California Writers Club As Moderator and Administra- & More Tor for the Online Central Board Forum and As Direc- Tor of Advertising and Promotions
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THE BULLETIN alifornia riters lub Vol. 3 No. 2 C W C Summer / 2017 Inside This Issue... The Awards Issue President’s Ina Coolbrith Award Goes to Isbill Corner Branch News If there’s such a thing as a “life-cycle” to a 108-year-old writing club, it would be the gift of perpetuating the enthusiasm of those who In Memoriam founded our CWC within its most active volunteers today. Robert Isbill, of High Desert branch, defines Book Fairs that attitude with his helpful spirit, and is the 2017 Anthology recipient of the Ina Coolbrith Award. Bob, as he prefers to be called, has repeatedly Round Up shown the commitment to see CWC and his branch Fundraisers become the best that they can be. Bob Isbill has made a lasting impression on the Conferences California Writers Club as Moderator and Administra- & more tor for the online Central Board Forum and as Direc- tor of Advertising and Promotions. He also helped to The Final Word coordinate the digitization of the state newsletter, The Bulletin, and to implement advertising in both the Bulle- Bob Isbill — High Desert tin and the California Literary Review. Always willing to share with a smile, Bob served as keynote speaker at CWC's The Bulletin is the official publica- first Leadership Conference held at De Vry University in 2013. His energy and lead- tion of California Writers Club, an ership as also fueled numerous successes in his home branch of High Desert in Ap- educational nonprofit 501(c)3 cor- ple Valley where he helped to increase membership seven-fold in two years; held poration. Issue e-edition 06 now in five profitable “Howl at the Moon” writing conferences; founded the Dorothy C. circulation since August 2017. Blakely Memoir Project that pairs high school students with senior citizens, writing their story for an anthology; CENTRAL BOARD and he developed a writing project with the local Federal President: Joyce Krieg Prison resulting in mentoring and teaching activities be- Vice President: Donna McCrohan Rosenthal tween inmates and HDCWC members. Bob was the recipi- Secretary: Elisabeth Tuck ent of the Jack London Award in 2009. Treasurer: Bill Baldwin The award is named for one of the founders of the Cali- Member-at-Large: fornia Writers Club, and the first Poet Laureate of Califor- Jeanette Fratto nia, Ina Coolbrith. The award is given for outstanding dedi- cation and service to the California Writers Club Central Branches: 22 Board. Bob Isbill is only the tenth CWC member to be so honored in the history of the California Writers Club. Previ- California Writers Club ous winners are Betty Freeman, Ruth Theodus, Barbara PO Box 201 Truax, Casey Wilson, Joyce Krieg, Kelly Harrison, Dave Danville, CA 94526 LaRoche, Robert Garfinkle, and Ray Malus. President’s Corner Here’s What’s New from the by Joyce Krieg CWC Central Board Much to report from the July 23 CWC Central Board meeting in Oakland—all of it on the positive side as our venerable writers’ club “sails on” in the eighth year of our second century! Of special concern to many of you is the future of the CWC Literary Review, as Dave LaRoche of the South Bay branch has retired as managing editor. Thank you, Dave, for conceiving of the idea of a high-quality, curated journal of our members’ writings, and bringing that dream to reality. With Dave’s well-earned retirement, I’m happy to report that several capable and talented individuals—including Bulletin Editor Rusty La- Grange—have raised their hands to continue the tradition of the Literary Review. These volunteers will be meeting in August and submission guidelines will be posted on the state website, calwriters.org, in September. (After this writing, Rusty has chosen to stay with editing The Bulletin.) And speaking of our website, the Central Board got a sneak preview of the “new and improved” cal- writers.org, re-designed, and updated by Webmaster John Byrne Barry. Among other things, the site is now responsive—in other words, it looks good and functions properly whether you’re accessing it on a computer, a smart phone, or a tablet. Check it out—I think you’ll be as tickled as I am over its profes- sional, easy-to-navigate, and just plain gorgeous look. After many years of debate, the Central Board reached agreement on a method of handling the CWC Scholarship Fund, basically bringing the money back to the discretion of the branches. All branches are now eligible to apply for $250 in matching funds that they may present as a scholarship to any accred- ited institution of higher learning in their areas. It wasn’t all business at the Central Board meeting, though, as I had the pleasure of presiding over the Jack London Awards luncheon honoring exceptional volunteer service from