Artwork by Janis Porter
Smatch Up!
Was a Smatching Success
​​
​​
​
​You shoulda' been there!
​​
We had a great turn-out -- 36 members
and friends -- at our May 17 Smatch Up!
​
This was storytelling with a twist.
Members told stories -- not unusual, right? Because that's what writers
do. The difference here is that
one writer started the story
and another writer finished it.
Neither knew the identity of the
other, and the second writer was free
to takethe story wherever she or
he chose.​ The results were at once
funny, dramatic,and points in-between.
This is your invitation to participate in our 2027 Smatch Up!
Watch for an announcement of the date.
​
It's time for our annual
MEMBERS ONLY Appreciation Day
​
Sunday, June 14
1:30 - 3:30
Cucina Verona
124 East Laurel Street
Fort Bragg
​
Sign up for a five-minute open mic reading.
SPOTS ARE LIMITED
To reserve your spot, email Rob Hawthorn at
eventuallybydesign@outlook.com
​
Please be advised that Rob will NOT
accept sign-ups at his workplace.​
Our Next Open to Everyone Meeting is July 12
at the beautiful
Stanford Inn
44850 Comptche Ukiah Rd.
Mendocino
​
* Time For Something New...
* We've added two special features
to our meetings. Come by a
little early -- say, 1:30pm -- and
see for yourself. We think
you'll enjoy these.
Let's Talk About Writing
We'll sip a beverage, enjoy fine
Stanford Inn snacks, get to know one another, and talk about our writing
in a small-group setting.
​​
The Little Free Library
Members, lend a book you've written. Borrow one,too, then return it with comments for the author.
​
April - May 2026
CONGRATULATIONS
to these WMC Members
Join WMC Board Member and award winning author Ginny Rorby for the
release of her ninth book,
​
Time After Time
Sunday, June 7 -- 1:30 p.m. at the
Stanford Inn.
The book is set at the Point Cabrillo Light Station
in 1934 and the village of Mendocino in 2012.
The two main characters -- Theo, a lighthouse
keeper's daughter, and more modern-day
Daniel, who is neurodivergent -- become friends.
Rorby volunteered in a number of
capacities at Point Cabrillo Light Station
for two decades. She'll donate royalties
from sales of the book to the
Point Cabrillo Lightkeepers Association.
​
For more information, see
GinnyRorby.org.
Buy the book at the
Gallery Bookshop in Mendocino.
Can't get to the meeting? Join us live on our Facebook page! Just Log into Facebook
to Like and Follow. We are also on Instagram! @writersofthemendocinocoast
Members, please check your Bio​ at the top of this page. ​If you aren’t featured, just jot down a bit about yourself in 50 (or thereabouts) words, then email your bio and (if you'd like)
a headshot to Webmaster@writersmendocino.org. If you are featured, and your information needs to be changed, please send necessary updates to writersmendocino@aol.com
Thinking of joining Writers of the Mendocino Coast? Please see our Membership tab
at the top of this page.
​"In a different time and place, Daniel finds a safe haven and a friend, but when her life is in danger, he ricochets through
time trying to save her."
​Writers of the Mendocino Coast
Presents
Creative Writing at the Fort Bragg Library
Second Wednesday of Every Month
Free and Open to the Public
499 East Laurel Street - Fort Bragg
2:00 - 3:30pm
Next Creative Writing Meeting
June 10 -- Non-Fiction
With Kailyn McCord
Telling True Stories
and Other Impossible Tasks
Kailyn teaches several writing classes at
Mendocino College Coast Center in Ft. Bragg.
Her stories and essays have appeared in Ploughshares, Literary Hub, Brevity, The Believer, The Cincinnati Review, The Master’s Review, Alta Journal, Pleiades, and New York Magazine, among others. She holds a BA in English literature from Reed College and an MFA in fiction from the University of New Orleans, where she was the editor of Bayou Magazine.
Learn more at https://kailynmccord.com/.
