Celebrating 57 Years of “Writers Helping Writers”

The History and Accomplishments of the San Francisco Peninsula Branch of the California Writers Club

By Elise Frances Miller and Carole Bumpus, 2022

As we mark our 57th year, the SF Peninsula branch of the California Writers’ Club celebrates its history of accomplishments, friendships, and strengths as we welcome our future. Through this history, we invoke the spirit of the hundreds of writers inspired and transformed by our club as they reach toward their goals and dreams. We live in a time of unprecedented change in writing, publishing and marketing our work, with much more expected in the future. Learning about our 57 year journey, which includes our up-to-the-moment living history, teaches us how circumstances for writers have never been static, but how the writers of the CWC have smoothed and paved the way.

On February 20, 2016, the current CWC San Francisco Peninsula branch celebrated the anniversary of its founding at that same yacht club. We owe this dash of serendipity to a remarkable coincidence. Carole Bumpus, 2015-2016 branch president, was also a member of the Sequoia Yacht Club. Carole has pointed out that the yacht club began in the best spirit of Jack London, as groups of people enthralled with the sport of sailing, no matter what their level of income or expertise, joined together. As a metaphor for the diverse group gathered for our anniversary luncheon, the sailors’ values serve as a fitting example for those of CWC writers and resonate with CWC’s state motto, “Sail on, Sail on.”

Louise Boggess

CWC history provides a firm foundation for our branch mission and motto of “Writers Helping Writers.” The stories about how the CWC began, the people and purpose behind the club, provide inspiration for writers at all levels.

No other branch outside of the “parent” Berkeley club can claim such a close and vital relationship with the accomplished author, Jack London (1876-1916), who is said to have been one of the early members of the California Writers Club.

Margaret R. Davis, who has been an active member since 1997, wrote the branch history in 2007 for the 100-year celebration of CWC’s 1909 founding in the East Bay. Some of the material for this history has been preserved, thanks to Margaret’s efforts. Thanks also to Dave Sawle’s 2009 unpublished manuscript for a history of CWC and Jack London, from which derive some of the following information and quotations.

Following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire, the author, already famous worldwide, moved from the San Francisco Peninsula, across the Bay to where the Alameda Press Club was formed. In 1909, a faction of the Alameda club, including London’s cohorts who were deemed “honorary members,” split off to form the California Writers Club. Given his humble, working-class background, London appreciated the overall purpose of the CWC, to provide the practical help, educational opportunities and encouragement that he once so desperately sought, and found. No matter which of the competing origin stories you choose to believe, it is not debatable that Jack London was involved in the founding and mission of the CWC. Perhaps our branch founders knew—or perhaps not—that the very shores where they chose to begin meeting at the Sequoia Yacht Club, were those from which London set sail on some of his very first sailing adventures.

In Jack London’s era, as today, being born into an educated, wealthy family smoothed the way toward success in the rarefied world of literature. London’s working-class origins, his rural and peripatetic upbringing, inspires us because it reminds us that talent, hard work, and the friendly support of educators can help to overcome the most inauspicious upbringing. It also gave him the determination to succeed as a writer.

The second aspect of his character became the very essence of the CWC: a spirit of adventure, determination, and perseverance. His zeal for writing and for other writers was formed on the San Francisco Bay. Belmont became the launching point for London’s first sloop, Razzle Dazzle, which he would sail all over the Bay, raiding oyster beds near San Leandro and later working on the Fish Patrol. Ultimately, the Bay was “only a point of departure.” By his late 20s, London had had his first of many exceptional adventures, and had written and successfully published his short stories.

The Belmont period contributed to many of the classic London attributes, such as his championing of working people, his socialist politics, and efforts to create a rural utopia at his Glen Ellen ranch. His youth on the Peninsula included his adventurous years aboard ships, and inspired the tone, characters, and themes in his writing.

CWC’s motto “Sail on!” mentioned earlier comes directly from the lines of another honorary member of the CWC, Joaquin Miller, from his poem, Columbus. The motto and its Spanish galleon logo suggest the adventure of the spirit in literature. There are also ties in the logo to the meaning of sailing in America’s discovery. But in addition, they reflect, today as much as ever, the struggle of writers, who must be encouraged to persevere, to see the value of their efforts despite amazing challenges and difficulties on all sides.

It is important to note that in 1914, two years before he died, London contributed a short story to West Winds, the CWC’s first hardcover anthology.

