Southwest-Manuscripters

Special - SWM Wins Torrance Arts Award

2011-11-02T21:29:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, October 30, 2011 the Southwest Manuscripters was the recipient of the Prestigious "Excellence in Arts" Award from the Torrance Cultural Arts Commission as well as a Commendation from the County of Los Angeles!

The Literary Society of the Southwest Manuscripters wishes to thank the City of Torrance and the Cultural Arts Commission for this honor.

The Staff of the Southwest Manuscripters also wish to thank the many illuminating and helpful guest speakers down the 60+ years of our existence, and, of course, it's many members who support the club with their spirit and intelligence.

Ildy, Bernie and Alan with Awards On the right, Ildy Lee, Bernadette Shih and Alan Cook, holding our multifarious awards.

Below, small thumbnails of the awards...

Torrance Excellence in Arts Award
Torrance Assembly Certificate of Recognition Award LA County Commendation

Below also is the display which we had in the Toyota Hall where the awards were presented.

Southwest Manuscripters Display

A You-Tube clip of the proceeding is in the works and will soon be displayed here...

(click here to go back to our main page)

Donna Sozio - Nov. 21, 2011

2011-10-29T17:50:00.000-07:00

Guest Speaker
Donna Sozio

"How to Get a Literary Agent and Major National Media to Sell Your Book in Record Time!"

Donna Sozio, is an author, publishing consultant, writing coach and publicity expert. Emmy and Oscar award-winning writers have sought out her publishing advice. Her clients have been published by Adams Media, Allen & Unwin, Three Rivers Press and more. Clients have won many awards including: The Australian Literature Review, The Borders' James Patterson Thriller Competition, and the National Indie Excellence Awards and have been featured on and in E!, The Today Show, Fox News, Vogue, Cosmopolitan and more.

The Man Whisperer Personally, Donna received multiple offers from top literary agents multiple times, sold her first book to a major publisher in three weeks, sold the TV and film rights to her second book The Man Whisperer before she finished writing it and has been featured in over 100 major national media outlets including The Tyra Banks Show, The Early Show, GMTV, Good Day LA, and Fox News. Her success is due to a specific pitch process that she now makes available to all writers.

Learn more about her at:

http://donnasozio.com/getpublished/

or email her at:

donnasozio@gmail.com

( Come to the next meeting and hear her talk - Nov. 21, 2011 at 6pm, come early for networking )
( Palos Verdes Peninsula Library - Community Room - 701 Silver Spur Road, Rolling Hills Estates )
( Click Here For Directions )

Judy R. Cook - Oct. 17, 2011

2011-10-29T17:46:00.000-07:00

Guest Speaker
Judy R. Cook
"Memoir, The Fine Line between Fact and Fabrication"

Judy R. Cook Judy R. Cook, (October's Speaker),
discovered amazing stories of struggle, survival, and scandal when she chronicled her grandparents' lives as homesteaders on the Northern Plains.

She lives with her husband, Robert, near Los Angeles. A North Dakota native and graduate of the University of North Dakota, Judy enjoys singing, travel, genealogy, and gardening.

Her new book is: "If This Land Could Talk - Homesteading on the Northern Plains"

If This Land Could Talk Millions of settlers flocked westward for homesteads, taking advantage of the free land opened to settlement by the expanding railroads. Author Judy Cook's family never lost faith in the land. Cook's Dakota roots inspire a compelling story of her grandparents' homesteading experiences in North Dakota.

If This Land Could Talk provides a riveting look at three generations of life on the Northern Plains where Cook spent her formative years. Her candid portrayal brings to life her four grandparents who carved a living from the inhospitable prairie and her parents who continued to farm. She offers a poignant yet entertaining glimpse into her ancestors’ daily lives. The author recounts growing up on the same land in the 1950s, shaped by a way of life since vanished.

Based on meticulous research, personal experiences, and stories passed from family to family, If This Land Could Talk also features photos of bygone years. It resonates with a powerful sense of place, an enduring love of the land, and reverence for the family.

The book has been recognized with iUniverse Editor's and Readers' Choice Awards indicating writing excellence and reader demand. Awarded recognition as iUniverse Star book. Second edition published June 2010 has new cover and new ISBN number.

