California Writers Club

Writers of Kern (Zoom): Inclusive Characterization: Writing ‘the other’ without Stereotypes or Appropriation
2022-05-21 09:00 - 11:30 (America/Denver)
Inclusive Characterization: Writing ‘the other’ without Stereotypes or Appropriation
April 25, 2022 By Cyn Bermudez Leave a Comment

Join the Writers of Kern on Saturday, May 21, 2022, as we welcome author Michelle Cruz Gonzales as she presents her workshop Inclusive Characterization: Writing ‘the other’ without Stereotypes or Appropriation.
This workshop will advance your skills in real-world characterization and authentic representation. Gonzales will teach you how to write diverse characters in a rich and meaningful way that humanizes them.
Michelle Cruz Gonzales is an English professor and author of the memoir, The Spitboy Rule: Tales of a Xicana in a Female Punk which is taught in in colleges and Universities in colleges all over the United States. She has essay and fiction in anthologies by Putnam, PM Press, Seal Press, and Literary Kitchen, and she has published online in Longreads, The Los Angeles Review of Books, Latino Rebels, and Mitu. She recently completed a satirical novel about near-future-California that secedes from the US and forces intermarriage between whites and Mexicanos for the purpose of creating a race of beautiful, intelligent, hardworking people, and she is currently at work on a screenplay.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Gonzales was a member of three all women punk bands, Bitch Fight, Kamala and the Karivores, and Spitboy. Never interested in playing music with men, Gonzales, primarily a drummer and lyricist, toured nationally and internationally with Spitboy whose lyrics focused on women and gender issues. In 2016, Gonzales published The Spitboy Rule: Tales of a Xicana in a Female Punk Band, about her experiences as the only person of color in Spitboy and what it was like being a person of color in the predominately white Bay Area punk scene. Gonzales and Spitboy are featured in the 2017 documentary, Turn it Around: Story of East Bay Punk.
Purchase in-person tickets here: $15 members and $18 nonmembers.
Purchase online tickets here: $5 Zoom.

Central Coast (In Person): Evoke Emotion in Every Scene
2022-05-17 18:00 - 20:00 | Pacific Grove’s Juice n’ Java, 599 Lighthouse Avenue, Pacific Grove, CA
May 17, 2022
Jordan Rosenfeld
Evoke Emotion in Every Scene
From fast-paced thrillers to contemplative literary novels and everything in between, readers need to connect with your characters to create a page-turning story. Emotion is the thread that binds readers to your characters’ experience. This presentation will help you use sensory cues, powerful imagery, character demonstration, and other tools to evoke the emotion that hooks readers and creates deep, compelling characters.
Jordan Rosenfeld is author of two novels, Women in Red and Forged in Grace, as well as six books on writing craft, the bestselling Make a Scene and most recently How to Write a Page-Turner. Her freelance articles and essays have appeared in hundreds of national publications, including The New York Times. She is also a freelance manuscript editor and writing teacher. Visit Jordan’s website at: Jordanrosenfeld.net.

North State (Hybrid): Writing from a Distance: How to Get the Details You Need When You Can't Get There in Person
2022-05-16 18:00 - 20:00 | Chico Veteran’s Hall, 54 Rio Lindo Ave., Chico, CA, United States

Mendocino (Zoom): It's Smatch-Up Time Again
2022-05-15 15:00 - 17:00
It’s Smatch-Up Time Again
Join us for our popular annual event that stretches your writing imagination. One author starts a piece, another finishes it. Click here for rules and registration information. It’s one of our most fun experiences of the year. March 31st is the last date for sign-ups.

The following writers will read five minute excerpts from their 2022 anthology pieces:
Joycelyn Trigg—That’s My Girl
Robyn Koski—The Dancing Couple
Marylyn Motherbear Scott—At the Heart of Time
Norma Watkins—Bird Droppings
Barbara MacKay—Take My Hand; The Sound of Silence
Katherine Heimann Brown—The Neighbors
Nancy Harris McLelland—Safe Distance; Thinking inside the Box
Donald Shephard—A Lifetime of Borders
Naty Osa—The Word Angler
Sallie Reynolds—A Cure We Only Dream Of
Steven Sapontzis—A Clearing in the Desert (read by Les Cizek)
Peter Nash—The Bardo of Dharmata; Ode to a Banana Slug
Nona Smith—The World beyond Window A
Audrey Wells—Mask On
Leslie Wahlquist—Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice
Phillip Zwerling—I’m a Little Librarian
Holly Tannen—Die Gedanken Sind Frei (Thoughts Are Free)

Berkeley (Zoom): Taking Your Book from Unknown Entity to Bestseller
2022-05-15 13:00 - 15:00
Taking Your Book from Unknown Entity to Bestseller – A conversation on May 15, 2022

On May 15th, our annual book marketing panel will feature Quinn Ward (Six-Figure-Selling Author), Keri-Rae Barnum (Director of New Shelves Books), and Jane Ubell-Meyer (BedsideReading.com). The conversation will be moderated by Karma Bennett, Berkeley Branch president. Feel free to join for a chance to meet our panelists.
Meet our Book Marketing Panelists
Quinn Ward of Author Ad School

Quinn Ward is the six-figure author of over two dozen contemporary gay romance novels, including the best-selling Homeruns Series. They’re the senior adviser at Author Ad School, mentoring students to achieve higher profitability through Amazon Ads and optimized marketing.
You can learn more about them at quinnwardwrites.com or follow them on Facebookor Twitter @quinnwardwrites. To join their 5-Day Author Ad Profit Challenge, join their group here.
Keri-Rae Barnum of New Shelves Books