​
Upcoming Creative Writing Meetings
At the Fort Bragg Library
​July 8 - Memoir
Writing the Hard Stuff
With Norma Watkins
​
​August 12 - Romance
Making Them Sweat:
How to Write the Steamy Stuff
With Kailyn McCord
​
You’re Invited to Join
Led by Ericka Lutz
​
· Open to members of Writers of the Mendocino Coast only.
· Every Thursday from 9am-11am via Zoom.
​​
Writing can be lonely. This new event, a virtual write-in and guided workspace, is an opportunity for WMC members to add consistency and community to their writing practice.
​
Every Thursday from 9 to 11am, you’re invited to join Ericka and other WMC members in the Zoom room for guided (muted) writing sessions.
​
Follow this link for details.​
On Thursday, May 28,
WMC member
Marianne Villanueva will be at Gallery Bookshop at 6:00 p.m., reading from her newest book,
Residents of the Deep
Marianne Villanueva was born and raised in the Philippines, received a creative writing fellowship from Stanford University, and now lives in the
San Francisco Bay Area.
She is the author of five books, the most recent of which is Residents of the Deep: Stories (Unsolicited Press, August 2025). Her novella, Jenalyn, was a finalist for the UK’s Saboteur Award. Her first story collection, Ginseng and Other Tales from Manila, was a finalist for the Philippines' National Book Award. Her second collection, Mayor of the Roses, was the inaugural publication of the Miami University Press Fiction Series.
She teaches for UCLA Extension’s Writers Program and has just completed a collection of linked stories set in 16th century Philippines. Working Title: Magellan’s Mirror.
A BIG Day!
June 1st
​
That's the date the submission period begins for the
​
2027 Writers of the Mendocino Coast Anthology
​Theme: Boxes in the Attic
(This may be interpreted loosely.)
​Maria Ashford of Book-Shelfie.com says this book is "A gripping yet at times unsettling collection of short fiction that moves fluidly between myth and history ... a work that feels like a chorus of fractured, forgotten voices."
Residents of the Deep is available for purchase at Gallery Bookshop.​​
Prose/Poetry submission dates:
June 1 through August 30 (midnight)
​
Photo/Cover art deadline:
September 15 (midnight)
Who can submit:
Any member of
Writers of the Mendocino Coast,
in good standing at the time of submission.
​
Prose/Poetry entry rules:
What to Submit:
-
Prose (fiction, nonfiction) or poetry, two pieces maximum.
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The two pieces, combined, may not exceed 4,000 words.
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Send only publishing-ready pieces.
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Edit yourself for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and development
On May 28, Gallery Bookshop's Author's Showcase will feature readings from three fine authors, one of whom is WMC member Marianne Villanueva. ​
Writer's block? Not feeling motivated? Muse go on vacation? If you're
looking for a reason to start writing, here it is: Submit your work to the
​
2027 Writers of the Mendocino Coast Anthology
​
The submission deadline for poetry and prose runs June 1 through midnight
August 30, and you have through September 15 to submit your vision of a
cover. As noted above, the theme for the 2027 edition of our anthology,
chosen out of the dozens received, is Boxes in the Attic.
​
WMC's new anthology editor, Ericka Lutz, is enthused about the
theme. How enthused? Once the Board of Directors made its selection,
she sent the members an email. Here's part of it:
"I think [the theme is] evocative: Things stuffed
away, old, dusty, but also things to be revealed. What does
it mean to be in the box? What does it mean to be out of the
box?To think out of the box? Or, boxes, the verb: Who is
boxing inthe attic? What’s in your boxes?"
​
As Ericka takes the helm of Boxes in the Attic, we wish her well in
what promises to be a busy several months. At the same time, we offer
our sincere thanks to Elizabeth Vrenios, whose untiring devotion to editing
our anthology for the past three years has resulted in three of our
most popular publications. We're pleased that Elizabeth will stay with
us as a member of our Board of Directors for the upcoming year.
