— Welcome to THE IAJW
Join Our Global Journaling Community
We know that journaling works—but are you getting everything you want out of your writing practice? Do you wonder if you’re “doing it right”? Would you love more guidance, more joy and more connection? Join our international community of journal writers and get the inspiration you need.
- Never stare at a blank page again — get weekly journaling prompts for fresh ideas
- Write in real company — live monthly circles with people who show up for this the way you do
- Go deeper, faster — expert-led sessions instead of trial and error
- Come home to yourself — in a space built for exactly this
$19/month or $190/year · Immediate access · Cancel anytime.
A place to be inspired. A place to belong.
Guided by Lynda Monk, MSW, RSW, CPCC —
30 years of helping people heal and grow through journaling.
This community is for you if…
You want a more consistent, meaningful journaling practice.
You are a coach, therapist, or helper using journaling.
You long to connect with like-hearted writers.
You crave clarity, calm, and self-connection.
You want inspiration, growth, and reflection in your life.
Let yourself journal with this kind of support
and gain benefits faster than trying to do it alone.
— A Home for Journal Writers
Our IAJW Journaling Community Brings People Together to write, grow and be inspired!
The IAJW is the world’s home for journal writers. It’s a place to deepen your practice and discover new ways to write, grow and flourish both on and off the page.
With expert guidance, fresh inspiration and a warm global community of people who understand why journaling matters, you will love being part of the IAJW.
While we meet virtually it feels like we are sitting around a table together doing what we love… pen in hand, heart to heart.
Whether you enjoy quietly writing alone or are inspired journaling within community, there’s something meaningful here for you!
Where journal writers gather to write, reflect and grow.
Now I own my story. IAJW is my second home and it is the best gift I ever gave myself. – Lyn Smith
— Why Journal?
Journaling changes lives.
There are many benefits of journaling and the IAJW community exists to help you experience every one of them in your own life.
Stop Skimming the Surface
Move beyond “This is what happened today” into exploring what you actually think, want and feel.
Break Out of Your Journaling Rut
Never run dry of ideas again. Guided prompts and themed sessions mean you always know what to write next.
Be Be the Author of Your Story
Your pages hold more than you think. They help you write the story you want to live.
Know Yourself on Purpose
Build the most important relationship you’ll ever have — the one with yourself. Self-awareness matters.
Make Decisions with Clarity not Anxiety
Your journal is like your best friend, counsellor and the smartest life advisor you have. Learn to trust yourself more.
Your Nervous System will Thank You
Journaling is a proven tool for reducing stress, processing emotions, and increasing resilience.
What You Get as an IAJW Member
Your Membership Includes Everything You Need to Journal Your Best Life
Live Monthly Member Events & Your Go-To Source for Journaling Inspiration
— Director iajw.org
Meet
Lynda Monk,
MSW, RSW, CPCC
Journaling has carried me through the hardest chapters of my life including grief, stress, uncertainty, and my deeply personal journey as an adoptee reuniting with my birth family, which I wrote about in my latest book, The Adoptee’s Guide to Healing, Wholeness & Growth (2026). It has also made me a better parent, partner, and professional. I can’t think of a single area of my life it hasn’t touched.
As a Registered Social Worker, Certified Coach, co-editor and author of multiple books on journaling, and Director of the IAJW, I bring over 30 years of lived and professional experience to this community.
When you join, you’re not just getting resources. You’re joining a community that I have poured my whole heart into, because I know from the inside out what a difference inspiration and this kind of support can make to your writing, your growth, and your whole life. It’s all waiting for you here!
— The Community Heartbeat
A rhythm you can always return to.
The communities that stay alive have one thing in common: a predictable, welcoming rhythm people can count on. Inside IAJW, your writing practice has a home it can come back to over and over again!
Weekly — Prompts and Inspiration
Deepen your journaling with writing prompts and regular inspiration in our journaling community. Show up, settle in, write. No pressure, just a creative place to land.
Monthly — Live Member Events
With our Writing Alone Together Circles, JournalTalk guest expert interviews, and the Journal Lounge you can get more out of your journaling practice. There’s something fresh every month.
Annually — World Journaling Day
The global celebration at the heart of everything IAJW stands for. Hosted by the community, for the world.
— From Our Members
Voices from the IAJW Community
Being a member of the IAJW community has given me a sense of belonging. … Lynda has created a safe place where I have been able to deepen the place inside of me where power and story intersect. … I feel seen, known and accepted.
- Gail Braverman
Joining the IAJW was the catalyst for me finding my voice, and being able to learn to write through my challenging past to a place of healing and clarity. … Now I own my story. IAJW is my second home and the best gift I ever gave myself.
- Lyn Smith
Laughter, tears, heartache, and joy are the emotions shared as part of the IAJW community. … As a lifelong journal writer, I was amazed to discover that sharing the experience with others opened a whole new world for me.
- Richard Bliss
I am so thankful that you Lynda, and IAJW, have become part of my … journey — I can’t wait to see what you and IAJW and I discover together this year.