Keri-Rae Barnum is the Executive Director of New Shelves Books. Over the last few years, Keri has parlayed her 15 years of varied marketing experiences and turned her attention to book sales and marketing. Her focus and strengths are helping publishers and authors skip the “learning curve” and become truly successful at advertising, review acquisition and book sales online, in libraries, and in stores. She is a keyword expert and creator of highly successful Amazon and online ads. She can be found at www.NewShelves.com
You can learn more about New Shelves at www.newshelves.com or follow them on Facebook@NewShelvesBooks. You can also reach Keri at keri@newshelves.com or 518-261-1300, or follow her on Twitter and LinkedIn @KeriBarnum.
Jane Ubell-Meyer of Bedside Reading
Jane is the founder of Bedside Reading®, the world’s leader in placing and promoting books and authors in 5-star luxury hotels, the Hamptons, and the Media. This year, Jane celebrates 21 years of placing books in the Hamptons (through her companies, Buzz Bags and Madison & Mulholland). In 2017, Jane re-launched and re-branded the business officially launching Bedside Reading®, providing authors the opportunity to expand their fan base by placing books physical books, audiobooks, and eBooks) in luxury hotels, creating book marketing events from Aspen to Santa Monica.
You can learn more about Bedside Reading® at https://www.bedsidereading.com/.

Taking Your Book from Unknown Entity to Bestseller

Book Now

Schedule
Admission is $5 for members, $10 for non-members. Hardship pricing is available.
All events on Zoom.
12:00 Club leaders check-in
12:30 Networking in breakout rooms with members & guests
Featured Speakers
1:00 Announcements and Election
1:30 Taking Your Book from Unknown-Entity to Bestseller panel
2:30 Book Sales & Networking
See meetings for more info.
Zoom link is in the booking confirmation when you get tickets, and will be sent immediately via email upon ticket purchase.

Long Beach (Zoom): Evoking Emotion Through Character
2022-05-14 15:00 - 17:00
“Evoking Emotion Through Character” with Jordan Rosenfeld

This gathering on Zoom is for members and their guests

Jordan Rosenfeld is author of the novels Women in Red and Forged in Grace and six books on the craft of writing, most recently How to Write a Page-Turner, the bestselling Make a Scene, Writing the Intimate Character, A Writer’s Guide to Persistence, Writing Deep Scenes and Write Free. Her freelance articles and essays have been published in hundreds of publications, including: The Atlantic, The New York Times, Scientific American, Writer’s Digest Magazine, The Washington Post and many more. She is also a freelance manuscript editor, writing coach and teaches online classes. Jordanrosenfeld.net and jordanwritelife@gmail.com

Our meetings are free

Contact: info@calwriterslongbeach.org

Please note that due to COVID-19 precautions,
we have suspended holding monthly in-person meetings.

Members are currently meeting on Zoom.
Many of our speakers also invite followers on social media.

If you are interested in joining our organization,
please see the Contact page and Application tab.

San Joaquin (Zoom): "Murder at the Fox" Radio Play
2022-05-14 12:00 - 14:00
Murder at the Fox

Please join the San Joaquin Valley Writers Branch, Saturday, May 14th, noon, to listen to Murder at the Fox, a radio play created by members of the SJVW of the California Writer’s Club. Murder at the Fox takes place one dark and stormy night in 1933 at Stockton’s historic Fox Theatre. Whodunnit? stay tuned…

Leslie Liberty and the collaborative writers and producers of this “Cheddar Letter”will offer it as produced in a professional recording studio, and following will be a description of their creative process.

To receive the link to the Zoom meeting room, go to

https://sjvalleywriters.us10.list-manage.com/subscribe…

to subscribe to the newsletter.

Mt. Diablo (Hybrid): The Power of Writing with Abandon
2022-05-14 11:00 - 14:00 | Zio Fraedo’s Restaurant, 611 Gregory Ln, Pleasant Hill, CA, 94523, United States
CWC Mt. Diablo Presents
The Power of Writing with Abandon
featuring
Grant Faulkner (via Zoom)

SCROLL DOWN TO REGISTER

Grant Faulkner is the Executive Director of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and the co-founder of 100 Word Story. He’s published All the Comfort Sin Can Provide, Fissures (a collection of 100-word stories), and Nothing Short of 100: Selected Tales from 100 Word Story. He has also published two books on writing, Pep Talks for Writers: 52 Insights and Actions to Boost Your Creative Mojo, and Brave the Page, a teen writing guide. He’s also the co-host of the podcast Write-minded and the author of a weekly newsletter: Intimations: A Writer’s Discourse. Follow him on Twitter at @grantfaulkner and on Instagram at @grantfaulkner.

One of the biggest obstacles any writer faces is finishing the first draft. As Joyce Carol Oates said, “Getting the first draft finished is like pushing a peanut with your nose across a very dirty floor.” Enter National Novel Writing Month, which has generated one of the most effective approaches to writing a first draft and bounding to new imaginative heights. This session will cover the power of diving in and connecting with others in a creative community. This is your year to finish the book of your dreams. Come prepared to write—with abandon!
We will learn how to:

Banish our inner editor
Take creative risks
Set an audacious goal and a deadline
Track our daily progress
Connect with others

Zio Fraedo’s Restaurant
611 Gregory Lane
Pleasant Hill, CA 94523
(925) 933-9091

Website

Deadline to register for In-Person Attendees: Noon on May 11th.
Save $5.00 with Early Bird Registration!
Cost increases to $30 for members who register after the deadline.
Prices do not increase for in-person guests and Zoom attendees.
Meeting Cost In Person: $25 Members and $35 Non-Members
Pay at door or with PayPal. You do not need a PayPal account.
Meeting Cost Online (Zoom): $10 CWC Members and $15 Non-CWC-Members
PayPal only. You do not need a PayPal account.

Schedule

11:00 -11:15 – In-Person Check-in or join on Zoom
11:15 – 12:00 – Writers Table
12:00 – 12:25 – Lunch
12:25 – 1:00 – Business Meeting
1:00 – 2:00 – Speaker Presentation

CWC Mt. Diablo COVID-19 GUIDELINES FOR IN-PERSON MEETINGS

CWC-Mt. Diablo Branch will abide by all state and local guidelines to ensure attendees’ safety.
If you are not fully vaccinated, not feeling well, or are uncomfortable with in-person meetings, please do not attend.
Proof of vaccination may be required at entrance to the restaurant.
Masks are optional.