Famous Last Words of Equally Famous Writers
"My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One or the other of us has to go"
- Oscar Wilde
Those "relics of the past" have never gone away. Typewriters continue to be big sellers around the world, as you'll see in this PBS video from 2024.
​
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/why-typewriters-are-having-a-renaissance-in-the-digital-age
​Members! Do you have newly published writing? Have
you received a nomination, award or other notable exposure?
Send a short announcement and we’ll add it to our Website to
help spread the word! president@writersmendocino.org
Questions? Comments? Like to Subscribe
to our free monthly newsletter? Email info@writersmendocino.org or write
WMC, P.O. Box 762 - Fort Bragg, CA 95437
We will never share or sell your personal information.
Fran Schwartz' new novel, Mina,
is the riveting story of a young woman just
beginning to learn the shocking truth
about her family and herself.
Mina is available for purchase at Gallery Bookshop, and online at Amazon.
What Kirkus Reviews says about Dot Brovarney's Mendocino Refuge: "[She] deftly mixes regional history, ecology, and character studies of people who shaped and were shaped by the land, writing in lucid … prose dotted with flights of vivid lyricism." The book is available at Gallery Bookshop
Elizabeth Vrenios' poem
AT THE OPEN WOUND
OF THE WORLD
has been published in the
Vallejo's Poets Laureate Anthology
A New Season: Poems for a World in Flux
You can find more of Elizabeth's work at
Comments About Writing...
From Writers, For Writers​
“The most important things are the hardest to say. They are the things you get ashamed of, because words diminish them -- words shrink things that seemed limitless when they were in your head to no more than living size when they're brought out.
But it's more than that, isn't it? The most important things lie too close to wherever your secret heart is buried, like landmarks to a treasure your enemies would love to steal away. And you may make revelations that cost you dearly only to have people look at you in a funny way, not understanding what you've said at all, or why you thought it was so important that you almost cried while you were saying it. That's the worst, I think. When the secret stays locked within not for want of a teller but for want of an understanding ear.”
― Stephen King
Writers of the Mendocino Coast
Policy Regarding Use of Artificial Intelligence
The WMC Board of Directors has established an official policy regarding the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in members' writing. It is as follows:
Writers of the Mendocino Coast does not and will never accept work that was written, created, or developed, in whole or in part, using generative AI. This includes prose, poetry, and all mediums of art and photography. The policy extends across all our activities including our annual anthology, Ekphrasis, Smatchup, and public readings and workshops.
AI may have its place, but that place is not within the creative fields. At Writers of the Mendocino Coast, we value human creativity and expression, abhor plagiarism, and are keenly aware of--and deeply concerned about--the writers, artists, editors, and other creators whose copyrights and livelihoods are increasingly compromised by the use of artificial, non-human, intelligence.
By submitting your creative work and/or participating in our club activities, you pledge that no AI was, or will be, used.
All members receive one complimentary copy of our 2026 anthology; additional books are $12.00. If you need them mailed, contact Elizabeth Vrenios at evrenios1@gmail.com. ​
THE
KELLEY HOUSE
NEEDS YOU!
There are so many stories yet to tell, and they welcome your voice. Articles of 400 to 700 words can be paired with photos or illustrations from the Kelley House database of 10,000 images.
Contact Kelley House curator, Averee McNear, at 937-5791 or at curator@kelleyhousemuseum.org.
Listen now to our members read their one-minute plays!
i am from the ocean by windflower Townley
I Could Not Stop for Covid by Holly Tannen
Something New & Murder She Wrote by Philip Zwerling
Do you have a topic on the craft of writing to teach at an upcoming meeting? Contact info@writersmendocino.org ​
The CWC website includes a calendar of monthly meetings for all state branches. Any of our members can attend the meetings of any other branch for free or for the same fee as their membership pays. To view their meeting topics (many are still on Zoom), click on
https://calwriters.org/events/.
Writers of the Mendocino Coast
is Proud to be a Branch of the
California Writers Club
