“Breaking the Book” with Michael Lucker on September 18th, 2022
Wanna turn your book into a movie? Now you can! But adaptation is a craft unto itself. Step one is: Breaking the Book. Distilling 400 single spaced pages into 100 double-spaced. What do you use? What do you lose? Join us for an hour of fun-filled discussion learning how to crack the spine on your novel and mine the essentials for turning it into a powerful, sellable, two-hour movie.
About Michael Lucker
Keynote Speaker Michael Lucker
Michael is a professional screenwriter ...
Summer Social for Members – Sunday, 8 / 21
Hello Berkeley Branch Members,
On August 21st, after the Board Retreat, we will have our first in-person Summer Social in several years. The Summer Social will be a great time for writers of all genres to come together in-person for conversation, music, and inspiration. For those who wish to play, there is a pool table. We'll of course read "Columbus" by Joaquin Miller. After we all arrive and mingle in open-ended conversations, we'll group members into each genre guild where they can ...
A Sneak Peek of our Sneak Peek: Highlights from Interviews with some of the Authors at this Saturday’s Book Launch
What’s it like to write a book? What inspires a writer along their epic journey towards crafting a masterpiece? Here is a sampling of our authors’ thoughts as they write and publicize their books. Meet all of them and more at our free reading this Saturday, June 16th: Sneak Peek 2022.
Visit our 2022 Books Shop on Bookshop.org
Meet a Few of the Authors from this Saturday's Event
Vivian Pisano
Living in Two Worlds
“In Living in Two Worlds the author unpacks, with ...
Local Author Showcase at our Annual New Book Celebration on June 18, 2022
On Saturday, June 18th, the Berkeley Branch of the California Writers Club will honor its members who have published a new title in the past year. This is a proud moment for this century-old writing club, highlighting the diverse literary accomplishments and talents of this notable group. A wide range of literary genres will be featured, including historical fiction, mystery, fantasy, non-fiction, and poetry.
The virtual celebration will take place starting at 1:30pm with the final Club ...
CWC at the Hayward Lit Hop this Saturday
Don't miss this amazing lineup of Berkeley Branch Poets at the "Embodied" reading at the first annual Hayward Lit Hop, which was also started by a member of our branch, Cristina Deptula.
We are not physical beings having a spiritual experience.—but spiritual beings having a physical experience. We'll be sharing our stories of pain and transcendence, sense and sensation through a literary lens. Your fingers on the keyboard. Your breath after a fright. The fight against the flesh, the flow ...
“Sustainable Storytelling” with Kristen Caven April 24, 2022
Some of us write to process difficult times in our lives. Some of us write to help others out of difficulty. Some of us do the job of sending our characters to hell and back! In this interactive storytelling workshop, novelist/playwright/cartoonist/psychology writer Kristen Caven will teach four positive psychology principles of post-traumatic growth that will energize your writing, inspire your readers, and actually help you live longer (so you can finish all your work)! After this short ...
Honor the Earth with Sustainable Storytelling & Literary Action 4/24/22
Join us April 24th for a festival of outdoor lit in Joaquin Miller Park!
Our April meeting will be set among a day full of springtime activities and networking. All events are free except the meeting/speaker series, for which we ask that you purchase a ticket. (Free tickets are available for those who need them.
10-12 p.m. Earth Day in the Park
Come work with Friends of Joaquin Miller Park featuring a CWC Wolf-Pack write-in. Dale Risden, president of Friends of Joaquin Miller ...
Editing Your Manuscript – The Whys, Whats and Hows (March 20, 2022)
In this talk, freelance editor and Writer’s Digest writer and editor and former Editor-in-Chief Ericka McIntyre will explain to authors what the different types of editing are, when and why you need each for your work, and how to find quality editors. She’ll also talk about the types of editing you can potentially do yourself and those that you should always seek professional help with. Self-publishers will get insights on why professional editing is critical to their success, and how ...
Land the Agent of your Dreams with Amy Collins — February 20, 2022
Why do some authors get an agent and others do not? Why do some manuscripts and pitches garner huge advances and a juicy publishing contract and others just languish? It is possible to create a successful career as an author, but there are hard truths about what it really takes to "make it." Authors who have been querying agents or submitting manuscripts and not getting offers will appreciate this session in how to improve their chances of getting an agent or a publishing contract. This ...