Colleen Fitzpatrick, PhD - July 18, 2011

2011-07-06T13:16:00.000-07:00

Guest Speaker
Colleen F. Fitzpatrick
"Experience as a writer of Forensic Genealogy --
A modern approach to family research."

Colleen F. Fitzpatrick, PhD, is a Forensic Genealogist who has been recognized for her work with the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory on identifying the remains found in the Alaskan crash of Northwest Flight 4422.

     Retired from the optical industry in 2005, she now assists nonprofits, military organizations, and the FBI with forensic identification, and has been instrumental in exposing two high profile Holocaust literary frauds. As a world traveler and multi-lingual, Colleen specializes in international cases.

     Her first book Forensic Genealogy has become a classic- a must-have for professional and casual genealogists alike. She is also the co-author of DNA & Genealogy and the author of The Dead Horse Investigation: Forensic Photo Analysis for Everyone.

     She writes feature articles for GAMES Magazine and for all major genealogy magazines. Her article on Flight 4422 will be published in Scientific American in late 2011.

http://forensicgenealogy.info/

Monday, July 18, 2011 - at the community room of the Palos Verdes Peninsula Library -

Visit with us at 6pm - Meeting at 7pm - (Map and Directions here)

Bob Myers - Monday, November 15, 2010

2010-11-02T20:04:00.000-07:00

Guest Speaker

Bob Myers

"Shanghai Odyssey 1989"
Bob Myers may be best known to Southwest Manuscripters as the head of Cultural Services with the City of Torrance where he helped present the great Ray Bradbury in his annual Public Lecture.
Bob grew up in Fullerton, and earned Bachelors and Masters degrees in Arts Management. He served an internship with South Coast Repertory Theatre, where he learned to use business management strategies to achieve visionary artistic goals. He then launched a career that has included executive positions with theatres, performing arts centers, art museums and multi-arts institutions around the U.S. and overseas. He served as Managing Director of the Norris Theatre and became a 15-year resident of Palos Verdes. Another position was Director of Shanghai Centre Theatre in China, which he will discuss in more detail during his talk.
Most of his published writing has been journalistic, promoting and discussing the arts through press releases, newsletters, museum catalogues, periodicals and radio commentary. Several of his articles were published in the Los Angeles Times. The most recent, titled "Surprising Shanghai," appeared in the Sunday Travel Section.
Bob and his wife Lynn have been married for 35-years. She is Managing Director of the Los Angeles Fashion District. Their daughter Lindsey graduated from Peninsula High and UC Riverside. Earlier this year Bob retired to their home in Lake Arrowhead where he plans to concentrate on travel writing.

Join us on Monday, November 15, 2010 at the Palos Verdes Peninsula Library at 7pm, come early to network and meet new friends!