- Tammy Fyten
While journaling has been such an important part of my life since 1974, it was pretty much a solitary journey … Now I am loving being part of a community of like-minded individuals … It has opened new doors for me, and I am immensely grateful.
- Merle R. Saferstein
You offer so much at IAJW … I feel like I sit down at a huge harvest table and feast on a very nourishing meal!!
- Stephanie Needham
I love that I can always count on all the warmth, shared ideas and camaraderie of the IAJW community. … I also appreciate the courses, tools, and spontaneous writing prompts all of which enhance my journaling, and broaden my point of view.
- Cheryl Finley Goggins
If you like writing in a journal you will like it here.
- Lucinda Swearingen
I am thrilled to be part of such a supportive group of writers who understand the value of journaling, are devoted to learning more about themselves and the world … and happily share their insights with the rest of us.
- Vicky DeCoster
I have journaled for many years, but I had no idea how journaling could be used to enhance my life through prompts and by setting intentions in what I write. … It is always exciting to see the group when we gather every month.
- Kevin Schultz
— Membership
Deepen Your Journaling Practice All Year Long.
Membership Starts at just 63¢ a Day. Less than your coffee or tea. 😊
Join now and start building a life-changing journaling habit today!
Secure checkout.
Join from anywhere in the world.
Get instant access to $144+
in bonuses the moment you join.
Being a member has helped me honor and validate my own lifelong journaling practice, and the association has helped me grow how I use journaling to nurture both myself and others. – Amy Muscoplat
— The Invitation
If you’ve been looking for a place where your writing is celebrated & you can feel inspired —
We would love to welcome you. The IAJW community is a warm, invitational space for people who believe in the power of writing for healing, insight, and personal growth.
Together, we are the global home for journal writers. And we’d love for you to be part of it!
Sometimes what you’re longing for isn’t something you have to find outside of yourself, it’s something waiting to be discovered within you.
Join us to slow down and reconnect with yourself. Remember the wisdom, resilience, and possibilities already living within you.
Join our much-loved journaling community today and discover what is waiting to emerge through your writing!
$19/month or $190/year · Cancel anytime.
— FAQs
Here are some things
you might be wondering about…
The IAJW (International Association for Journal Writing) is a global online membership community for journal writers of all levels. Members get live monthly events, an expert interview library, journaling prompts and tools, a recording library, and 20% off the IAJW store.
It is led by Lynda Monk, MSW, RSW, CPCC, and welcomes members worldwide — whether you journal quietly on your own or thrive writing in community.
IAJW membership is $19 per month or $190 per year (USD). The annual plan works out to two months free — a 17% saving versus paying monthly.
Both plans include full access to all member benefits and bonuses, and you can cancel anytime.
Membership includes three live monthly experiences — the Writing Alone Together Circle, JournalTalks guest expert interviews, and the Journal Lounge — plus an expert interview library, regular journaling prompts and tools, and a recording library so you never miss a session.
Members also receive 20% off the IAJW store, early access to programs, and exclusive member-only content.
The IAJW is led by Lynda Monk, a Registered Social Worker (MSW, RSW) and Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC) with over 30 years of experience.
She is co-editor and author of several books on journaling, and writes and speaks widely on journaling for wellness, growth, and creativity.
The membership is for aspiring, new, and seasoned journal writers alike. Whether you want to start a practice, deepen an existing one, or use journaling to gain clarity, heal, grow, or create, the community is designed for you.
It suits both people who prefer to write quietly and be inspired, and those who want to connect with fellow journal writers worldwide.
Yes, the IAJW meets entirely online, so you can take part from anywhere in the world.
Live monthly events are held virtually, and all sessions are recorded and added to the member library if you can’t attend live.
You get access to all member benefits immediately upon joining. You set up your login details when you purchase, then sign in to the member area.
There you’ll find the Community Calendar showing upcoming live events like the Writing Alone Together Circle and JournalTalks.
IAJW membership is a subscription that renews automatically at each renewal date — monthly for the monthly plan, annually for the annual plan.
You can cancel anytime. If you cancel, you keep access for the rest of the period you’ve paid for, and it simply won’t renew.
Yes, you can cancel anytime. Cancelling stops the automatic renewal, and you keep full access until the end of your current paid month or year.
There are no cancellation fees.
All prices are in US dollars (USD).
Payments appear on your statement as “International Association for Journal Writing.”
The IAJW accepts all common credit and debit cards, including Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, and JCB.
Because membership gives immediate access to digital content and downloadable bonuses, refunds aren’t offered.
If you ever have trouble accessing or using your benefits, contact the IAJW and they’ll make it right — and you can cancel future renewals at any time.
Go to IAJW.org and click “Log In to Your Account” in the top-right corner, then enter the login details you created when you joined.
That takes you to the member area with all your benefits.
Log into the member area and shop the IAJW store as normal — your 20% member discount is applied automatically at checkout.
It applies across courses, retreats, tools, ebooks, webinars, and more.