For complete information, see Contra Costa Health Department for new local health orders.

New For Mt. Diablo Members!
Guest Voucher Program
Give a friend $10.00 off a General Meeting or Workshop (Zoom or in-Person).

Invite a guest who has never attended Mt. Diablo meeting
Request a voucher for your guest for $10.00 off a Zoom meeting or workshop.
We will email your guest a voucher number and link to register for the meeting. We’ll also notify you that we’ve done this.
Your guest registers for the meeting, enters the voucher number, and receives a $10.00 discount.

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*CONSENT TO BE RECORDED

By registering for this meeting, you acknowledge that the meeting may be recorded. Your consent is implied when you register.
Questions? Email Marlene Dotterer at webmaster@cwcmtdiablo.org.

REGISTER: FOR CWC MT. DIABLO GENERAL MEETING (HYBRID WITH IN-PERSON SERVED MEAL OR BUFFET)

You are registering for the general meeting on May 14, 2022.

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High Desert (Hybrid): Readings from our Members
2022-05-14 10:00 - 12:00 | Jess Ranch Community Church, 11537 Apple Valley Road, Apple Valley, CA, United States
SATURDAY MAY 14, 2022 AT 10 AM
​JESS RANCH COMMUNITY CHURCH
IN PERSON MEETING
OPEN MIC READINGS SCHEDULED FOR MAY MEETING

Jim Grayson, Ann Miner, Aileen Rochester, Roberta Smith, Jenny Margotta, Mike Raff, Judith Pfeffer, Diane Neil, Mary Langer Thompson (or one of the Poemsmiths), Anita Holmes and Dwight Norris are HDCWC members who have signed up to read from their works at the May meeting at Jess Ranch Community Church in person and on Zoom.
In the tradition of Jack London and others who would meet in John Muir Park to read their stories to fellow-writers, the members of the High Desert Branch of the California Writers Club will meet on May 14th and share their most recent works.

Napa (In-Person): Integrating Nature into your Writing
2022-05-11 19:00 - 21:00 | Napa Valley Unitarian Universalists, 1625 Salvador Ave, Napa, CA
Integrating Nature into your Writing
$5 Fee for members, $7 for non-members. Students with ID – free.

Napa Valley Writers will host David George, a UC-certified Master Gardener, published writer, and past president of the California Writers Club.
Bring alive your fiction and creative non-fiction by including nature. From a brief mention of rain to complete world-building, we’ll compare examples of writing with and without nature’s details, and how including them brightens your writing like a sun-dappled morning.
David writes a monthly all-natural techniques gardening column for the Diablo Gazette, called the “Naked Gardener of Contra Costa” – Yes, it’s a metaphor! His debut book, “Granddad’s Garden – Stories of the Natural World,” is a children’s book for all reading ages.
Visit his website: www.granddadsgarden.com

South Bay (Zoom): You Can Be a Winning Writer
2022-05-09 19:00 - 20:30
You Can Be a Winning Writer with Joan Gelfand

Craft, Commitment. Community. Confidence. Winning writers draw upon all four. Praised as “the clearest roadmap to success,” the four Cs system has yielded spectacular results for CEOs and doctors, college professors and MFAs, playwrights, and poets. For over ten years, Joan Gelfand has presented the four Cs at conferences and book festivals, libraries and college lecture halls, igniting enthusiasm within writers from all walks of life
From the first draft to a marketable piece, the four Cs system explores the writer’s inner and outer worlds, making the argument for community as a key element to becoming a winning writer. Advice on building a fan base is followed by “Confidence,” a frank exploration of the blocks that keep manuscripts locked in the drawer. With a splash of humor, a dose of empathy, and real-world anecdotes, the four Cs system will inspire and encourage writers at any stage of their career. At our May Zoom meeting, Joan will share the actionable aspects of the system with us.

About:
Joan Gelfand’s reviews, stories, and poetry have appeared in over 100 national and international literary journals and magazines including Tattle, Prairie Schooner, Kalliope, California Quarterly, the Toronto Review, Marsh Hawk Review and Levure Litteraire. Joan has been a featured reader at numerous venues in the United States and Mexico, including Bowery Poetry Club, the Southern Festival of Books, The Public Library of New York, and Litquake. She is the Development Chair of the. Women’s National Book Association, a member of the National Book Critics Circle, and a juror for the Northern California Book Awards. Joan blogs for the Huffington Post and coaches writers.

When: Monday, May 9th at 7pm
Where: Zoom – Please pay by May 8th to ensure you receive the Zoom link.
After payment is received, a ZOOM link will be emailed to you 15min PRIOR to the meeting. If you don’t receive it, contact pr@southpaywriters.com
Cost:
$5 Members
$10 Non-Members
Pay via Check or PayPal
If you choose to send a check, allow a week for it to arrive. Make a check out to:
CWC-SOUTH BAY WRITERS
PO BOX 3254
SANTA CLARA, CA 95055
(PayPal will let you use a non-PayPal card. On the PayPal screen, scroll down for the button:
“Pay with Debit or Credit Card” to use your card of choice.)

Select member status and amount of meetings your are paying for

Member (1 meeting) $5.00 USDNon-Member (1 meeting) $10.00 USDMember (pre-payment for 8 meetings) $35.00 USDNon-Member (pre-payment for 8 meetings) $75.00 USD

San Fernando (Zoom): Turn Your Novel Into a Screen Play
2022-05-07 13:00 - 15:00
May 7th – Anat Golan Wenick

Turn Your Novel Into a Screen Play

The San Fernando Valley Branch of the California Writers Club is excited to feature our own board member and treasurer Anat Golan-Wenick as the featured speaker on May 7 at 1:00 pm via Zoom with a presentation titled “Turn Your Novel Into a Screen Play.”

