The California Writers Club
by Donna McCrohan Rosenthal
A few hours ago I read "End of the Bookstore?" - the front page above-the-fold article in Sunday's Pasadena Star-News. "For the first time, the number of e-book downloads this year is expected to exceed the number of hardback book sales," wrote reporter Ben Baeder. He went on to predict the demise of bookstores.
The media tend to overstate facts in order to beef up headlines. Perhaps we should split the difference. Maybe bookstores won't disappear, but their weakened situation will impact writers, writers clubs and the venerable California Writers Club, which recently celebrated its 100th anniversary. We in the CWC find ourselves wondering what's next.
A little over a century ago, the informal gatherings of Jack London, poet George Sterling and others led to the formation of the Press Club of Alameda. In 1909, a faction of the membership broke off to become the California Writers Club. The CWC incorporated in 1913, choosing the motto "Sail On!" from Joaquin Miller's poem, "Columbus."
During the WPA era, the California Writers Club spearheaded the planting of trees in Joaquin Miller Park in Oakland. The Writers Memorial Grove still stands, paying tribute to Ina Coolbrith, Will and Ariel Durant, Dashiel Hammett, Bret Harte, Jack London, Charles Fletcher Lummis, Edwin Markham, Joaquin Miller, Edward Roland Sill, Gertrude Stein, Charles Warren Stoddard and Mark Twain.
In 2003, the California State Assembly officially declared the third week in October of each year as California Writers Week. Today, the CWC has over 1300 members in 18 branches with conferences that host editors, authors and publishers who present lectures, workshops, and panel discussions on all aspects of writing. Some branches sponsor writing competitions open to the public, offer writing scholarships and conduct various initiatives for local youth.
Membership includes a high percentage of nationally published novelists, nonfiction authors, poets, screenwriters, and newspapers and magazines writers. Some have lectured widely, and have been subjects of interviews as well as having penned them. Their experience contributes to guiding the CWC from the individual on up to the statewide level.
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Yet the publishing world has transformed itself dramatically in the past decade, and even in the last few years. Never before has any one person had greater opportunity to reach readers everywhere. Then again, the overwhelming barrage of omnipresent information makes it more difficult than ever to draw attention to any piece, or any body, of creative work.
The CWC views this sea change as a challenge. We owe it to our members to investigate and explore each new advantage of electronic publishing while understanding the implications in terms of what we already know - for example, the importance of controlling and protecting rights and earning something resembling remuneration for commercial writing. At the same time, we have no intention of abandoning traditional publishing although we recognize the need for certain revamping.
We look to the future with both approaches in mind -- cyberboats and our more familiar vessels that keep our oars in the water. We will not, however, cling fearfully to shore. After all, we've got that motto. "Sail On!"
I just got out of a CWC meeting. We talked about the Pasadena Star-News story. The conversation reminded me that everyone has an opinion and we don't have to agree, but we benefit from the range of unique perspectives. Surrounded by writers, we don't have to struggle in a vacuum. We can learn from friends. It definitely helps.
The California Writers Club invites the public to check www.calwriters.org for activities and programs offered by their local branches.
Donna McCrohan Rosenthal |
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CWC publicity spokesperson Donna McCrohan Rosenthal has authored numerous books about popular culture, appeared on “Oprah” and lectured at the Smithsonian Institution. She writes travel articles for the New York AAA magazine "Car and Travel Monthly," Bakersfield Magazine and several newspapers, and has a monthly travel column, "In the Loop," in the Ridgecrest News Review. |
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Contact Donna at: cwccent2009@yahoo.com |
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