A Bit of History
The California Writers Club origins date back to the turn-of-the-century literary movement in the San Francisco Bay area.
The informal gatherings of Jack London (pictured left) , poet George Sterling and short story writer Herman Whitaker, among others, eventually formed the Press Club of Alameda. In 1909, a faction of the membership split off to form the California Writers Club with Austin Lewis, an English civil libertarian, as the first president. Under the leadership of Dr. William S. Morgan, a quarterly bulletin was started in 1912, and California Writers Club incorporated in 1913, choosing the motto "Sail On!" from Joaquin Miller's poem, "Columbus."
Early honorary members included Jack London, George Sterling (pictured right) , John Muir, Joaquin Miller, and the first California poet laureate, Ina Coolbrith . The first WEST WINDS, a hardcover collection of fiction by members, was published in 1914 and was illustrated by California artists. Since that time three other WEST WINDS have been published.
"Writers Memorial Grove" at Joaquin Miller Park in Oakland celebrates California's great writers with the planting of trees. The first tree was planted for Joaquin Miller. Bret Harte, Charles Warren Stoddard, Edward Roland Sill, Ina Coolbrith, Jack London, Mark Twain, Charles Fletcher Lummis, and Edwin Markham are so honored as well as Dashiel Hammett, Gertrude Stein, and historians Will and Ariel Durant. The first California Writers Club Conference was held in Oakland in 1941. Today, the conference is held at the Asilomar Conference Center in Pacific Grove, California. Attracting more than 400 writers, the conference hosts editors, authors and publishers from all over the United States and has expanded to three days of lectures, workshops, and panel discussions on all aspects of writing. At the conference one member from each branch is selected to receive a Jack London Service Award in recognition of their contributions to California Writers Club.
The general purposes of the California Writers Club are to provide a forum for literary criticism and for recognition of achievement, to discover new authors and assist them in developing their talent, and to sponsor educational meetings to promote professional growth.
Today the Club has more than 800 members in fourteen branches all over the state.
The members of California Writers Club are meeting the challenge to carry on the legacy of the original motto: "Sail On!"
~ by Barbara Truax
From the California Writers Club Central Website
California Writers Week is October 17-23 this year.
To find out more about Inland Empire CWC's planned activities
visit the CA Writers Week page of this website.
** Note - any links from that site are not endorsed, approved or reviewed by CWC. As with anything that is important to your writing, please research carefully before considering submitting your work or your money.
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