Wenick notes, “The diversified writer is the more sought-after writer. The diversified writer also has more money generating venues. Join us to find out what you need to know when adapting the written word to the screen.

“With the wealth of streaming services and TV channels, the rise of podcasts, and online sites dedicated to specific film genres, there is an increased demand for material. There is no reason why that next blockbuster, or the next best adapted screenplay Oscar or Emmy can’t comefrom something you have written. And while you may not wish to engage in turning your own narrative into a screenplay, you may want to know a thing or two about what will happen if someone else is hired to do so.

“In this upcoming presentation, we will touch on basic rules one should follow when adapting a piece to the screen, including the do’s and don’ts. The presentation will also touch on how you can make your own narrative writing more appealing to producers.”

Anat Golan-Wenick is an optioned screenwriter and a freelance Script Analyst who provides development notes to production companies seeking to adapt material to the screen. Anat provided notes to companies like Amazon studios, Crispy Twig Productions, Stage32, and various screenplay contests. She evaluated screenplays, stage plays, fiction and non-fiction books, TV pilots and articles. Some of the projects Anat provided notes on include movies like Ex-Machina, Love and Mercy and Beautiful Disaster, which is currently in production. Prior to acareer as a Script Analyst, Anat worked as a production assistant and researcher for an educational television channel.

For additional information, visit www.thewritescript.com

Note: All CWC-SFV members will receive a Zoom invitation to this presentation. Members of other CWC branches should contact Monte Swann at cwcsfvhost@gmail.com by noon on May 6 for an invitation. Guests may purchase admission to this presentation by clickingthe button below by noon on May 6. After purchasing admission, guests will receive a Zoom link. Guests need the Zoom link to join the meeting.

Coastal Dunes (Hybrid): Writers’ Workshop & Kickoff for Summer Writing Contest
2022-05-07 10:30 - 12:30 | Nipomo Library, 918 West Tefft Street,, Nipomo, CA, United States
NOTICE: As of March 2022, we have returned to our hybrid meeting setup, meeting in-person at the Nipomo Library as well as Zoom. Please join us in person if you can at the Nipomo Library; we’d love to see you!
We have switched to an RSVP system for our Zoom meetings. If you’re NOT currently a member of Coastal Dunes CWC, and you’d like to attend our April 2nd meeting via Zoom, send us an email to request the Zoom link: Email Information Desk
Our next meeting is Saturday, May 7th, 2022, via Zoom and in-person, from 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM. Speaker and topic are below.

Facilitator: M.Diane Smith, Coastal Dunes CWC Vice-President
Topic: Writers’ Workshop & Kickoff for Summer Writing Contest
Coastal Dunes CWC will be having a writing contest the summer of 2022, with the theme, “Writing During Tumultuous Times.” Our May monthly meeting will be a writers’ workshop to encourage attendees to enter the contest, and to enhance their writing skills. The workshop exercise will be to write about the topic, “What I Learned During Covid – About Myself.” Attendees will have a handout to guide their writing, and will have the opportunity to share what they’ve written during the session.
This workshop will be facilitated by our own M.Diane Smith, Coastal Dunes CWC Vice-President and Director of Programs. She is an educator and an award-winning writer of short fiction and nonfiction. She has been published by New Times, LitReactor,Haunted Waters Press, Leodegraunce, GreenPrints, Tolosa Press, Modern Serenity,and more. As a high school teacher (and counselor), Diane thoroughly enjoyed teaching and, while psychology classes were a breeze, English classes were seen as a challenge which she met with the full force of her background in literature and her weird humor. Diane has been a member of CWC for about five years, as well as other writing groups for which she has given talks and facilitated critique groups. Given Diane’s wit and sense of humor, this promises to be a fun and entertaining workshop; don’t miss it!
Our in-person monthly meetings are held here:
Where: Community Room, Nipomo Library, 918 West Tefft Street, Nipomo, CA
Directions: From 101 northbound or southbound, take the Tefft street exit.
Proceed west for .9 mile. At Orchard, turn right into library parking lot.
Date/times: Saturday mornings (the first Saturday of each month unless a holiday weekend)
10:15 AM- 10:30 Networking
10:30-10:45 CWC Announcements
10:45 AM – 12:15 PM: Featured Presentation
12:15 – 12:45: Q&A, Book Signing if applicable
Questions about our upcoming meeting? Email Information Desk

Orange Co (In-Person): Writing Sucks, but to Have Written is the Best: Navigating the Long Road to Have Written
2022-05-07 09:00 - 11:00 | Anaheim Packing House, 440 S. Anaheim Blvd, Anaheim, CA, 92805, United States
“Writing Sucks, but to Have Written is the Best: Navigating the Long Road to Have Written”
Joe Donnelly

The California Writers Club meets monthly for our featured speaker series focused on the craft and business of writing. This month’s guest speaker is an award-winning journalist, writer and editor. He is currently Visiting Assistant Professor of English and Journalism at Whittier College and the editor of Red Canary Magazine.
He was recently profiled in the Orange County Register special section Bookish.
To learn more about the author, visit https://joedonnellywrites.com

CALIFORNIA WRITERS CLUB ORANGE COUNTY BRANCH is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit

https://joedonnellywrites.com

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Visit our new meeting location at:

Anaheim Packing House
440 S. Anaheim Blvd
Anaheim, CA 92805

Click here for visitor and parking information.

Guests are always welcome.

NorCal (In-Person): Bay Area Book Festival
2022-05-07 - 2022-05-08 | Downtown Berkeley
The Bay Area Book Fest is coming May 7 – 8. Find out more about it here.

