"I am Known for My Tenacity"

Happy New Year! In this first 2024 edition of Life@GWN, we are honored to introduce Daphney Guillaume . She came to Girls Write Now corporate partner HarperOne, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers from a background outside of publishing, distinguishing herself by showcasing a keen understanding of the intricacies of the business.

She played a pivotal role in the successful launch of the MLK Jr. Library,

including a volume featuring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's full speech at the March on Washington on August 28, 1963, with a foreword by Girls Write Now’s 2022 Agent of Change and 雅诗兰黛有限公司 WRITING CHANGE ambassador Amanda Gorman. Daphney also served on the Editorial Advisory Committee for our 25th anniversary book, Girls Write Now On the Art of the Craft: A Guide to Collaborative Storytelling, published by HarperOne, out April 2nd.

Read Daphney’s story in her own words.

Tell us about your Life@GWN

My Life@Girls Write Now is intertwined with my life at HarperCollins. I’m the Special Projects/Senior Administrative Assistant to the President/Publisher of the HarperOne Group, Judith Curr, who sits on Girls Write Now's Board of Directors. I've had the pleasure of working closely with the 2023 Girls Write Now Anthology Editorial Committee as the book was compiled and edited.?

What do you do at your job? Why is it important? What about it that gets you up in the morning??

I provide administrative support to the President/Publisher of the HarperOne Group and have recently been working to find and showcase new projects that may have been overlooked in the market, as potential acquisitions. I also assist with editorial tasks on multiple books that will be published this year.

How do you approach taking time off from work?

...taking time off from work as a must.

I wouldn’t be able to give my all in my position without having the downtime to reconnect with myself and my interests, and remind myself why I do the work I do and why I enjoy it. As they say, distance makes the heart grow stronger.?

In a few lines, what’s the best book you’ve read recently? Why?

The best few books I’ve read recently, as it’s always hard to just pick one, are THERE IS A RIO GRANDE IN HEAVEN, TENDER IS THE FLESH, and MINOR DETAIL. The short story collection and the other two books made me question why I assumed a certain character trait to the protagonist and why I assumed the story would end other than the way it did. These questions sat with me for days, weeks, and even months now as I read them all towards the end of 2024.?

How do you pick yourself back up after making a mistake???

When I make a mistake, I pick myself up after by going over what I did wrong, and writing down what I should’ve done before to be more prepared. This allows me to go into the situation with more confidence and better prepared than before.?

What’s the scariest thing you’ve ever done, and why did you do it?

Make a change in my career. I previously worked in the social work field, and most recently in foster care, before I coming over to publishing. I hadn’t planned for a career change, I had expected to stay and grow where I was until retirement.

But, during the lockdown I sat with myself and really questioned if I wanted to do anything else and I did. Now, here I am.

What particular character trait are you known for in your circle??

In my circle, I’m known for my tenacity. I’m human, when I face a roadblock or a NO I can feel dejected but I will always pick myself up again. That includes looking at the situation from different angles, cleaning up where I’ve made mistakes, preparing myself to try again so that I can get to the next level and the roadblock won’t be there.?

Can you speak more than one language?

I can. My parents immigrated from Haiti before I was born. I was spoken to in Haitian Creole by them and everyone on both sides of the family my whole life, so I can understand and read it very well. I speak it as well, but more haltingly than I care to admit.?