Congratulations to Helen Spencer, the 2025 Pen Parentis Fellow!
The Pen Parentis Writing Fellowship for New Parents is supported in part by The de Groot Foundation.
The writing fellowship offers one writer who is the parent of at least one child under 10 years old $2000 to further their writing career, a year of mentorship, and the opportunity to read their winning story online at a Pen Parentis Literary Salon.
Helen Spencer’s family cultivated in her a love for reading and writing at a very young age. An introvert at heart who is often lost inside her own head, she has long cherished the opportunity to process experiences and exercise her imagination through writing. Her formal education is in science, music and public health, and she currently works full time in a leadership role in the corporate sector. She is the mother of a beautifully spirited toddler and is fumbling through first-time parenthood with all of its joys and frustrations. As a new parent, writing has afforded her the opportunity to explore new dimensions of who she is and her evolving perspective on the world and the people in it. “Mixing Bowls” will be her first publication. The piece is about summoning the courage to reset and the importance of reconnecting with who you are when life knocks you off course. Helen is deeply grateful to have the opportunity to share this piece and to have the support from the Pen Parentis community to continue to grow as a writer. “Mixing Bowls” will be live soon on dreamerswriting.com!
To learn more, please visit the Pen Parentis website.