José Angel Manaiza, Jr. - Oct. 18, 2010

2010-11-01T20:25:00.000-07:00

Guest Speaker
José Angel Manaiza, Jr... was crowned with his nickname;
" The New All-American Boy" for his American Ideals and commitment to The American Dream, founded by The Founding Fathers on July 4th, 1776.
José was born and raised in La Ceiba, The Entertainment Capital of Honduras on April 22, 1984. He is a former Child Star in his native country Honduras as a music performer. He grew up in Honduras with the American Ideals of dreaming to come to the United States of America and fulfill his childhood dream of becoming the best scholar and soccer player that he could become, by coming to UCLA, his dream school. He played as a team captain for the Club Deportivo Olimpia Reserves, the best soccer Academy in Central America, and was well-known for his agility on the soccer field, which distinguished him to be nominated for the Honduras Men's National Soccer Team Under 17 category in 2001.
However, his future aspiration of playing for Honduras Men's National Soccer Team Under 17 ended when the U.S. Embassy in Honduras granted an opportunity to his family come to come to the U.S. Since 2002, he has resided in Los Angeles, California with his mother, and two younger brothers, adjusting to a new country, culture, language, and new way of living. He was eager to learn English as a second language and prepare to join the U.S. Army, studying in the Los Angeles Public Library System while adjusting to the U.S. Soccer Federation Rules and Regulations to transition the Major League Soccer (MLS). Then, he started at Los Angeles Southwest College where he graduated with a 4.0 GPA in Mathematics and transferred successfully to his dream school, UCLA. One of his greatest experiences coming to the U.S. was to meet Professor Daniel Lambert at Los Angeles Southwest College, where he found his passion for writing in English after he took two English Composition Courses. Since then, he considered Mr. Lambert to be The Best Teacher in the World. He credited his success in his writing to Professor Daniel Lambert, because he was the one who instilled in him the importance of writing and for the last year Lambert inspired him to become a first-time published author by introducing him to the Southwest Manuscripters club in 2009.
José is an expert in Online Marketing and he is releasing his first E-Book entitled "Hi, my name is José!: Defining America The Beautiful" in 2010 where he shared his once in a lifetime journey from Honduras to the United States of America fulfilling his American Dream from his birth in 1984 all the way to 2005 when he realized his childhood dream of coming to UCLA. He is a Toastmasters International Speaker and has been a keynote speaker in Washington, D.C. with the Hispanic College Fund and invited in The White House as a one of the best college students in America for his demonstrated excellence in the classroom and community service. He holds dual citizenship with Honduras and the United States of America.
His father is an Honduran diplomat who maintain a successful diplomatic relationship with the U.S. through Mrs. Hillary Clinton since 2001. He is now committed to be a full-time author while preparing his nationwide book tour. His dream for 2010 is that all the members of the Southwest Manuscripters club publish at least one e-book and he is committed that everyone learn how easy and simple it is to become a first-time published author using the World Wide Web. He is currently the Chief Financial Officer of the Support Our Troops Ranch, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization that supports Veterans and their families with financial assistance. He is committed by his inspirational dream of bringing world peace by becoming youngest and best the President of the United States in history that to most Americans The Star-Spangled Banner, which happens to be José's favorite song of all times, begins, "Oh say can you see..." but to José it begins "José, can you see?" and to that, he says "Yes I can!"

Bruce & Marcia Butler - Sept. 20, 2010

2010-09-18T10:31:00.000-07:00

Guest Speakers

Bruce and Marcia Butler

GENEALOGY AND HISTORICAL WRITING
turning business writing skills to genealogy and historical subjects
Bruce Butler was a partner in a law firm in Washington, D.C. and then a resident partner of the firm for several years in London, England. In 1984 he became international counsel for Allied Signal in Morristown, New Jersey and then in 1988 was transferred to California as General Counsel of Allied Signal Aerospace in Torrance. Subsequently he became international counsel and then General Counsel of Kaiser Aluminum in Houston, Texas.
Bruce received his BA from Wesleyan University in Connecticut, an LLB from the University of Pittsburgh Law School and a Masters of Law from Georgetown University Law Center. He was editor-in-chief of the law review at Pitt. He spent a year at a law institute in Frankfurt, West Germany and six months with a German law firm.
Bruce is the author of 10 law review articles and also co-author of a book for German businessmen on doing business in the United States. Upon retirement he turned his writing skills to genealogy and then to 17th-century history. Last summer he and his wife, Marcia, published a book on the history of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 17th Century, using only documents which referred to Marcia's direct ancestors. By 1652 more than 170 of these ancestors were living in New England.
Marcia graduated from Chatham College in Pittsburgh, where she was a history major. After marrying Bruce and accompanying him to Germany, Marcia became a researcher for seven years at National Geographic. The couple have three children living back East, a daughter and a son in New York City and one daughter in Washington, D.C. Marcia is currently chairman of Las Candalistas' annual fundraising effort, which will culminate in the group's annual "Walk on the Wild Side" event next April.

Join us on Monday, September 20, 2010 at the Palos Verdes Peninsula Library at 7pm, come early to network and meet new friends!

Southwest Manuscripters Club Picnic

2010-08-14T00:29:00.000-07:00

Club Picnic
NOTE: NEW DATE!

