The California State Library is working with local libraries to collect COVID-19 stories from across the state. Californians of all ages have responded by sending in original essays, poems, photographs, videos and works of art.
If you have writing, artwork, a photo or other documentation of your COVID-19 experience and would like to help record California’s response to this pandemic for future generations, please send it to them. https://coviddiaries.library.ca.gov
If you have writing, artwork, a photo or other documentation of your COVID-19 experience and would like to help record California’s response to this pandemic for future generations, please send it to them. https://coviddiaries.library.ca.gov
This series, presented by the Mendocino Coast Writer's Conference, will focus on revision and generating new material.
Each seminar will be two hours and will include a presentation, resources, and Q&A. Registration is $20 each, $50 for any three, or $75 for all five. Seminars will be hosted through Zoom. More information and registration at MCWC.org. ALTERNATIVES TO “PLOT”: RETHINKING THE SHAPES OF OUR STORIES With K-Ming Chang SATURDAY, APRIL 10, 12-2 PM PDT DUPLICATION. REPLICATION. REITERATION: A CLOSER LOOK AT WRITING REPETITION IN FLASH With K.B. Carle SATURDAY, MAY 8, 12-2 PM PDT SPECULATIVE POETRY WORKSHOP With Rachelle Cruz SATURDAY, MAY 22, 12-2 PM PDT CARETAKING AND CREATIVE PRACTICE: WRITING INTO REAL LIFE With Sarah McColl SATURDAY, JUNE 5, 12-2 PM PDT 
APRIL 18th 3:00 p.m. Susan Bono Contents of the Dead Man’s Pockets: The Power of Objects in Your Writing Remember Jack Finney’s story about a man who gets himself trapped on the ledge of a New York apartment with no identification and no way back inside? The whole story hinges on a single piece of yellow paper. “‘Contents of the dead man’s pockets,’ he thought, ‘one sheet of paper bearing penciled notations—incomprehensible.’” In this workshop we’ll explore how the use of objects can reveal character and create symbolic resonance in our stories, memoirs and poetry. The answer to better writing may be hiding in a purse or medicine cabinet. Like they say on TV, “What’s in your wallet?” Susan Bono teaches, writes, and edits in Petaluma. She published Tiny Lights: A Journal of Personal Essay from 1995—2015 and has been an active supporter of MCWC for many years. Her work is forthcoming in The Write Spot: Musings and Ravings from a Pandemic Year. Her collection of personal essays is What Have We Here: Essays about Keeping House and Finding Home. Find out more at susanbono.com. MAY 16th, 3:00 p.m.
2021 SMATCHUP READINGS MEMBER READINGS "Last Night..." Readings by writers blindly matched for a collaborative writing project of one page each, where the first starts the piece, and the second writer finishes and titles it. SMATCHUP 2014 SMATCHUP 2015 SMATCHUP 2016 SMATCHUP 2017 SMATCHUP 2018 
EKPRASIS 2021 SIGN UPS
Ekphrasis sign ups remain open from April 18 until May 31 until filled. There will be ten slots for writers who initiate art and ten slots for writers who respond to art. Members should contact Katherine Brown stating which they want to be, an initiator or responder to art. Members must be in good standing to participate. Ekphrasis is our annual event of artists responding to artists. Join the fun. WMC and The Artists Co-op of Mendocino join efforts to marry stories and poems to paintings and sculptures. Members will read their work at our October meeting. The Artists Co-op will also have a virtual showing of the artwork beginning in October 1 and be available for on-site viewing during the months following. NOVEMBER 21st, 3:00 p.m.
LINDA WATANABE McFERRIN MAKING A SCENE: IN PRINT AND ON SCREEN Details of her talk are unavailable at this time. GUALALA COMMUNITY WRITING PROJECT
Mark Gross is leading a writing initiative, KGUA Writers, in Gualala in collaboration with Peggy Berryhill's KGUA-FM, 88.3 radio program at 9:00 a.m. on Monday mornings. There is a Facebook Group Page KGUA Writers, and a website The Town That Started Writing. This week's prompt is for written submission of 200-300 words and recorded pieces of 2 to 3 minutes length to air the following Monday. Send a new message with the subject of "Episode #51 As writers, we try to manage the voices in our heads screaming out with 'their story' their judgment, and their ideas. Deadline Friday, April 16th midnight. to KGUAWriters@gmail.com. Some of the episodes are online. CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS TO
DRAMA ANTHOLOGY WMC member Phil Zwerling and his colleague, Robert Moreira, are working on a Drama in the Time of CoVid-19 anthology to be published in 2022 by FlowerSong Press. They seek dramatic works: short plays, performance pieces, monologues, etc. that speak to the deaths, isolation, social, political, and economic upheaval that have followed in the wake of this pandemic. Go to the SUBMISSIONS PAGE for all the details. Send any questions to Philip Zwerling [email protected]. http://www.philipzwerling.com 
GOT A MINUTE?