East Sierra (In-Person): The Birth of a Book
2022-05-05 18:30 - 20:30 | Ridgecrest Presbyterian Church, 633 W. Las Flores, Ridgecrest, CA, United States
RIDGE WRITERS PRESENT THE BIRTH OF A BOOK – MAY 5
Author Danny Nielsen and publisher/editor Jennifer Crittenden will discuss the origin and process of their collaboration to bring Straight Flossin’ and Other Stories of the American West into the world, at the Ridge Writers May 5 meeting, starting 6:30 pm in the meeting room of Ridgecrest Presbyterian Church, 633 W. Las Flores. Masks requested. Public welcome. Admission free.
Straight Flossin’ is a collection of creative nonfiction essays about Niesen’s experiences working in desert landscapes, both for pleasure and for his doctoral work in Environmental Science. The essays range from hair-raising stories about skunks and fires to philosophical musings about the American Dream, water, and environmental damage. The lovely illustrations in the book were drawn by Nielsen’s wife, Sunny Noel Sawyer.
Straight Flossin’ is Nielsen’s first book and the eighth book published by Whistling Rabbit Press, Crittenden’s boutique publishing company. After publishing her own books, Crittenden wanted to use Whistling Rabbit Press to produce other worthy books by shepherding them through the same process and using some of the same vendors she had used.
It was important to her personally to protect the authors from some of the predatory or flawed practices she had seen from other publishers or author service companies. Whistling Rabbit Press uses a “traditional publishing” model in that all financial risk is assumed by the publisher, and the author is not expected to pay to be published. Other financial details will be reviewed during this evening conversation.
Crittenden and Nielsen will share their discoveries from working under this model and offer takeaways for audience members about writing, editing, publishing, and how they can have a positive experience publishing their own book.
Ridge Writers (ridgewriters@yahoo.com) is the East Sierra Branch of the 113-year-old California Writers Club (calwriters.org). The CWC traces its roots back to Jack London in the Bay Area and how has 22 branches throughout the state.

Marin (Zoom): Build Your Book Marketing Plan
2022-04-27 18:00 - 20:00
Build Your Book Marketing Plan – Simple Strategies to Cultivate Your Audience and Sell More Books
Before self-publishing her first book, Stephanie Chandler decided to build an audience online. The success of that effort led to signing several traditional book deals, corporate sponsorships, major media coverage, product sales, and a variety of other opportunities. In this content-rich presentation, she shares proven strategies that you can use to develop a marketing plan to reach your goals.
You will learn how to:

Identify and attract your ideal audience
Leverage your existing Tribe of Influence (and it’s likely bigger than you realize)
Use content marketing tactics to increase website traffic and grow your email list
Locate publicity opportunities
Implement the top five most effective book marketing strategies

About the Speaker
Stephanie Chandler is the author of several books including The Nonfiction Book Publishing Plan and The Nonfiction Book Marketing Plan. She is CEO of NonfictionAuthorsAssociation.com, a vibrant community for writers, and NonfictionWritersConference.com, an annual event conducted entirely online since 2010. A frequent speaker at business events and on the radio, she has been featured in Entrepreneur, BusinessWeek, and Wired magazine. https://NonfictionAuthorsAssociation.com
Meetings: Free for CWC Members (any branch), $5 Non-Members
CWC Marin Members: A zoom link will be sent to all Marin members a few days before the meeting.
CWC Members from Other Branches: Please email your name and preferred email to marincwc@gmail.com. Please specify if you want to attend this event or all Marin meetings through June.
Non-Members: Please register using the Paypal button below for the Zoom Link.
Recording: The recording will be available in view-only mode for one week following the meeting.
April 2022 Registration

April 2022 Meeting

Non CWC Member $5.00 USD

April 2022 Speaker Donation

Mendocino (Zoom): Writing the Feels: How Poets Render Emotion
2022-04-24 17:00 - 19:00
April is Poetry Month
Writing the Feels: How Poets Render Emotion
Michelle Peñaloza
NOTE DIFFERENT DATE & TIME:
Sunday, April 24, 5:00 p.m. Zoom
We’ll engage in close and critical reading of a few narrative poems together, examining specific craft elements to investigate different poets’ strategies to render and elicit emotion. Syntax and lineation, understatement, and the perils of abstraction and cliche will also be discussed.
Michelle Peñaloza is the author of Former Possessions of the Spanish Empire, winner of the 2018 Hillary Gravendyk National Poetry Prize (Inlandia Books, 2019). She is also the author of two chapbooks, landscape/heartbreak (Two Sylvias, 2015), and Last Night I Dreamt of Volcanoes (Organic Weapon Arts, 2015). The recipient of fellowships and awards from the University of Oregon and Kundiman, Michelle has also received support from The Palm Beach Poetry Festival, Lemon Tree House, Key West Literary Seminar, Caldera, 4Culture, Literary Arts, VONA/Voices, and the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, among others. The proud daughter of Filipino immigrants, Michelle was born in the suburbs of Detroit, MI and raised in Nashville, TN.