Author Jack London on the “Snark”

Although London’s life has been linked most often to Oakland, Berkeley, and his Glen Ellen ranch in Sonoma, it is vital to our branch to recognize how London’s values and spirit of adventure were formed during his youth spent right here on the Peninsula. There are two aspects of Jack London’s character, derived from his time in our community, which can encourage us in our own writing careers.

First, London was a child laborer who shoveled coal and worked in a cannery, and by the age of 21 was working in a laundry at Belmont Academy, where the Carlmont Village Shopping Center now stands. A plaque commemorates London’s time there. He worked so hard that he barely had time to read, though he “saw his studies as his only way out of the working class.” Ultimately, with the help of Ina Coolbrith, poet and Oakland librarian and later a close colleague of London, he fought his way toward an education. One of the most prestigious awards from the CWC is named after Ina Coolbrith.

President Geri Spieler and Treasurer Alisha Willis welcoming all to the 2021 Holiday Party at the Sequoia Yacht Club.

Evolution of CWC and the Branch Over Time

‘Writers Helping Writers’ - The steady state of our branch over the past half century has been the warm welcome it has extended to writers of all ages, all levels of skill, all genres, and all stumbling depths or soaring heights of accomplishment. We gather together monthly and many times more often. We provide essential camaraderie to individuals involved in the lonely craft of literature. We guide them through craft and marketing instruction, mentoring, editing assistance and other expert advice. We also provide laughs, revelations, inspiration, hope and solace!

Today, we’re one of the oldest writer’s organizations in the nation, with 22 chapters all over California. In addition to our many branch opportunities, we encourage our members to explore the statewide CWC organization website at http://www.calwriters.org to discover the many benefits of belonging to the larger group. See the statewide website’s Events Calendar for programs of interest.

CWC provides opportunities to get involved at the state level, including as the branch Board’s positions of Central/State Board Representative and NorCal Representative. Open submissions to the CWC state publications are another important member benefit. These are the California Writers’ Club Literary Review in print format and the CWC Bulletin in digital format.

In addition, the 14 chapters in Northern California have formed a group called the NorCal Group, which serves as the liaison between the State Board and the branches. They develop and sponsor leadership training for branch officers, provide activities and volunteer opportunities at the San Francisco Writers Conference each year, as well as at the Bay Area Book Festival in Berkeley. They are instrumental in collecting all 21 branch’s events and posting them on the Statewide website at https://calwriters.org/events-month/.

2019 Holiday party, Mindy Yang reads, continuing our tradition of launching the publication of Fault Zone anthology and hearing its authors.

From its inception in 1965, the branch created the CWC mandated organizational structure, including Executive Board positions of President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. The Central/State Board Representative, a mandatory position, was created in the 1980s and the NorCal Rep’s position was created in mid-2010.

Board positions were added through the years, further bolstering the formal structure and providing additional services and activities to members. These include Parliamentarian, Newsletter Editor, Fault Zone Anthology Editor, Web Manager, and chairs and coordinators of Membership, Marketing, Publicity, Open Mic, Community Readings, New Member Connect, and Hospitality. Discretionary positions, called Members-at-Large, are approved by the Executive Board, but directed by the President.

Annual Picnic, July 2021 at Laurelwood Park, San Mateo.

Policies and publicity have been geared toward creating programs of interest to more member writers as the best path toward expanding club membership and participation. Successful policies ongoing from prior to the Covid-19 pandemic include inviting non-members to attend their first meeting free of charge; publicizing Open Mic to non-members; expanding publicity in online and media outlets such as Meetup.com, Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook; and publicizing the club’s Fault Zone anthology.

Besides being active on our own branch Facebook page, our branch’s monthly newsletter, The Peninsula Writer, is sent via email (since 2006) to all members. Through this epublication, programs for meetings and other events are announced and described, and other local events of interest to writers are publicized, such as contests, workshops, and book festivals. Much of this information is also available on our branch website.

Over the pandemic years, membership initially decreased. For a time we tried hybrid meetings, gathering in person and on Zoom. However, this proved difficult for many branches lacking technical expertise. Check the meeting schedule of any CWC branch by visiting CWC’s statewide Events Calendar at https://www.calwriters.org/.

In the early years of our branch, meetings were conducted by founder and teacher Louise Boggess, who led discussions on members’ writing projects. As time went on, she brought in outside speakers to address the group.