See the current schedule. Mendocino Theatre Company's One-Minute Radio Theatre is a two-minute spot broadcast bi-weekly on KZYX. Collaborate by submitting an original one-minute radio play. All voices to be heard! Plays can be in English or Spanish. No fee for submission nor cash award if your play is chosen; all actors and directors give their time free of charge. Submit your one-minute play* (app. 150-170 words, for 1-3 actors) in the body of an email (no attachments) to [email protected] with the subject MTC One-Minute Play: [Title of your play]. Include your full name, contact information, and a brief, 50-word bio. You may submit as many one-minute plays as you wish, but only one submission per email, please. *NB: Play may not contain the "seven dirty words", which are prohibited by the FCC. Play must be totally original and the author's own work. 
Online Poetry
Workshop for Youth Professional poets from throughout California offer creative poetry writing lessons for youth and families. Lessons are free to everyone and require no prep. This online workshop is growing and lessons will continue to be added throughout the pandemic. Click to start writing! POETRY
Rhythm Running River 1st Sunday, 3-4 p.m. and 3rd Sunday 3-5 p.m. on KZYX&Z public radio To listen live: https://www.radiorethink.com/tuner/?stationCode=kzyx For playlists: http://www.outfarpress.com/rrr.html To receive emails from Dan Roberts with links to listen or download, contact Dan at [email protected] POETRY
Tongo Eisen-Martin (from San Francisco) Virtual Point Arena Third Thursday Poetry Thursday, April 15, 2021 7 to 9 pm Format: Virtual Featured Reading followed by Open Mic (Zoom video) For more information or to receive a Zoom invitation contact producer Blake More: [email protected] POETRY
ukiaHaiku Festival 2021 Sunday, April 25, 2021 3 to 4 pm Format: Virtual Open Reading (Zoom video) To receive a Zoom link, email Roberta Werdinger: [email protected] POETRY
Cartwheels on the Sky ~ Poets, Poems & Discovery Saturdays 7 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Live on KGUA FM Gualala and live streaming online KGUA.org with host Blake More Show Archive: https://www.bmoreyou.net/musings/ Highlighting a new poet in conversation each week, the show offers fresh, intelligent, living poetry and lively discussions. To be considered for future shows, contact blake@snakelyone.com FORT BRAGG LIBRARY
FIRST THURSDAY OPEN MIC POETRY 7 P.M. Use this link https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9748647159 Readers should limit themselves to eight minutes, for one to four poems. For more information, contact Dan Hesse, Branch Librarian at [email protected] or 707 / 961-2625. And see FortBraggLibrary.org. UKIAH LIBRARY Loba Poetry Series Last Thursdays of the month Thursday, April 29, 2021 7 to 9 pm Format: Virtual Open Reading Registration is required. Please email organizer Melissa Carr (she/her/they) at the Ukiah Library, [email protected], to receive a Zoom link SEEKING NONFICTION WRITER
PAID ACCOUNT OF AN ARTIST'S LIFE Seeking writer to produce a nonfiction account of an artist’s life, a contemporary and friend of Dorr Bothwell and Emmy Lou Packard. The artist's son has his artwork and tons of organized reference resources, every story that ever appeared in print about him. Everything is in print on paper—nothing has been scanned. Contact retired Gallery Bookshop bookseller, Katy M. Tahja at [email protected] or 937-5854. 