Marin (Zoom): Peter Coyote in conversation with Kymberlie Ingalls
2022-04-24 14:00 - 16:00
April 24, 2:00 pm, Napa Valley Writers Presents:
CWC – Napa Valley Writers invites you to a very special event: acclaimed author, actor, and narrator Peter Coyote in conversation with Kymberlie Ingalls.
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_CbkhYdCVT7G3lkvuLtmTcg
After years as an award-winning actor and narrator, Peter Coyote has recently shifted his focus back to writing. Tongue of a Crow, published in 2021, is his first book of poetry. His poems take us on a whirlwind tour of an eclectic and exciting life as an actor and Zen Buddhist priest, meandering from love affairs to marriage to divorce to the Sixties to psychedelic spirituality and beyond. Written over several decades, they read as a collage, each piece distinct and contributing to a cohesive lyric narrative.
The Lone Ranger and Tonto Meet Buddha, an intersection of performance and Zen, was also published in 2021. His earlier works were best-selling memoirs, Sleeping Where I Fall and The Rainman’s Third Cure. He is working on another book, Vernacular Zen, which will be released in 2022.
An accomplished actor in more than 130 films, Peter Coyote is also a director, screenwriter, and narrator. He won an Emmy award for his narration of the ten-part PBS series The Pacific Century. He has also narrated eight Ken Burns documentaries, including The Roosevelts for which he won a second Emmy. Coyote is a politically engaged individual who champions a multitude of causes. He is also a Zen Buddhist priest as well as a songwriter, guitarist, and singer. Coyote lives in northern California.
Kymberlie Ingalls is a freelance editor, teacher, writing coach, blogger and author, native to the San Francisco Bay Area. The creator of the successful sites Writer of the Storm and Neuroticy = A Societal Madness, she began blogging in the late 90s, before it became the phenomenon that is prevalent today.
Website/Social Media: www.petercoyote.com/join
https://www.facebook.com/RealPeterCoyote
https://www.youtube.com/c/HoshoPeterCoyoteDharma
Napa Valley Writers, a branch of the California Writers Club, currently holds meetings via Zoom. Cost is $5. Students with ID, free. For more information, contact publicity_nvw@outlook.com or see napavalleywriters.net. Always open to the public. Please register via napavalleywriters.net.

Berkeley (In-Person): Sustainable Storytelling: 4 Psychological Resilience Hacks For Your Characters—and Yourself
2022-04-24 13:00 - 15:00 | Joaquin Miller Ranger Station
Sustainable Storytelling: 4 Psychological Resilience Hacks For Your Characters—and Yourself

Ranger Station (Joaquin Miller Park), United States, 94602

Sun 24th April 2022

Some of us write to process difficult times in our lives. Some of us write to help others out of difficulty. Some of us do the job of sending our characters to hell and back! In this interactive storytelling workshop, novelist/playwright/cartoonist/psychology writer Kristen Caven will teach four positive psychology principles of post-traumatic growth that will energize your writing, inspire your readers, and actually help you live longer (so you can finish all your work)! After this short presentation, writers will be able to discuss these activities in breakout groups and return for Q&A.
Kristen Caven is the author of Perfectly Revolting: My Glamorous Cartooning Career, The Reason She Left, and The Souls of Her Feet; and co-author of On the Wings of Self-Esteem, The Bullying Antidote, and the forthcoming 4th edition of The Winning Family: Where No One Has to Lose. She blogs nationally for ADDitude Magazine, and has spoken at AWP and the San Francisco Writers Conference. Locally, she’s been a featured presenter at StorySlam Oakland, Dirty Old Women, and Full of Crow, and her plays Be Mused and The Dirndl Diaspora both feature Oakland happenings. Kristen is also a CWC Jack London Award Winner and a certified Positive Psychology practitioner who teaches fitness, happiness, and nutrition at the Flab Lab Department of Vitality. She is the past president of the CWC Berkeley Branch and the current Writer in Residence at Joaquin Miller Park, where this event will be held. You can come up the the Park and join Kristen on a monthly writing retreat or drawing party for her forthcoming children’s book, “Joaquin Miller Went Walkin’”. Learn more at www.kristencaven.com.
Along with the “Sustainable Storytelling” Speaker Series led by Kristen Caven (available on Zoom), there will be an (optional) Earth Day Event, Bring Your Own Basket of Chow, “Joaquin Miller Went Walkin'” Drawing Party, and “A Breath of Fresh Air” open mic if you attend in-person at Joaquin Miller Park.

Sustainable Storytelling: 4 Psychological Resilience Hacks For Your Characters—and Yourself
Ranger Station (Joaquin Miller Park)
CA

Sun, Apr 24 2022,
1:00PM – 3:00PM

BOOK NOW

50+ tickets available

Fremont (Zoom): Dancing Poetry & Global Peace
2022-04-23 14:00 - 16:00

Inland Empire (Hybrid): Super Sleuthing: Internet Research Secrets Everyone Should Know
2022-04-23 11:30 - 13:00 | Arlington Branch of the Riverside Public Library, 9556 Magnolia Avenue, Riverside, CA, United States
Super Sleuthing: Internet Research Secrets Everyone Should Know
By Geri Spieler
How do you start your research process? What words do you use to find information? Do you know how to gauge when a website is genuine? In this workshop we will introduce the methods that combine the main topics of “Online Research Methods” that are designed to include several methodologies to equip you with the skills and tools to prepare you to find real information and be able to discern it is reliable.
In this session you will learn:

How to create better keyword and word-phrase Google searches using search strings
How to avoid “Disambiguation.”
What is the “Deep Web” and how can it help the research process.
List of Deep Web search engines and databases.
What is the difference between search engines, metasearch engines, directors, and portals and how can it help my research?
How to avoid “Filter Bubbles.”
What are invisible Web sites and why can’t we use them?
Is people-search ethical? How can we use it for our purposes?

Geri Spieler is an author, journalist, investigative reporter, and former research director for Gartner. She has written for the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Forbes, Huffington Post, and TruthDig, an award-winning investigative reporting website.
Her creative nonfiction book, Taking Aim at the President, The Remarkable Story of the Woman Who Shot at Gerald Ford, (Macmillan/St. Martin’s Press) has been optioned for a movie. Her latest book, San Francisco Values: Common Ground For Getting America Back on Track, was published by Palmetto Publishing Group in July 2019. Her new book of historical fiction, Regina of Warsaw is based on her grandmother who escaped Russian pogroms at the turn of the century.
Geri is the president of the California Writers Club San Francisco Peninsula branch, winner of the Louise Boggess award, member of the Society of Professional Journalists, the Authors Guild, Women’s National Book Association, the Internet Society, and Book Critics Circle.