The format and content of meetings have evolved as the extent of women in the workforce expanded and greater demands were made on the time of writers, both men and women. The dinner meetings first changed to luncheon, then breakfast meetings, then from 2007 to 2015, meetings moved from restaurants to the Belmont Public Library, where a breakfast buffet was provided. In 2015, the group moved to a large, sunny room at the Congregational Church of Belmont.  A year later, the branch returned to the Sequoia Yacht Club, the original 1965 meeting place, for the branch’s 50th anniversary celebration and, except during the pandemic, have been meeting there since. Breakfast buffets continued to be served.

In the Spring of 2022, following the pandemic hiatus, SF Peninsula branch meetings returned to the Sequoia Yacht Club with the option of attending on Zoom - the “hybrid” format.                                                            

Since the early days, meetings have developed into a multi-faceted two hours. The first hour of meetings has always been devoted to branch business, introductions of guests, announcements, and “good news” from members.

After a break for informal networking over refreshments, a speaker is presented during the second hour of each meeting. Speakers talk about all aspects of genre, craft, publication, and marketing. Some are inspirational speakers, and many published authors have introduced us to their own work, their unique creative processes and philosophies.

Besides these monthly meetings, over the years, workshops, conferences, online and print publications, participation in community events, a newsletter and website, and many other offerings have expanded the branch’s role in the lives of writers.

 Innovations, special events and programs

One of the most daunting aspects for CWC leadership, supporting contemporary writers for a profession or even an avocation, is the constantly changing technology landscape. The speakers that the Vice President/Program Chair must get will typically range from craft to publishing and marketing, all areas in which technology is changing the writers’ life.

From e-publishing to self-publishing, from social media marketing to how to speak in person or in the media—television, radio, videos—and from blogging to garnering reviews, our branch has provided a range of programs to help us rise up with the most up-to-the-minute issues.

Below are descriptions of current programming and events, followed by our Branch history of innovative programs that are discontinued or completely revamped with the times and needs of members. Much of this history developed or faded in the past twenty years, and is warmly remembered by current members, whose work and life benefited from them.

Current offerings

An Open Mic program for members to hone public reading skills and receive feedback on their work was an early feature of the club. Because non-branch members are permitted to participate, this event has always been a good recruiting tool for the branch.

Over the years, it declined until initiated again in the late 1990s by a group of members including president Frank Baldwin, Teresa LeYung Ryan and Martha Alderson. That effort also faded, then was re-started in 2004 by Geri Spieler in her first year as a member. Both the earlier and later Open Mic sessions met at Borders’ Books in San Mateo. Under the leadership of Jim Hanna, later Woody Mansergh, these popular monthly sessions met for several years at Reach and Teach, a San Mateo bookstore. Following the bookstore, our branch hosted this event at the San Carlos Public Library.

During the pandemic, the program moved online to Zoom, where it remains today. You don’t need to read and there’s no formal critique, just a warm reception for participants and listeners. Anyone can sign up to read their poetry, memoir, fiction, or nonfiction work for five to eight minutes. Meetings are on the fourth Tuesday of each month from 7:00 to 8:30 pm (Pacific Time). Although Open Mic has always encouraged feedback/critique during the break and over refreshments, in most recent developments, the feedback has received greater attention as members search for the best means to help readers develop their work.

 Find out how to register and let us know if you’d like to read at:  https://www.cwc-sfpeninsula.org/open-mic-night/.

Fault Zone anthology was initiated in 2011, the club’s first print-and-web anthology of short fiction, creative non-fiction and poetry. Its title, Fault Zone: Words from the Edge, carried with it the promise that edgy material and local/Bay Area topics would entertain readers, a promise which has been fulfilled by its editorial selection committee and editors. Fault Zone has enjoyed nine editions. Editors Lisa Meltzer-Penn, followed by Audrey Kalman, Ann Foster and for three editions, Laurel Anne Hill, have provided valuable editorial advice even to pieces not accepted. Our current editor, Kate Adams, follows in that tradition. In 2011, former CWC president Tory Hartmann founded an independent publishing company, Sand Hill Review Press (SHRP). The 2012 Fault Zone was released by SHRP on behalf of the CWC. SHRP has since published club-related anthologies and the fiction of several branch members.

