The Berkeley Branch is the founding branch of the oldest professional writers’ club West of the Mississippi.
CWC Berkeley Branch welcomes all California Writers Club members and guests to our monthly speaker program and affordable workshops on the art and business of writing.
Upcoming Events:
Literary Lawyer Nicholas Jollymore will speak about:
In this interview, this Sunday’s featured member Tim Jollymore draws on experience and insight to share his take on what writing and “the writing boom” is about. What steps to take and reflections to make are needed before one can understand what path to follow?
Tim Jollymore is author of five books. Listener in the Snow is an adventure set in snowy Northern Minnesota. He’s written two mysteries Observation Hill, a novel of class and murder and The Advent of Elizabeth.Lake Stories and Other Tales is a story and essay collection, while People You’ve Been Before is a novel exploring “adventures in sobriety.” He has published book of poems titled Christmas in the Winter Garden. He is presently at work on a sixth: The Second Confession of Saint Augustine, a historical novel set in North Africa at the 5th Century end of the Roman empire.
For this work, Jollymore has received four independent publishing awards. He was a two-time finalist in the North Eastern Minnesota Book Awards and he’s garnered high praise from Publishers’ Weekly and repeatedly from the Saint Paul Pioneer Press.
Jollymore was born in Duluth, Minnesota and took his English degrees at the university there. He relocated, mid-life, to the San Francisco Bay Area, pursuing business, architecture, and teaching. Learn more about Tim Jollymore’s books at finnswaybooks.com
Getting to Know Tim Jollymore
What
is the most important piece of writing advice that you could give to
other writers?
Don’t take advice. Listen to YOUR muse. Strive for art.
Tim Jollymore
I tell you; don’t take advice. If you must, scrutinize each bit. Listen to YOUR muse. That is why you take walks in the morning. Check to see that your “advisors” don’t have their hands too deeply in your pockets, for some only see the currently swelling ranks of writers as a financial opportunity for them. Strive for art. Be unafraid to liberally use adverbs.
What
are your writing habits?
I
write from 9:00 to noon and then do whatever I want! Henry Miller,
though, in his 11 commandments of writing, says, “Don’t be a dray
horse. Live life . . . drink if you want to.” So, I can tell you
(and Henry) I do not write every day. I travel, “I laze and loaf
and invite my soul,” but when I am working it is nine to noon,
five days a week.
What
writers inspire you?
It
is not the writer but his/her writing that inspires me. Living
writers whose writing interests me are Pers Petterson, Richard
Flannigan, John Krakauer, Karl Ove Knausgaard, Paul Auster, and
Sigrid Nunez.
I find CWC membership a great place to land in a storm, or, really, during a calm.
Tim Jollymore
My
“Dead Novelists’ Society” includes William Faulkner, John
Steinbeck, Henry James, Charlotte Bronte, and Mark Twain.
Where
are you in your writing career?
Of five books published since 2014 (one in its third printing and one in its second) the most successful is Listener in the Snow, my debut novel. So be it.
My
plans extend a couple of years with The Second Confession of Saint
Augustine, and, continuing in a different vein of historical
fiction and returning to my Minnesota topics, is Missabe Miss,
a World War Two, home-front novel.
Much
of my writing shares a devotion to characters of a common sort,
everyday people, who are shown through their interior lives. I
adhere to the practice of stylistic crafting experimentation with
points of view, and the condensation of storytelling into three or
four days.
How
long have you been a part of CWC-BB, and what does membership mean to
you?
I’ve
been with CWC for five years, a dual member for two. I find CWC
membership a great place to land in a storm, or, really, during a
calm. It is also a distraction from writing. I avoid becoming simply
a denizen of an organization. I want to write!
How
do you manage your writing life?
Min
Kamp (my struggle), to use Knausgaard’s title, is a battle
between publication activities and promotion of my work which
incorporates traveling, and actual hours spent writing. Min Frelse
(my salvation) is that the great pile of ideas, characters, and
themes continues to grow and to wait for my attention.
Meet Tim Jollymore this Sunday at our next meeting
For full details, such as schedule, directions, raffle info and more, please see the post announcing this Sunday’s event. In addition to getting to know featured member Tim Jollymore, this meeting will offer legal advice for literary contracts, as well as assistance with craft and marketing.
Full Scheule of Events for THIS SUNDAY’S MEETING
12:00 pm Setup 12:30 Doors open & member services 1:00 Featured Member: Tim Jollymore 1:15 Keynote Speaker: literary lawyer Nick Jollymore (yes, they’re related!) 2:00 Announcements & Networking 3:00 Marketing Group* 4:00 Craft Group* 5:00 The End
We are so proud of all of our members who are reading at or hosting at LitCrawl this year! One of the most anticipated literary nights of the year, San Francisco’s Lit Crawl is a massive, one-night literary pub crawl throughout the city’s Mission District. Lit Crawl SF brings together 500+ authors and close to 10,000 fans for the world’s largest free pop-up literary event. Started in 2004, Lit Crawl cultivates a unique, resonant brand: smart and silly, worldly and wacky events presented in venues usual (bars, cafes, galleries, and bookstores) and unusual (police stations, tattoo parlors, barbershops, and laundromats).