KELLEY HOUSE CALENDAR
Call for Writers There are so many stories yet to tell, and they welcome your voice. Articles are 400 to 700 words and can be paired with photos or illustrations usually discovered in their database of 10,000 images. Call the Kelley House curator, Karen McGrath, at 707/937-5791 or email her at [email protected]. B R A N C H N E W S
STATEWIDE ANTHOLOGY NOW AVAILABLE The High Desert Branch of the California Writers Club collected and compiled fictional stories of pandemics, real or imagined, and has now published its state-wide anthology, SURVIVAL: Tales of Pandemic, which is available at amazon.com as of November 1, 2020. This volume of tales written by members of the century-old California Writers Club is the first anthology of its kind published by the High Desert Branch. |
ROLLING RECAP OF MONTHLY MEETINGS
Links to recordings of select monthly meetings are below.
COVID-19 UPDATE
Until further notice, WMC meetings will be held via Zoom on the third Sunday of the month at 3 p.m. There are more than two dozen free Xfinity WiFi hotspots in Fort Bragg. At wifi.xfinity.com, type in an address, city, state, or ZIP Code to find where to access the internet. WELCOME TO THE
CALIFORNIA WRITERS CLUB - FOUNDED in 1909 - The Mendocino Coast branch is proud to share in this legacy. Our intention is to expand the network and provide publishing opportunities for writers. 
MENDOCINO WRITERS MEET
ONLINE ON THE THIRD SUNDAY 3:00 Members Receive Invitations Public May Email a Request [email protected]
Writers of the Mendocino Coast
PO Box 762 Fort Bragg, CA 95437 The CALIFORNIA WRITERS CLUB is a 501(c) (3) educational nonprofit dedicated to educating members and the public-at-large in the craft of writing and in the marketing of their work. California Writers Club: https://calwriters.org/ CWC Northern Branches: http://cwcnorcalwriters.org/ NorCal Events: http://cwcnorcalwriters.org/events/ 
SUBSCRIBE TO THE MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
Email [email protected] Your email address will never be shared or sold.
MEMBERSHIP
NEW MEMBERS $65 includes $20 initiation fee. More information on the website's Membership page. YEARLY RENEWAL is $45. $25 for dual memberships when a member of another CWC branch. Membership includes a copy of the club's recent anthology, copies of our state organization's Literary Review magazine, space for member biographies, and opportunities to see your writing in: -The annual anthology -The Literary Review published by our parent, California Writers Club. More info at www.calwriters.org -The yearly collaboration, Ekphrasis, with the Artists Co-op of Mendocino -The annual SmatchUp blind matching of two writers on a theme, each writing a single page. SPONSORED MEMBERSHIPS
Financial aid is available for membership [email protected] INTERESTED IN A WRITERS' GROUP / PARTNER
WMC MEMBER SALLIE REYNOLDS After thirty-five years of magazine editing and teaching writing (Long Island University-CWP), I am, at 81, concentrating solely on my own work. Between 2006 – 2014, I published three novels, two in a small press, one self-published. In the mid-1980s, a number of my short stories came out in the journals Prairie Schooner and Confrontation. Three were listed in Best American SS and Pushcart, 1985, 1987. During the lock down, I finished a long novel about two families in the rural South in the days of Jim Crow, and am now working on both a short novel and a series of short stories. Writers’ groups have ever been a necessary part of my development. My last group dissipated last year, and while I can always write without an audience, in order to develop, to gain both perspective and the confidence to submit stuff, I need a group. I also love to see (or hear) other writers working and share ideas and skills. I learn new things, I gain new perspectives, I grow. Contact me through [email protected]. M E M B E R N E W S
Writing newly published, receives a nomination or award, or other notable exposure? Please send a short announcement to writersmendocinocoast@gmail.com
If you are interested in joining this Monthly Writing Group, send WMC member Earlene Gleisner an email to [email protected]. Write whatever you want to write, based on a monthly prompt, and share it through a group email process. The group can support each other by adhering to a set of guidelines that Earlene will post monthly when she sends out the prompt.
WMC member Clare Bercot Zwerling's poetry has recently appeared or is in these forthcoming publications:
— Lamar University Press - Odes and Elegies: Eco-Poetry from the Texas Gulf Coast “Recuerdo” — The Good Life Review - Issue #2 Winter 2020 “Mirror:Madonna de la Playa” — Poetry South - Issue 12 “1945” — The Oakland Review - Volume XLV “The Committee” — Beatific - Winter 2020 “Gemstones” ROLLING RECAP OF MONTHLY MEETINGS
See Archives tab above for details
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Drop in to the library site for the list of recently added books and reviews by WMC member Priscilla Comen.
Welcome to opportunities to publish your writing, whether or not you live on the Mendocino Coast.
