Hawaii Writers Guild Sponsors Third Annual Women’s History Month Celebration

Hawaii Writers Guild held its third annual celebration of Women’s History Month by inviting women, including both members and nonmembers of the Guild, to participate in a public reading on March 28, 2026, at Tutu’s House in Kamuela on the Big Island.

A total of 14 women, including seven Guild members and seven community women, shared their writings or those of other women authors. Each woman was given up to five minutes to present their piece. Presentations were chosen by the presenters and included poetry, prose and dramatic re-enactments.

For the first time this year, the event was both in person and on Zoom. The addition of Zoom enabled women to participate from off island locations. Four women from other islands and the mainland participated as presenters, including one Guild member from the State of Washington. A Zoom recording of the event was made by Tutu’s House and was later shared with the members of the Guild who could not attend the event.

Guild member Gwyn Gorg, who had initiated the program for the Guild in 2024, presided as emcee once again this year. In addition to Gorg, Guild members who presented work included Virginia Fortner, Nancy Baenziger, Youfeng Shen, Diane Revell, Joy Fisher and Maralyn Kurshalls.

International Women’s Day, a global celebration of the economic, political and social achievements of women, took place for the first time in March of 1911. The United Nations has sponsored International Women’s Day since 1975. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter issued the first presidential proclamation declaring the week of March 8 as National Women’s History Week in the United States. Six years later, the National Women’s History Project successfully petitioned Congress to expand the event to include the entire month of March.

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