Laurel Anne Hill, 2020,  edited 3 issues of the branch anthology, culminating in the selection of Fault Zone: Reverse as winner of an international competition.

Fault Zone readings are presented at bookstores and other venues on the Peninsula, as well as at branch holiday parties. In 2022, Fault Zone: Reverse was honored to win a national competition, Independent Press Award in the anthology category. This edition was also a finalist in the "National Indie Excellence Award." The books are available on Amazon

Writers’ Mentoring sessions began in 2004, and waned in 2011. Beginning in 2016, the branch focused on offering Critique Groups for new members. Several are ongoing, run independently by branch members.

Mentoring

Presentation and Support Programs

Over the past several years, efforts to continue and/or revive the number of presentation and support programs are ongoing. Past president, Carole Bumpus, initiated the first of the ‘Writers Helping Writers’ programs which were held at several local public libraries, including the San Carlos Public Library and the San Mateo Public Library. The purpose of these events was to provide craft classes free of charge to any and all who were interested, and to provide an opportunity for branch members to hone their teaching skills in the process. Past presidents Lisa Meltzer-Penn and Audrey Kalman also initiated a number of opportunities for reading published works; videotaping authors reading their published works through the Story Café; and gathering together for concentrated writing time through “Shut Up & Write”.

San Francisco Bay Area literary scene expansion has, in recent years, impacted the programs that CWC offers. As the Bay Area draws creative talent in the arts, music and literature of all genres from all over the nation and the world, the CWC sometimes finds itself in competition with many other local opportunities, yet benefiting from participation.

The San Francisco Writers Conference (SFWC), which takes place annually in February, has grown substantially. This Conference draws writers from around the Bay and the nation with an audience reaching 550. The quality programming, which includes speakers, panels, Master Classes and Keynote Speakers, in a variety of genres, has attracted national recognition. Popular features are agent meetings and opportunities to interact with fellow writers.

The branch has found its SFWC participation as a group, beginning in 2013, to be both fun and beneficial. Beginning in 2015, when the Conference featured a CWC Display, our members joined those from various other branches at a booth to spread the word about the benefits of membership. Staff have been offered free participation in workshops, and many choose to join as full participants. Website: https://www.sfwriters.org.

Bay Area Book Festival. Members can participate as a group or as individuals in the Bay Area Book Festival in Berkeley, which began in early summer, 2016. Blocks of booths sponsored by authors, publishers, support organizations, bookstores and more line the streets of downtown Berkeley. Outdoor and indoor venues feature speakers ranging from specialty topics, such as women’s literature, to nationally-known authors. Members of our branch have helped staff a CWC booth and others in connection with their published works. Website: https://www.baybookfest.org/

San Francisco Bay Area Literary Scene

San Francisco Writers Conference. Along with other CWC branches, ours participates each year. Here in 2016, with past presidents (l to r) Carole Bumpus, Audrey Kalman, and Lisa Meltzer-Penn.

Bay Area Book Festival

Members can participate as a group or as individuals in the Bay Area Book Festival in Berkeley, which began in early summer, 2016. Blocks of booths sponsored by authors, publishers, support organizations, bookstores and more line the streets of downtown Berkeley. Outdoor and indoor venues feature speakers ranging from specialty topics, such as women’s literature, to nationally-known authors. Members of our branch have helped staff a CWC booth and others in connection with their published works. Website: https://www.baybookfest.org/

Past offerings – a Rich Branch History

County Fair Literary Stage was initiated in 2010 by branch member Bardi Rosman Koodrin, who decided that the annual San Mateo County Fair should have a literary component to match its display in the fine and practical arts. Over the years, CWC members enjoyed developing, publicizing and participating in the Fair. The Stage hosted speakers, panels, readings and performances, and an Author’s Day where books were showcased, sold and signed. Over 30 writing contests in categories for various genres and age groups were offered. In conjunction with the contests, the Sand Hill Review Press published an anthology of entries, Carry the Light, which in 2016, for the first time, featured only winners of contests.

Mini-Conferences. These offered a more in-depth presentation on a topic. They varied in format, but were often a half day, included lunch, and were often held away from the monthly meeting site. Speakers were well-known as writers and instructors in a variety of genres. With Mini-Conferences currently on hold, some of those held prior to the recent pandemic were on topics such as freelance writing, public speaking, how to make social media work for you, beginning your novel and other aspects of craft.

