an adult novel found its audience as young adult fiction. Sometimes the fastest path to publication is rethinking where your story belongs.

In this conversation, editors Lee Oglesby and Kristine Puopolo, agent Kiele Raymond, and authors Katie Gee Salisbury, Stacy Kim, and Amy Klein will discuss how their own genre shifts happened, what prompted agents and editors to suggest them, and how writers can recognize when a different category may unlock their manuscript's potential. It’s moderated by Susan Shapiro, the bestselling author of 18 books in eight different genres, several that started out something else.

Meet the speakers:

Katie Gee Salisbury is the author of Not Your China Doll, a biography of Anna May Wong, Hollywood’s first Asian American movie star. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, The Believer, the Asian American Writers' Workshop, and elsewhere. She was a finalist for the Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship in 2021 and gave the TED Talk “As American as Chop Suey.” She also writes the Substack Half-Caste Woman. A fifth-generation Chinese American who hails from Southern California, Katie now lives in Brooklyn.

Stacy S. Kim, Ph.D. is a social scientist, writer, and coach who helps caring high-achievers untangle the internal knots that keep them stuck—the tension between ambition and caregiving, perfectionism and resentment, status and self-doubt. Stacy founded her coaching practice, Life Junctions®, in 2008. Since then, she’s worked with hundreds of smart, caring women who didn’t need conventional advice, makeovers, or yet another plan; they needed a fresh perspective on the knots and curated action steps to move forward. From those early coaching conversations, The Untangling Practice™ was born: an evidence-based four-phase framework to help women move forward with focus, confidence, and ease. It’s now the foundation of her courses, keynotes, and forthcoming book from Hachette.

Amy Klein has always written about whatever she was going through, from jumping out of a plane to the scary world of dating. From 2013 to 2015, she was the wit and heart behind the taboo-busting New York Times Fertility Diary. Her work has also been featured in The Washington Post, The Forward, and Insider. In 2020, Amy published her first book, The Trying Game, which offers a wealth of information from the fertility trenches. Now she wants to help everyone get and stay pregnant and avoid many of the pitfalls and mistakes she made.

Lee Oglesby is a freelance editor who works closely with authors to nurture books that have the power to shape lives and communities. She is interested in science, the environment, food and agriculture, health and wellbeing, and transformational justice. She believes all stories should be told with a deep level of literacy around race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and disability. Lee was previously a Senior Editor with Flatiron Books, and has worked at Milkweed Editions, Oxford University Press, and some of New York City’s most respected literary agencies. She is a graduate of Amherst College and the Columbia Publishing Course.

Kristine Puopolo is a WMG President Emerita and Vice President, Editorial Director, Nonfiction at Doubleday Books. She has worked at either Penguin or Random House for most of her publishing career. Her list includes many journalists, historians, and experts. Kristine has edited bestselling and prize-winning nonfiction at Penguin Random House since 2001, including three books that were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction: Gulag (2003) by Anne Applebaum, The Dead Hand (2009) by David Hoffman, and Black Flags (2015) by Joby Warrick.

Kiele Raymond is a Senior Agent at Thompson Literary Agency. She pursued her studies in Literature and Anthropology with a B.A. from Johns Hopkins University and an M.A. from the University of Chicago before launching her publishing career at Simon & Schuster in 2011. She joined Thompson Literary Agency in 2017 to seek out bold new voices in literary fiction and narrative nonfiction. Her clients include critically-acclaimed and award-winning writers such as Peace Adzo Medie, Ari Braverman, and Janice Obuchowski. Books on Kiele's list have been named New York Times 100 Notable Books, Time's 100 Must-Read Books, NPR's Best Books of the Year, and selected for Reese's Book Club and GMA Buzz Picks, as well as longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, the Women's Prize for Fiction, and the Diverse Book Awards.

Meet the moderator:

Susan Shapiro is the bestselling author/coauthor of books her family hates, like The Bosnia List, Lighting Up, and Five Men Who Broke My Heart (from PRH), which was recently optioned for a movie. She writes for The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, Slate, Salon, Newsweek, The Cut, Wired, Oprah Daily, and The New Yorker. She lives with her husband in Greenwich Village and has taught writing at NYU, The New School, and Columbia University’s MFA program, using her practical guides, Byline Bible and Book Bible, to help students of all ages publish. Follow Susan on Instagram @profsue123 or email Profsue123@gmail.com.

Refunds available up to 48 hours before the event. No refunds for cancellations made within 48 hours of the event.

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Tuesday, September 22, 12:15-2 p.m. ET (doors open at noon)

Bond 45, 221 W. 46th Street 221 (between Broadway & 8th Avenue), NYC

$75 for members; $85 for non-members; $35 for active Scholars

Member Early Bird Pricing Special: $65 through 8/31/26

3-course lunch included

WMG is proud to announce the third collaboration with Ms. magazine in our popular and esteemed series exploring the role of women’s leadership, voices, and stories in journalism. For this third edition, a panel of distinguished journalists will discuss how women in media can steer and influence the national discourse. This year’s conversation will focus on the need for active and accessible feminist journalism today and in the future. Where is it being done? What are the most effective approaches? What are the challenges? Who’s listening, and who’s not listening?

