Programs & Events
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
We also have a more concise list of past speakers.
AI vs the Author: Writers Grapple with How New Tools Shape Our Future 4/19/26
AI, Algorithms and Art: Our Tech-Savviest Authors Discuss our New Sci-Fi RealityAs part of our spring series on the ubiquitous and insistent presence of artificial intelligence, The California Writers Club of Berkeley is thrilled to present a panel discussion around issues that concern us all as writers and citizens.This month’s panel features four deep thinkers,…
“The Seduction of AI for Writing” with Larry Ebert – March 15, 2026
Perhaps the most transformative technology of our lifetime, Generative AI is becoming de rigueur in a rapidly-expanding set of human activities, with writing at the fore. AI can produce certain written content amazingly quickly and shockingly well. For it’s efficiency and quick creation alone, use of AI is seductive. But there are downsides. Impacts range…
“How to Use Your Creativity to Build Resilience” with LA Bourgeois – February 15, 2026
Build resilience and contentment in the face of grief, disappointment and uncertain times with your creativity and imagination. LA Bourgeois invites you to learn her simple system that will help you embrace a habit of creativity that carries you through those hard days.
“Owning AI: Your Authentic Instinct” with Deborah Pardes – January 18, 2026
A discussion about how human dialogue soars above bits and bytesDeborah Pardes spent the last 6 years listening to 110,000 conversations and engaging in over 30,000 of them. She’s passionate about working with writers to capture the trust and imaginations of their readers, by leveraging human conversations to support the uniqueness of their work. The…
MLK Write in before this Sunday’s speaker
Before this Sunday’s event at Gilman Street Brewery, we’re hosting a write-in with prompts inspired by Martin Luther King Day.Might you spare me a moment to convince you to join me? Great writing has changed history in every era; don’t you agree? To that end we host write-ins on days of action like Earth Day…
See you at our (scandalous!) Winter Social — 12/7/25 at Highlands Country Club!
It’s that time of year … and what a scandalous year! To celebrate our community and creativity, we’ve booked the Highlands Country Club in Oakland all day on December 7th for a Sunday morning bagel brunch and writing retreat, plus evening cocktails, dinner and a contest. Dress merrily! Bring friends! This year we’re having a contest…