The Jack London Writers’ Conference was one of the greatest successes of the San Francisco Peninsula Branch and would be continuing today if not for the economic downturn in 2010. This conference grew out of a request to the CWC Central Board in 1987 from the Jack London State Park Foundation for funds to support the restoration of the house and grounds at London’s Glen Ellen ranch in Sonoma. Members answered the call, and put heart, energy and time into the worthy endeavor. The first conference was held at the College of Notre Dame in 1988. Many members were actively involved in the conference, eventually bringing well-known authors and celebrities to our area. The conference also sponsored a writing contest, offered the one-on-one “Ask a Pro” sessions and meetings with literary agents, and provided a wide range of learning opportunities and social/networking activities.

Jack London Writers Camp for Kids and Peninsula Young Writers took off in 2001 with 30 children showing up, initiated by branch president Jana McBurney-Lin when she noted the lack of creative writing education in her own children’s schools and the community at large. The Kids Camp was repeated annually for the next four years, led by Sue Oksanen.

Branch publications have included the E-Zine Anthology/CWC SF Peninsula Review, a web-based publication, complete with top notch editing services, produced from 2007-2010.

Awards for Service to the CWC

Contributions by volunteers to the functioning and success of the branch are honored through the presentation of two awards. The Louise Boggess Award, instituted in 1996 in honor of our founder, is given to a member who has performed the most valuable services to the branch in the preceding year. The Jack London Award winners, usually selected every other year, is a State award given by each branch to members who have performed exceptional and often un-sung efforts on behalf of the branch.

In addition, the CWC Central Board periodically bestows the Ina Coolbrith Award to honor a member for exemplary service to the statewide CWC organization and/or the Central Board. No members of the San Francisco Peninsula Branch have received this State honor in recent years.

Louise Boggess Award Winners: Jim Hanna, 2007; Dale King, 2008; Tory Hartmann, 2010; Geri Spieler, 2011; Lisa Meltzer Penn, 2013; Audrey Kalman, 2015; Ann Foster, 2016; Darlene Frank, 2017; Bette Houtchens, 2018; Carole Bumpus, 2019; Megan McDonald, 2021; Tim Flood & Margaret Nalbach, 2022.

Jack London Award Winners: Mariann Jackson, 2001; Jean Rieth, 2002; Sue Okasanen, 2003; Teresa LeYung Ryan, 2004; Jana McBurney-Lin, 2005; Tory Hartmann, 2007; Ann Foster, 2011; Bardi Rosman Koodrin, 2013; Carole Bumpus, 2015; Bill Baynes, 2017; Korie Pelka, 2019; Lisa Meltzer Penn, 2021.

Ina Coolbrith Award Winners: Betty Freeman and Ruth Theodos, 2004; Barbara Truax, 2006; Casey Wilson, 2007; Joyce Krieg, 2009; Kelly Harrison, 2011; David LaRoche, 2013; Robert Garfinkle, 2014; Ray Malus, 2016; Bob Isbill, 2017; Anthony Folcarelli, 2017; David George, 2018; Donna McCrohan Rosenthal, 2019; Rusty LaGrange, 2020.

Grateful Recognition

Peninsula Branch is indebted to the numerous dedicated branch members who have served through the years on the board and on committees. There are far too many of them to mention them all by name in this history, but without them our branch could not have become and continue to be the thriving club that it is. We offer our gratitude and thanks for the many long hours given on our behalf. We could not have become the club we are without their dedication.

In addition, we recognize and thank Tory Hartmann, whose accomplishments as publisher of the Sand Hill Review Press have greatly benefited the CWC literary community.

Literary Accomplishments of the SF Peninsula branch members

With the number of published members in the majority, it would be impossible to gather a comprehensive list of literary accomplishments over several years, let alone the astounding output over 57 years! In addition to novels and non-fiction books, many members have published well-received articles, poetry, blogs, essays, and other print and online pieces, or have seen their plays produced at local/regional theatres. To read about our current members and their work, turn to the branch website, https://www.cwc-sfpeninsula.org/, and go to “Membership” and “Our Members” for the updated list. Follow their links and check out their work at Amazon.com.

Poster reflects the edict set forth by state CWC and the California legislature for a week each year when libraries celebrate local authors.

Poster by Mindy Yang.

Respectfully submitted by:  Elise Miller and Carole Bumpus – August 2022