Ms. and WMG are united in the mission to ensure that women’s voices are represented and prioritized as stories get reported and history and policy get made. Join us for this important conversation.

Meet the speakers:

Nina Burleigh is a journalist, bestselling author, documentary producer, and publisher of a Substack on politics called American Freakshow. A contributing editor at The New Republic and frequent contributor to The New York Times and New York Magazine, her journalism has been published widely, including in translation. She's the author of ten books (fiction and nonfiction) on an array of topics including Amanda Knox and the Trump women, which were reviewed or covered in The New York Times, BBC, MSNBC, and other media outlets. An adjunct professor at NYU's Arthur J. Carter Journalism Institute, her work has been cited in hundreds of scholarly articles.

Swati Sharma is the editor-in-chief and publisher of Vox, the premier explanatory journalism brand at Vox Media. In this role, she oversees the site’s editorial vision and business strategy across platforms, which include a YouTube channel with nearly 13 million subscribers and a growing podcast network. Swati previously spent her career at legacy news organizations, including The Atlantic, where she oversaw digital coverage; The Washington Post, where she was the deputy general assignment editor working on breaking news during President Trump's first year in office; and The Boston Globe, where she coordinated live blog coverage of the Boston Marathon bombing, which was cited in the paper’s Pulitzer Prize for breaking news.

Linda Villarosa is a contributing writer at The New York Times Magazine and a journalism professor at the City University of New York. Her book, Under the Skin: The Hidden Toll of Racism on Health in America, was a finalist for the 2023 Pulitzer Prize. Linda is writing a biography of the poet, playwright, and novelist Ntozake Shange, to be published by Storehouse Voices, a new division of Penguin Random House.

Jennifer Weiss-Wolf is the executive director of Ms. partnerships and strategy. A lawyer, fierce advocate, and frequent writer on issues of gender, feminism, and politics in America, Jennifer has been dubbed the “architect of the U.S. campaign to squash the tampon tax” by Newsweek. She is the author of Periods Gone Public: Taking a Stand for Menstrual Equity, which was lauded by Gloria Steinem as “the beginning of liberation for us all,” and A Citizen’s Guide to Menopause Advocacy, together with Dr. Mary Claire Haver (featuring a foreword by Maria Shriver). Her forthcoming book, When in Menopause: A User’s Manual and Citizen’s Guide, will be published in fall 2026. She is also the executive director of the Birnbaum Women’s Leadership Center at NYU Law.

Refunds available up to 48 hours before the event. No refunds for cancellations made within 48 hours of the event.

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Wednesday, September 30, 12-1 p.m. ET

Free for WMG members; $15 for non-members (Zoom)

Writing a book is only half the battle; getting it into the hands of paying readers is the real work. Designed specifically for authors at every stage, from aspiring to published, this seminar will focus on how an effective public relations effort can support a robust sales campaign. Published author Jennefer Witter will discuss how she works with her clients in the pre-sale stage, launch period, and post-publication. She will also save time to answer your questions.

Meet the speaker:

Jennefer Witter is the CEO and founder of The Boreland Group Inc., a boutique public relations firm headquartered in New York City. She is the author of The Little Book of Big PR: 100+ Quick Tips to Get Your Small Business Noticed and was named one of the nation’s “10 Most Successful Black CEOS and Entrepreneurs” by MadameNoire magazine. Jennefer was formerly a vice president at Ketchum, where she launched a sub-practice that generated one million dollars in revenue in its first year. Jennefer is a passionate advocate for women in the workplace and military. She is an active member of Ellevate Network, a global networking organization for professional women, and serves on the advisory board for Women inPower, a 92nd Street Y-led venture that seeks to support and promote senior-level professional women to C-level positions. Learn more about Jennefer by connecting with her on LinkedIn.

Refunds available up to 48 hours before the event. No refunds for cancellations made within 48 hours of the event.

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Wednesday, October 7, 12-1 p.m. ET

Free for WMG members; $15 for non-members (Zoom)

Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing how journalists report, write, investigate, and engage with audiences, but questions remain about accuracy, transparency, and ethics. This interactive seminar explores how journalists and media creators can incorporate AI into their work while maintaining the core values of the profession. Participants will learn practical ways AI can support reporting, discuss the ethical challenges surrounding its use, and examine where human judgment remains indispensable. Through demonstrations, case studies, and group discussion, attendees will leave with practical strategies for using AI responsibly in their own journalistic work.

Meet the speaker:

Yelena Dzhanova is an audience engagement strategist at The Weather Channel and a doctoral candidate in Media and Communication at Temple University. She has reported for national news organizations and teaches journalism at both Temple University and Pace University. Drawing on both newsroom experience and academic research, her present-day research explores how journalists can thoughtfully integrate AI while preserving the ethical standards and public mission of journalism.

Refunds available up to 48 hours before the event. No refunds for cancellations made within 48 hours of the event.

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