Grab a map and we’ll see you at one or more of these events!
5-6pm:
Amos White hosts Bay Area Generations, which presents "Two Turntables and a Microphone": six writers and poets read their poetry and tell their stories before a live DJ mix at Harrington Galleries Furniture Store, 599 Valencia St, San Francisco, CA 94110, USA
Gark Mavigan reads at LitCamp: the Comeback at Four Barrel Coffee, 375 Valencia St, San Francisco, CA 94103, USA
6:30-7:30pm:
Cristina Deptula hosts Synchronized Chaos: Five published authors read short new pieces they have written inspired by the work of an aspiring author, who joins them in reading onstage. CWC readers include Christine Volker, Aqueila Lewis, Kristen Caven, Henry Hitz & Sheryl Bize-Boutte!
8-9pm:
Paul Corman-Roberts hosts Babar in Exile, Gents Barber Club, 3041 24th St, San Francisco, CA 94110, USA
Thaddeus Howze reads with Time Travel: A Literary and Poetic Exploration to The Next Dimension at Fingersnaps Media Arts 3527 20th St, San Francisco, CA 94110, USA
Aqueila Lewis also reads with Women Who Submit at Haus Coffee 3086 24th St, San Francisco, CA 94110, USA
Writers can get into legal trouble without knowing it. Learn best practices and get the basics about libel, invasion of privacy, copyright infringement, subpoenas, confidential sources, and the California Shield Law from Literary Lawyer Nicholas J. Jollymore.
Come for the whole meeting or part of it! Cover charge for the whole afternoon is $5 for members, $10 for non-members.*
Admission includes 1 free raffle ticket but PLEASE PLAN TO PURCHASE MORE! Only $1 each or 6 for $5, every ticket supports the club’s equity program. You can win a book written by our club authors!
Speaking of which, members please bring one of YOUR published books (‘hurt’ and proof copies ok) to donate to our raffle. We decorate the room with US! Last year’s books will be donated to the Prisoner’s Literature Project this year.
Please note our NEW SCHEDULE!
12:00 pm – come help set up, or volunteer for the front table.
12:30 Doors open for coffee, snacks & networking. Thank you Trader Joe’s for donated snacks! (Extra treats are always lovely!)
1:00 Tim Jollymore is our "Opening Act" — we finally get to a glimpse at his new book, People You’ve Been Before! 1:15 Tim’s brother Nick Jollymore is our keynote speaker.
2:00 Club Business, Networking & transition to our breakout groups*
3:00 Marketing Success Group with Kymberlie Ingalls – check your to-do list and report your achievements!
4:00 Craft Discussion Group with Henry HItz – what deep dive will we take with Henry today? Note: if you aren’t staying for the breakout groups, please respectfully take your networking outside and keep voices low. We’d also love a few volunteers to help with QUIET cleanup tasks!
* Support groups are members-only but guests may audit once
** Empty pockets? Ask about our sponsored guest program at the door. We are writers helping writers, after all!
Our meetings are right off 980 in downtown Oakland, at beautiful Preservation Park. Just off 12th Street, naturally you can get there from the 12th St. BART station. Those with limited ability can use the parking lot off of MLK Way; otherwise there should be plenty of FREE parking within the park and on surrounding streets.
Writers can get into legal trouble without knowing it. Learn best practices and get the basics about libel, invasion of privacy, copyright infringement, subpoenas, confidential sources, and the California Shield Law from Literary Lawyer Nicholas J. Jollymore.
About Nick Jollymore
Nick Jollymore has run a legal practice out of a home office since he moved to San Francisco in 2010. Prior to that he was a litigator at Rogers & Wells (now Clifford Chance) in New York, a staff lawyer at Simon & Schuster, and a staff lawyer at the former print and digital publisher Time, Inc. For 18 years he taught a course in Mass Media Law at Fordham University School of Law in New York. He has represented the writers and editors as well as the corporate owners of the Associated Press, the New York Times, Newsweek, Time, Sports Illustrated, Fortune, InStyle, People and Entertainment Weekly (magazines and their websites) and . . . from 1978 to 1983, The National Enquirer. Nick was a journalist for five years in New Jersey (UPI) before going to law school
12:00 pm Setup 12:30 Doors open & member services 1:00 Featured Member: Tim Jollymore 1:15 Keynote Speaker: Nick Jollymore 2:00 Announcements & Networking 3:00 Marketing Group* 4:00 Craft Group* 5:00 The End
$5 for members, $10 for non-members*
Coffee is provided, bring cookies and treats to share!