Central Coast (In Person): Gordo, a Steinbeck Country Comedy in 11 Tragic Chapters
2022-04-19 18:00 - 20:00 | Pacific Grove’s Juice n’ Java, 599 Lighthouse Avenue, Pacific Grove, CA
Jaime Cortez
Gordo, a Steinbeck Country Comedy
in 11 Tragic Chapters
Join us as Jaime Cortez reads and discusses selections from his short story collection, Gordo. Set in a migrant workers camp near Watsonville, California, in the 1970s, the stories, alternately tragic and comical, introduce readers to a cast of rambunctious kids, rebellious adolescents, and the farm workers whose labor powers the mighty agricultural industry of central California while offering a sweet frankness about serious matters: Who belongs to America and how are they treated? How does one learn decency when laborers, grown adults, must fear for their lives just to bring home a paycheck and better their lives? What does the term “all-American” truly mean?
Jaime Cortez is a writer and visual artist based in Watsonville and San Francisco. His fiction, essays, and drawings have appeared in diverse publications that include Kindergarde: Experimental Writing For Children, No Straight Lines(a 40-year compendium of LGBT comics), and Infinite Cities (an experimental atlas of San Francisco, edited by Rebecca Solnit). Cortez often combines humor and tragedy to tell stories of resilient survivors on the margins of the economy, the law, and social acceptability. His debut collection of short stories, Gordo, was published in August 2021 and has garnered glowing reviews from the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and National Public Radio.

North State (Hybrid): The Hero's Journey
2022-04-18 18:00 - 20:00 | Chico Veteran’s Hall, 54 Rio Lindo Ave., Chico, CA, United States

Tri-Valley (Hybrid): Lessons in Literary Law
2022-04-16 14:00 - 16:00
Kelley Way will present “Lessons in Literary Law” at the Tri-Valley Writers April 16, 2022 meeting. Every author should know their rights in relation to their work. This presentation looks at five areas of law – copyright, trademark, right of privacy and publicity, defamation, and contracts – and talks about how to protect your rights in these areas while avoiding infringing on the rights of others.
This meeting will be a hybrid meeting. Registrants have the choice to meet in person at the Four Points by Sheraton or online.
Join us on Saturday, April 16, 2022 at 2:00 p.m.
REGISTRATION DETAILS:
There is a two-step RSVP & Payment process:

An Email RSVP is REQUIRED at reservations@trivalleywriters.org by Friday, April 15. (Please specify your attendance preference: i.e. In-Person or Zoom).
Payment is REQUIRED (see below)

Meeting Cost: $14 CWC Members, $18 non-CWC member, $6 CWC students (ages 14-22 w/school ID), and $10 non-CWC students

Speaker Meeting

CWC Member $14.00 USDNon-CWC Member $18.00 USDCWC Student Member $6.00 USDNon-CWC Student $10.00 USD

Name & Email Address (Req.)

Kelley Way was born and raised in Walnut Creek, California. She graduated from UC Davis with a B.A. in English, followed by a Juris Doctorate. Kelley is a member of the California Bar, and an aspiring writer of young adult fantasy novels. She practices copyright, trademark and estate planning law at The Law Office of Kelley A. Way. Kelley can be contacted at kaway@kawaylaw.com.

CONSENT TO BE RECORDED
By registering for this meeting, you acknowledge that the meeting may be recorded. Your consent is implied when you register. You have the option once you’re in Zoom to use video or not.
All registrants will receive an email 1-2 days after the event with the timed link to the recording of the meeting. This email is sent via a “bcc” list—to adhere to your privacy. If you do not receive the email, please check your email’s spam/junk or promotions folder.
NOTE: Zoom limits our meetings to the first 100 registrations.
Questions? Email Jordan Bernal at president@trivalleywriters.org.

Redwood (Hybrid): Poetry, Music, and the Language of the Spirit
2022-04-16 13:00 - 15:00 | Finley Communiy Center, 2060 W. College Ave., Santa Rosa, CA, United States
IN-PERSON & ZOOM MEETINGS
Join us on Saturday, April 16, at 1 p.m.
Register, below, for a Zoom link or to attend in person at the Finley Center.

Poetry, Music, and the Language of the Spirit
with
Diane Frank

Diane Frank will read from her new book, While Listening to the Enigma Variations: New and Selected Poems. A Poetics Talk will follow with ideas about poetry as the language of the soul, virtuoso editing techniques, and how to write poems inspired by music. She will share the poems that are most important to her and ideas about poetry to help and inspire those who attend.

Diane Frank is the author of eight books of poems, three novels, and a photo memoir of her 400-mile trek in the Nepal Himalayas. Listening to the Enigma Variations: New and Selected Poems was published in 2021 by Glass Lyre Press. She is also editor of two bestselling anthologies: Fog and Light: San Francisco through the Eyes of the Poets Who Live Here and Pandemic Puzzle Poems. Diane lives in the San Francisco Bay Area where she dances, plays cello in the Golden Gate Symphony, and creates her life as an art form. Blackberries in the Dream House, her first novel, won the Chelson Award for Fiction and was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.
DianeFrank.net

*WHAT IS ZOOM?
Zoom is the most popular online platform for virtual presentations, meetings, get-togethers, and so on. Just go to Zoom.us and download the free app on your phone, iPad, or computer (camera required to participate). If you can’t join us live, you will be able to download the presentation for viewing/sharing at your leisure (and don’t we have plenty of that!).
ZOOM UPDATE, 5.0
If you already downloaded Zoom, before you join the next Redwood Writers meeting online, you are required to download their encryption security update. Go to Zoom.us for more information.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

QUESTIONS?

MEETING DAY ZOOM LOGIN ISSUES: If you need help logging into the Zoom meeting on the day of the meeting, please call or send a text to Judy Baker at 707-210-6696.
PRIOR TO MEETING DAY: Once you click the registration button, above, the registration process offers additional meeting information, and signup and login instructions. Moreover, you will receive confirmation and reminder emails. (Please check your spam folder if you don’t see those emails.)
If you still have questions regarding the Zoom signup process, please send an email to membership@redwoodwriters.org.

