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.

May 4th

Luis J. Rodriguez

THE TRANSFORMATIVEEXPERIENCE OF WRITING MY MEMOIR

Luis J. Rodriguez

PLEASE NOTE THIS PRESENTATION WILL BE ON ZOOM, BUT 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 award-winning author, poet, memoirist and activist, LUIS J. RODRIGUEZ, as our keynote speaker on Saturday, May 4 at 1:00 pm, via Zoom, to talk about the life-changing experience of writing his memoir, Always Running, La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A.

A recipient of the California Arts Council Legacy Fellowship and the Los Angeles Times’ Robert Kirsch Lifetime Achievement Award, Luis is the author of sixteen books. He is a novelist and memoirist, a short story writer, children’s book writer, poet and essayist. He is also a community and urban pace activist, mentor, healer, youth and arts activist, husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather!

Luis’s best-selling memoir, Always Running, is considered a ‘fearless classic’ that chronicles his early life as a young Chicano gang member surviving the dangerous streets of East L.A. in the ‘60s and ‘70s. The book was made into a sell-out play.

It Calls You Back is the ‘deeply insightful and beautifully written’ follow-up -  an odyssey through love, addiction, revolutions, and healing of a former teen gang member, and was a finalist for a 2012 National Book Critics Circle Book Award. 

From 2014-15, Luis was Poet Laureate of L.A. County. To Luis, poetry is soul talk, a prophetic act, a powerful means to enlarge one’s presence in the word. His latest poetry collection is Borrowed Bones.

In his short story collection, The Republic of East LA: Stories, Luis gives eloquent voice to his neighborhood, squeezing humor from the lives of people who are not ready to sacrifice their dreams due to circumstance.

Luis is the founding editor of Tia Chucha Press, and co-founder with his wife, Trini, of Tia Chucha’s Centro Cultural & Bookstore in the San Fernando Valley. Luis is also the founding director of Barking Rooster Entertainment, which produces content for the Internet, TV, film, and books. He hosts a podcast with his wife Trini, The Hummingbird Cricket Hour. http://hchpodcast.libsyb.com

Over the past 40 years, Luis has traveled extensively in the United States and Canada, Central and South American, and Europe to speak, give poetry readings, and conduct indigenous ceremonies; including at prisons, jails and juvenile lock-ups. His political aspirations have seen him make a run for California Governor in 2014 and 2021, and for the Los Angeles School Board, at the age of twenty-two!

Dedicated to his indigenous roots and Native American spirituality, Luis’s Mexika (Aztec) name is Mixcoatl Itztlacuiloh (Seven Rabbit), and his Navajo given name is Naayee’ Neezghanii, which means Monster Slayer. From Our Land to Our Land are essays from the imaginings of a Native Xicanx Writer.

If you would like to know more about this fascinating, multi-award-winning author, visit www.luisrodriguez.com.

While Luis will be joining us via Zoom on the big screen at the MPTF, we encourage you to attend in-person to meet 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 April 5th at SFV.CWC@gmail.com for an invitation to register. Guests may purchase admission at www.cwc-sfv.org by noon on April 5th. After purchasing admission, guests will receive a Zoom invitation.  We regret we cannot accommodate late requests.

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