Programs & Events
NOTE: All forthcoming meetings will be held on Zoom unless noted otherwise.
Click on the event to get details on how to get your tickets.
The California Writers Club offers a multitude of activities and programs for its members and for the public.
Writers Groups
Our ongoing Critique Groups help writers practice and polish their craft. We have a climate action group, the Wolf Pack Writers, and a poetry group, Poetrope. See Groups for more info.
Speaker Programs
Our informative and interesting Speaker Programs are the focus of our monthly Meetings. These meetings are open to the public.
Workshops
We also offer monthly Workshops for writers by professionals, with special rates for members.
Contests
Two annual Contests: the 5th Grade Writing Contest and the Write On! Story Contest (formerly the WestSide Story Contest), celebrate local writers. Occasionally we hold a poetry contest at year’s end as well.
Our contests are currently on hiatus. If you’d be interested to help organize the next one, please contact us.
Conferences
We promote various Writers Conferences and our members can get discounts to several.
Recent Events
Writing Dialogue that Sings with Jane K. Cleland
Sunday, January 16th We Level up Our Dialogue Skills Dialogue is one of three narrative tools to move the plot along and reveal character (in addition to description and action). Each character must speak with a unique voice—an amalgam of style, tone, intonation, and word choices. (And it must be formatted and punctuated properly). This…
![Making Podcasts Work For Writers [SPEAKER SERIES Sunday Nov. 21st]](https://cwc-berkeley.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/making-podcasts-work-for-writers-1060x707.jpg)
Making Podcasts Work For Writers [SPEAKER SERIES Sunday Nov. 21st]
Join Us Sunday November 21st on Zoom to Learn What Podcasting Can Do for Writers Podcasts are for people who would rather listen than read, right? Not necessarily. Every writer should know the three powerful ways that podcasting can boost their literary life: as a listener, as a guest, and as a podcast creator. Award-winning…
Researching a Historical Figure: Bringing Charmian Kittredge London to the Page
October 17th as Iris Jamahl Dunkle Takes us Into the Life of a Trailblazer, Author, and Adventurer At our Sunday, October 17th meeting, award-winning literary biographer Iris Jamahl Dunkle will take us on the adventure of Charmian Kittredge London’s life. We’ll learn about her time living in Oakland and Berkeley, working in San Francisco,…
“A Blanket and a Basket of Chow”— a Picnic Celebration of California Writers on October 9th
Cascade Flows, Singalong, Picnic, Readings & Poet Laureate Celebration. Join us! Join us for a special celebration on the afternoon of October 9th, 2021 in Joaquin Miller Park! A ribbon-cutting ceremony with city officials and the Friends of Joaquin Miller Park at noon will mark the completion of phase one of the water feature restoration.…
5 Insider Secrets to Show-Stopping Novel Beginnings
Join Us on Zoom September 19th to Learn Annalisa’s Parent’s Insider Tips to Get Readers Hooked on your Novel You know you’ve got a great story idea, but how do you make it so great that it rises from slush pile to publication? Author and Writing Coach Annalisa Parent has helped hundreds of writers to…
Announcing our new Writer-in-Residence Program at Joaquin Miller Park
October 9th: Cascade Flows, Picnic & Poet Laureate. Join us! The history of the California Writers Club and Joaquin Miller Park are deeply intertwined, as the Club was formed by civic-minded literary figures who would gather on the land when it belonged to poet Joaquin Miller, who called it “The Hights” (his spelling). CWC, which…