members representing 19 of our 22 branches. Volunteerism is the lifeblood of our organization, and I know that each branch with a Jack London honoree is in a healthier position because of that individual’s service. Our collective thanks go out for the service these special members have performed. While the Jack London awards continued page 4 Reminder: Change of Venue for Central Board Meetings The latest Central Board meeting took place at the Holiday Inn on Hagenberger Road in Oakland. Board members and representatives enjoy the convenience of lower rates, close by Oakland Airport, food ser- vices ordered, and a swimming pool. The board meets twice a year: late January and late July. Check the organization’s website for details — www.calwriters.org 2 JACK LONDON AWARDS Kristen Caven T.E. Watson and President Joyce Krieg Deborah J. Bernal Jenny Margotta Martha accepting for Dan McGuire Photos provided by Bob Isbill and other members who were kind enough to submit them for this event. All recipients were not identified by press time. ~~ the Editor Sally of South Bay Allene Symons continued next page 3 continued from page 2 honor service at the branch level, CWC also pre- Officers and Appointments 2017-2018 sents the Ina Coolbrith Award for volunteerism • President: Joyce Krieg at the state level. This time around, the honor was bestowed upon Bob Isbill of the High Desert • Vice President: Donna McCrohan Rosenthal branch whose many contributions include man- • Secretary: Elisabeth Tuck aging the sale of advertising in the Bulletin and • Treasurer: Bill Baldwin Literary Review. (Follow his story on page 10) • Executive Member-At-Large: Jeanette Fratto Our meeting concluded with the re-election of • Literary Review Editorial Committee our current slate of officers—VP Donna McCro- • han-Rosenthal (East Sierra), Secretary Elisabeth Membership: Sharon Svitak Tuck (Mt. Diablo) and Treasurer Bill Baldwin • Director, Public Relations and Publicity: Donna (South Bay) as well as moi—and a unanimous McCrohan Rosenthal vote to present the next Ina Coolbrith Award to For more information you can always go directly to past-president David George (Mt. Diablo). our updated site at: www.calwriters.org Jenna Johnson Our recipients — see list on Final Word (last page) 4 News You Can Use Dave LaRoche Retires From Lit Rev Helm committee. “It must have felt like a full- time job. He had a great idea and fol- The dream of seeing a juried, high quality magazine read throughout lowed through with this CWC member California’s wide and varied membership, was met when Dave benefit for 6 years on his own, except LaRoche created the CWC’s Literary Review Magazine. A daunting job for the readers he recruited. He want- for one person, Dave eventually expanded the staff positions to include ed quality and strove for that all along. readers, proofers, and assistants. He withstood a lot of criticism from “We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Dave LaRoche for having people who didn't help him but felt the original idea of a literary journal featuring our members' work and comfortable criticizing. He was tena- contributing countless hours of his time to make that dream a reality. cious and single-minded which some But now, we have an opportunity to reboot the publication and to bring people didn't like, but he got the job it to its fullest potential. I'm excited!!” – Joyce Krieg, CWC State Presi- done and set a great example. No one dent on the board wanted to see the Liter- For those who worked as readers with Dave, they admit he set a stand- ary Review end when David finally ard. “I’d like to say how much I admired Dave L for all the effort he put chose to do some things for himself for into the Lit Review,” noted Elisabeth Tuck, currently on the publication a change. Now it will take a team to replace him!” Freddi Gold’s Final in The Lit Rev is a huge job; the new Fantasy Trilogy Dimension Norraena: managing team consists of a mini- Discovery - Breakthrough - Vision mum of five volunteer positions, many Unveiled of them from publishing backgrounds. Tasks include: Set in the moun- -intake of several hundred submis- tains of San Ber- sions, ensuring there's a release nardino, a pretty statement with each piece, clarifying college instructor the name of the submitter. Some members use pen names on their spontaneously tele- work or an email that cannot be ports to another matched with a member name and dimension. Her dis- they forget to give their real name. coveries send shock waves continued on page 25 through the corri- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ dors of U.S. Intelli- gence and criminal 2018 CWC Literary Review cartels alike as she Mag Seeking Submissions deals with sus- Author’s Close-up penseful romance Starting September 1st A former licensed psychotherapist, television and radio personality, there and at home.