Sacramento (Zoom): The Art of the Interview—How to Succeed at Interviews Without Really Lying
2022-04-16 13:00 - 14:00
The Art of the Interview—How to Succeed at Interviews Without Really Lying
Free Monthly Meeting, 1-hour Zoom presentation
(includes Q&A)
Saturday, April 16, 2022
Presentation 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.
Sign-in and social time 12:30-1:00

with Ed Goldman
Syndicated columnist, author of five books, professionally produced playwright,
composer and lyricist, visual artist
In nearly 52 years as a professional writer, Ed has interviewed senators, governors, captains of industry, lawyers, film stars and (literally) ditch diggers. They all have one thing in common: they want to yell you their stories. Here’s how to encourage them to do so—and then, how to write about it.
You will learn:

How to put interviewees at ease (and where)
How to make the most of your and their time
How to separate the wheat from the chaff—i.e., the truth from the hype
How to prepare
How to follow up

Ed Goldman is a writer, painter, and composer. He has worked for the Long Beach Press-Telegram, the Los Angeles Times, Sacramento Magazine, Comstock’s Magazine, the Sacramento Business Journal, and The Goldman State. He has published five books, written two professionally produced plays, written for movies and television, and taught college courses in journalism, broadcasting and public relations.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE MEETING

SF Peninsula (Hybrid): The Ins and Outs of Book Proposals
2022-04-16 10:00 - 12:00 | Sequoia Yacht Club, 441 Seaport Ct., Redwood City, CA, United States
April Meeting Live
and Online

Saturday, April 16th
10 AM – 12 PM
Registration for this meeting is required.

Redwood City Yacht Club
441 Seaport Ct.
Redwood City, CA 94063

— Agenda —

10:00 AM – Mingle in breakout rooms with fellow writers
Breakout rooms open at 10… join when you want.
Note that our main meeting and Think Tank are shifted slightly later to accommodate speaker availability.

10:30 AM – Club business

11:00 AM – Speaker: Sally Collins

REGISTER NOW

The Ins and Outs of Book Proposals

About Sally Collings

Former non-fiction publisher for HarperCollins and editorial director for Amber Books, Sally Collings is a ghostwriter and developmental editor, specializing in non-fiction book proposals.

Her author clients are represented by leading literary agencies, including Park & Fine Literary & Media, Talcott Notch Literary, The Palgon Company, and Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. Some have published with HarperBusiness, St. Martin’s Press, Simon & Schuster, and Chronicle Books, while others have successfully self-published their books or worked with leading hybrid publishers.

Born in Australia, she now calls Northern California home, and she gets her kicks running through the Santa Cruz Mountains.

The Ins and Outs of Book Proposals
Book proposals are the open secret of the publishing industry. For most non-fiction book submissions, it’s what agents and editors want to see—not a full manuscript. More than just a pitch document for literary agents and publishers, your book proposal will become the blueprint for your book as it moves along the path to publication: explaining to agents, editors, cover designers and publicists why your book is needed, what it will do for its readers, how they will discover it, and why you are the ideal author to write it. In this event, book proposal specialist Sally Collings explains the what, why, and how of book proposals. She will dispel some of the most common myths and provide a clear guide to writing your non-fiction book proposal.

Writers of Kern (In-Person): Writing Childhood
2022-04-16 09:00 - 11:30 | Hodel’s Country Dining, 5917 Knudsen Drive, Bakersfield, CA, 93308, United States
Featured Speaker: Deborah A. Lott | Writing Childhood

When: The 3rd Saturday of the month, 9:15-11:15 am. Join us 30 minutes early for breakfast and writer’s fellowship, January, February, April and June-November.
Where: Hodel’s Country Dining, 5917 Knudsen Drive, Bakersfield, CA 93308.
Fee: $10 for members, $15 for guests. Both include buffet breakfast. Pay at the door or skip the line and pay online.

Napa (Zoom): Writing in the Archives: How to Harness the Archives to Write Poetry, Biography, and Memoir
2022-04-13 19:00 - 21:00
Writing in the Archives:
How to Harness the Archives to Write Poetry, Biography, and Memoir

Napa Valley Writers will host Iris Jamahl Dunkle, an award-winning writer and Poet Laureate of Sonoma County 2017-2018.
The archives. In them, we can find the secret history. We can begin to see the past as it really was. For the past decade, Iris has been writing poetry and biography from the archives, both public and private. Come join her as she talks about her work and teaches you how to pursue your own research.
Iris wrote the first full-length biography on Charmian London, Jack London’s wife, Charmian Kittredge London: Trailblazer, Author, Adventurer published by the University of Oklahoma Press in 2020. Her fourth collection of poems, West: Fire: Archive was published by The Center for Literary Publishing in 2021. Iris teaches at Napa Valley College and is the Poetry and Translation Director of the Napa Valley Writers’ Conference.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iris.dunkle
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/irisdunkle/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/irjohnso

Nominal $5 Fee (+small PayPal charge) for Virtual Meeting. Please Register/Pay with the Zoom link below:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_xnFpoV7KRzSfJk2OUG-SZw
Please register before 6:00 pm day of event. That way, if you have an issue, Sarita Lopez can help you (her contact information is below). After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. Sometimes the PayPal wheel will spin for a while, but it should go through in a minute or less. If it doesn’t, we recommend you try another browser or you can contact Sarita Lopez before the day of the event at lopezs10@live.com and she will find a way to get you the registration link.
*This meeting may be recorded (audio/video) and photographed for the general usage of Napa Valley Writers, including but not limited to purposes of publicity, social media, and archives. By entering into the meeting or logging in, you hereby submit your acknowledgment and consent to Napa Valley Writers and the California Writers Club. These recordings and photographs may not be used or shared for personal use without permission of the board of Napa Valley Writers or its parent organization, California Writers Club.
