San Fernando Valley Writers

SAN FERNANDO VALLEY BRANCH – CALIFORNIA WRITERS CLUB

We are one of twenty-two branches throughout California organized and operating under the auspices of The California Writers Club.

We are a non-profit professional organization whose goal is to provide a friendly and inclusive environment for members to meet and network; to provide professional speakers who will aid in writing, publishing, and marketing members’ endeavors; and other writing-related opportunities that will further members’ writing enjoyment and careers.

Publications

VALLEY SCRIBE
The Valley Scribe is published monthly by the San Fernando Valley Writers and provided to its members at no charge.

 

This digital newsletter is full of branch news, program announcements and highlights, emerging markets, articles on writing and editing, poetry and short fiction from our members, and much, much more.

 

ANTHOLOGY
“Cascade of Pearls”, the latest in our series of anthologies of our members’ prose and poetry, was published in May 2017.

 

Copies are available on Amazon. A few copies are also available directly from the club; contact the Editor-in-Chief:

 

Rita Brown
ritakeeleybrown@yahoo.com

Meetings and Events

FOR INFORMATION AND REVIEWS ON PRIOR SPEAKERS: Check out speakers' articles in the monthly editions of the Scribe.

CWC Publications

LITERARY REVIEW
The Literary Review is a juried collection of superior poems, stories, fiction, and nonfiction by members of the California Writers Club statewide.

BULLETIN
The Bulletin is the official publication of California Writers Club. It contains news of the statewide branches, including awards and presentations, plus upcoming events and publications.

If you would like to support us, click here.

Critique Groups

Membership in one or more critique groups is open to active members of the San Fernando Valley branch of the California Writers' Club, subject to group size limitations. Each group has established general expectations for submissions and critique etiquette. Currently most groups are meeting via Zoom. Presently active groups are as follows:

Tuesday Poetry Critique Group Meetings held once a month on the 2nd Tuesday from 10:30 until 12:00 PM. Poetry only.  

Wednesday Daytime Critique Group Meetings held 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month from 11:30 to 3:00 PM. Long and short fiction, memoirs and poetry.  

Wednesday Evening Critique Group Meetings held 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month from 7:00 to 9:00 PM. Long and short fiction, memoirs and poetry.  

Friday Daytime Critique Group Meetings held on the 2nd and 4th Friday of the month from 1:00 to 4:00 PM. All genres except poetry.  

Saturday Long Fiction Critique Group Meetings held once a month on the 3rd Saturday from 1:00 to 4:00 PM. Focus on long fiction.  

Saturday Daytime Critique Group Meetings held 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Long and short fiction, memoirs and poetry.    

For further information about joining a critique group contact Marlene A. Bumgarner marlenebumgarner@gmail.com

Also visit us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/CWCSFV/

Meetings and Events

FOR INFORMATION AND REVIEWS ON PRIOR SPEAKERS: Check out speakers' articles in the monthly editions of the Scribe.

June 1st

Woody Woodburn

Coach Wooden and Me: Help Make Each Day a Masterpiece

Woody Woodburn

PLEASE NOTE THIS PRESENTATION WILL BE IN PERSON. WE WELCOME THOSE WHO WISH TO PARTICIPATE IN PERSON. WE MEET AT THE SABAN WELLNESS CENTER AT THE MOTION PICTURE & TELEVISION FUND (MPTF)

The San Fernando Valley Branch of the California Writers Club is pleased to welcome speaker, author and columnist, WOODY WOODBURN, as our dynamic and entertaining keynote presenter on Saturday, June 1 at 1:00 pm, IN PERSON, with a presentation entitled, “Coach Wooden and Me.”

Woody Woodburn has been a newspaper columnist—first in Sports, now General Interest—for forty years, including the last three decades in Southern California for The Ventura County Star and The South Bay Daily Breeze. His work has also appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies, including The Best American Sports Writing.

His nationalhonors include first place for Column Writing by the Associated Press News Executive Council, Copley News Service’s “Columnist of the Year” and its most-esteemed James S. Copley “Ring of Truth” Award, as well as being inducted into The Jim Murray Memorial Foundation’s Journalists Hall of Fame. He is also an inductee in the Ventura County Sports Hall of Fame as a journalist.

Woody’s debut novel, The Butterfly Table: An Extraordinary Journey of Seven Generations was published in March 2024 by Barking Boxer Press and is available on Amazon. He is also the author of two nonfiction books—a memoir, WOODEN & ME: Life Lessons from My Two-Decade Friendship with the Legendary Coach and Humanitarian to Help Make Each Day Your Masterpiece, and STRAWBERRIES IN WINTERTIME: Essays on Life, Love, and Laughter

You might also be impressed to hear that Woody is a “Streaker”, that is, someone has run a minimum 3.1 miles (and averaged 11.4 miles daily) every single day since July 6, 2003 (now 7,300-plus consecutive days and counting) for one of the longest officially recognized running streaks in the world!

On a philanthropic note, over the past two decades, the “Woody’s Annual Holiday Ball Drive” has collected more than $800,000 worth of new sports balls for underprivileged youth in Southern California. As his friend, Jim Cowan, once said to him, “It feels golden to help others.”

Woody lives in Ventura with his wife of 41 years, Lisa. The couple has two grown children, daughter Dallas (a successful novelist and writing coach) and son Greg, and three young grandchildren. For more information on Woody, please visit www.woodywoodburn.com.

Woody will be presenting in-person at the MPTF. We encourage you to attend so you can meet the speaker and talk about your work with other members over snacks and drinks. Looking forward to seeing you there!

All members of the CWC-SFV will receive a Zoom invitation to this presentation.

Members of other CWC branches should contact Zoom host, Anat Wenick, by noon on May 31 at SFV.CWC@gmail.com for an invitation to register.

Guests may purchase admission at www.cwc-sfv.org by noon on May 31. After purchasing admission, guests will receive a Zoom invitation.  We regret we cannot accommodate late requests.

In-person attendees do not have to register in advance. Please arrive a few minutes early to the Saban Center at Motion Picture Television Fund, 23388 Mulholland Drive, Woodland Hills, CA 91364. Guests pay $10 at the door. First visit free.

Guest Payment Via Zelle: sfv.cwc@gmail.com

In-person guests can pay at the door.

Meeting Address for in-person participants:

MPTF | Motion Picture & Television Fund
The Wasserman Campus
23388 Mulholland Drive
Woodland Hills, CA 91364

(map of campus)

Header Photo: By Downtowngal (Own work) via Wikimedia Commons | Site Design: Kay Henden | © 2022 CWC - San Fernando Valley Branch