Admission includes 1 free raffle ticket
PLEASE PLAN TO PURCHASE A RAFFLE TICKET! Only $1 each or 6 for $5, every ticket supports the club’s equity program. You can win a book written by our club authors!
* Support groups are members-only but guests may audit * Empty pockets? Ask about our sponsored guest program at the door. We are writers helping writers, a welcoming community.
Our meetings are right off 980 in downtown Oakland, at beautiful Preservation Park. Just off 12th Street, naturally you can get there from the 12th St. BART station. Those with limited ability can use the parking lot off of MLK Way; otherwise there should be plenty of FREE parking within the park and on surrounding streets.
Join us for a casual conversation with a leading light in the new book industry.
Kathy Meis is passionate about helping authors break through the noise. Come hear her advice for creating a strong marketing foundation at any stage of writing your book—from first draft to reboot. Bring your books and your questions for kind guidance.
Kathy Meis is the founder and CEO of Bublish, the world’s first complete publishing platform with built-in marketing where authors can write, promote, publish and track their work in one place. Kathy has worked for iconic editorial brands as CBS and Forbes, Inc. and is a sought-after expert on independent publishing, author branding, book marketing and disruption in the publishing industry, Kathy has spoken at Book Expo America, San Francisco Writers Conference, Women in Media, ALLi’s Indie Author Fringe conference, GrubSteet, PubSmart, AuthorYOU, and IndieRecon, among others.
$10 for CWC members, $20 for non-members. No-host dessert, coffees & cocktails. Cash, check, or Paypal. Reservations required, write to berkeley.cwc at gmail.com.
WRITERS BEWARE! There is a rash of laptop raids going on right now. Small groups of unarmed thieves are bursting into coffee shops and snatching 1-3 laptops then dashing out again. They use the element of surprise and make their escapes in rented Gig or Zip cars. The perpetrators are typically teenagers. Male and female. If you are a writer or someone who uses your laptop in a public place, here are some guidelines for protection:
BE ALERT for for groups of 2-3 teens looking in windows of, or gathering in doorways of coffeeshops. Watch their eyes – they shift from side to side, scanning the room. They do NOT look relaxed and social or work-focused like most people entering coffee shops.
If you see this happening, CLOSE YOUR LAPTOP. If you require a password to open it, this will slow them down from accessing your information. (Be sure you are backing up to the cloud so you don’t lose work.) CLUTCH ONTO IT or put it out of sight.
TAKE OUT YOUR CAMERAif you feel safe doing so, and aim it at the group. If they see several cameras on them, they may leave.
SIGNAL other writers to be on alert with a sound (think of groups of meerkats or other prey animals)—a whistle, a loud cough, a word or phrase like “Heads up” or “Watch out” or “Hey.” Listen for signals from other writers.
ENGAGE.If you are close to a doorway and see a group forming, a friendly hello can go a long way in prevention. Remember these are teens who might be about to make a bad choices, and it takes a village to say “we don’t put up with this, kids.” Relax and say “Hi, What’s up?” Say something embarrassing like “Hey, don’t I know your mom?” Or, “Cool hoodie, dude! Love the camo!” Say something loud that draws attention to them, so if something does happen, you have more witnesses, and can describe them. Sometimes baristas, if they are not busy, will all go out and talk to these groups. It works.
Also keep your eyes out for idling cars parked on sidewalks with open doors. Alert the staff if you see this, tell them to call the police. Coffee shops know about this and are looking for ways to protect their customers without scaring them off. Pay attention when they give warnings. This is a situation where the community can create defensive/protective energy, and stop crime before it starts. Sometimes it takes a village to make kids think twice about what choices they are making.
DON’T BE AFRAID, BE AWARE!
This Public Service Announcement is brought to you by the California Writers Club. Please share!
The California Writers Club is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization open to writers in every genre and at every level of experience, from novice to notable. Our purpose is to promote fellowship and to provide practical information that supports all members in achieving their literary and professional goals. OUR MONTHLY SPEAKER PROGRAM
is open to the public Third Sundays
at Preservation Park
MEETING SCHEDULE
12:00 Setup
12:30 Doors open, networking & member services
Featured Speakers
1:00 - 1:15 Featured Member
1:15 - 2:00 Keynote Speaker
2:00 - 3:00 Raffle, Announcements & Networking
Breakouts
3:00 - 4:00 Marketing Group*
4:00 - 5:00 Craft Group*
* members only
Come to our meetings and enjoy our programs, which are open to the public. Enter a contest. Become a member and enjoy all the benefits, which include critique groups of all kinds, a monthly newsletter, and the ability to share your news with a supportive community as your writing career takes off.
Was Nick Jollymore REALLY in People magazine? Bring all your questions to our meeting!
