Miera Rao has won the Effie Lee Morris Literary Award for Poetry. Her poem “Désolée” received First Place in the contest held by the Women's National Book Association-SF Chapter. Set in ten couplets, “Désolée” has sparked conversations about the environment and climate change. In addition to poetry, Miera writes fiction and nonfiction and has won prizes for her creative nonfiction. She is currently working on a nonfiction book, Crushing Etiquette.

Summer’s over! Vanessa MacLaren-Wray restarts Open Mic Night. Get your lungs ready!

Audrey Kalman is thrilled to announce a birth! (No, not that kind.) She and Jennifer Browdy just opened the doors to their free Birth Your Truest Story writers’ community, an online gathering spot where you can find your tribe and nurture your creative voice. Join them!

Laurel Anne Hill's novel, Plague of Flies: Revolt of the Spirits, 1846, recently won its twelfth award when the 2022 American Fiction Awards selected it as a finalist in the "Fantasy: Historical" category. Congratulations!

Ida Lewenstein’s “Baking Bread on the Masabi Iron Range” was published in the latest newsletter of the Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest. She tells the story of her relatives living in that region in the 1930s.

Dave LaRoche is looking for beta readers for his new literary fiction novel, Ordinary Times. In the 1950s in San Fernando Valley—bomb shelters, booze, and Benzedrine—people, under threat of Nikita’s mutual assured destruction, live each day to the fullest because it may be their last. If interested, please email him at dalaroche@comcast.net.

Two new stories by James Hanna are available for readers. In “I Am Not a Crook” published in The Chamber Magazine, a peace officer passes to the afterlife and meets his guide spirit: Richard Nixon. Another story, inspired by such luminaries as Matt Gaetz and Bret Kavanaugh, appears in the journal Fleas on the Dog. Fictional GOP stalwart Orville Baumgardner lectures the Knights of Columbus on his recipe for life.

Lucy Ann Murray wrote a review of Carole Bumpus's book A September to Remember for the September 2022 issue of the Italian-American magazine Fra Noi.

Our Board was pleased to grant emeritus status to Jo Carpignano and Ida Lewenstein for their years of loyal membership. If you missed it, it was a delight to honor these two ladies with certificates, flowers, and applause.

Proclaiming the best two-word combination in his entire novel to occur with his typing "The End," Tim Flood announced the conclusion of his six-year effort. Now for the agent search.

Karen Hartley, a member of the SF Peninsula branch of CWC for many years, passed away in August 2022. Karen wrote in many genres, including short story, novel, nonfiction, and poetry. She will be missed by her former critique group, including Jo Carpignano, Ida Lewenstein, Judy Field, Karen Sundback, and Tim Flood. Our heartfelt condolences to her husband, Jim Hartley.

If you missed our very own Lisa Meltzer Penn in conversation with science fiction author Mike Chen about his new novel Light Years From Home, you can watch the recording here. It was a blast!

Our first Fault Zone reading at the Belmont Library on July 31 was a big success! Beautiful weather in the courtyard amphitheater, 40 people in the audience, and great stories and poems from our newest anthology: Fault Zone: Reverse. Stay tuned for information about our next reading.

Ida J. Lewenstein is pleased to announce the publication of Where Would We Be Without A Tree? This collection of environmental poems uses rhyming words and colorful illustrations to capture the climate-change dangers created by our irresponsible behaviors. This newest addition is the ninth book of children’s poetry published by Ida.

David Harris will have his short story, "Love Passing," published in Litbreak Magazine in September. The story is set in San Francisco's North Beach and involves an interracial romance between an artist and software engineer.

Geri Spieler’s novel-in-development, Regina of Warsaw, won one of the Page Turner Awards for the first 10 pages of the book. Geri had no idea and found out she had won by accident. Sometimes, good things show up in your inbox. Keep an eye out!

Is writing your passion? If so, join us. We're a small supportive group of seven experienced writers focused on short stories, creative nonfiction, memoirs and novels. We have room for two more. We Zoom the second and fourth Tuesday of every month from 7 - 8:30 pm PST. Meeting time is spent on commenting on our stories and giving encouragement. Word limit is 2500. Interested? If so, please email Karen Sundback at sundback@gmail.com

Lisa Meltzer Penn will be interviewing author Mike Chen for the San Mateo County Libraries on Tuesday, August 16 at 7pm. Please join her for a fun virtual conversation about his new novel Light Years From Home and bring your burning questions for the Q&A!

At the 18th San Francisco Writers Conference this past July 21 to 24, the California Writers Club ran a colorful booth festooned with the covers of books written by its members. Carole Bumpus spoke on the Hungry to Publish: How to Write and Publish Cookbooks panel. She also arranged for the CWC Success Stories panel where Evelyn LaTorre represented SF-Peninsula and noted that “for the past 13 years CWC has helped shape my writing life. . . . I doubt I’d have two published books without their guidance.”