The Southwest Manuscripters Club Picnic will be on Saturday August 21st at Ildy Lee's house, 2928 Paseo del Mar, in Palos Verdes Estates. The picnic will start at 3:00p.m. and end after dark so we can enjoy the sunset over the ocean. (see map, directions below).
On the programme will be Showcase readings by members, presented and moderated by our own Richard Myers, author of the well-known "The Writing Life As I See It." - A presentation by Cat Spydell and Gineve Rudolph of World Nouveau Press, and entertainment by Stephen Smoke and Ildy Lee.
Please! This event is only open to SWM Members and Guests of Ildy Lee.
The event will be catered, but you can bring something that suits your taste, please co-ordinate and RSVP to Ildy at (310) 541-0044, but preferably by e-mail at ildylee@cox.net

Directions:
From Hawthorne Blvd. turn right on Palos Verdes drive WEST, and left on Paseo Lunado.

From Redondo Beach and PCH, take Palos Verdes Drive, past Malaga Cove to the right, and continue on around the Peninsula until you come to the SECOND Paseo Lunado, turn right on the second Paseo Lunado and follow it around, bearing left to 2928.
You'll pass an elementary school and the street will turn into Paseo del Mar. Follow it to the end.

BEWARE! There are two Paseo Lunados leading to two Paseo del Mars. If you take the wrong one you'll never find the house!

[Entrance is around the corner, where Paseo Del Mar turns left into Via Caleta - the best parking is at the outer curb, along Via Caleta, near the vacant lot]

Stanley Todd Terasaki - July 19, 2010

2010-07-12T18:54:00.000-07:00

Stanley Todd Terasaki

"A Few Funny, Fanciful Things that Happened on the Way to my First Book."
Stanley Todd Terasaki made his children’s book debut with Ghosts for Breakfast. Winner of Lee & Low’s 2000 New Voices Award Honor, Ghosts for Breakfast was based on an incident experienced by his great-grandfather.
Ghosts for Breakfast received critical praise. Smithsonian Magazine named it one of its “Notable Books for Children for 2002.” Kirkus Reviews called it “a perfect blend of humor and suspense, with the added appeal of a Japanese-American setting.” Booklist said that it “has all the appeal of a classic Japanese folktale.” Publishers Weekly added that it “conveys the lovingly worn texture of a generations-old family story, and the comfort that parents offer fearful children of any time and place.”
Terasaki is a third generation Japanese-American and a native of Los Angeles. He currently resides in Torrance, California, with his wife and three children. He received his bachelor’s degree in English literature from the University of Southern California and his master’s degree in counseling. After having been an English teacher and counselor for many years, Terasaki now serves as an assistant principal with the Los Angeles Unified School District at King Middle School in Los Angeles.
Terasaki has also written two plays that have been performed locally about Japanese-American Christians during and after World War II: A River in the Desert (Christmas in Manzanar) and Gardena, U.S.A.

Welcome Stacey O'Brien of Wesley the Owl fame

2010-06-25T23:06:00.000-07:00

Hello there,

We would like to invite the Southwest Manuscripters to attend an event on Sunday, June 27 at 2:00 PM at the Palos Verdes Borders in the Promenade on the Peninsula mall. Welcome Stacey O'Brien of Wesley the Owl fame, an author who worked on her book locally at the Millie Aames Writing Workshop that meets weekly in the Palos Verdes library and who went on to become a best-selling author! Stacey will talk about her book Wesley the Owl and sign copies. All ages welcome. This is the first of a monthly series of events that will be at the PV Borders called Mischievous Muse Day. Local publishers Mischievous Muse Press and Borders have teamed up to have monthly signings, an event sure to inspire both readers and writers! We hope you will post this information on your blog or maybe send it to your SWM email list, and we will keep your group updated each month on our author signings.

Best,

Cat Spydell
World Nouveau/Mischievous Muse Press

Edward Long - June 21, 2010

2010-05-30T13:25:00.000-07:00

Edward W. Long, Esq.

"Smarter Giving"
Do Good Better

It's never been more important to give to charity – but how can you choose which to give to? Presenter Ed Long is an attorney, and founder and manager of charities, and has written and spoken extensively on legal, financial and consumer protection issues. He’ll share charity-insider tips to help attendees focus their giving, select strong charities and create the relationships they want with the charities they support. Ed is managing member of Peninsula-based Smarter Giving Group, LLC, authors of the Smarter Giving Guide to Finding Key Charity Information. Go to www.smartergivingguy.com for more information on Ed and his work.

May 7th Ray Bradbury CANCELLED!

2010-04-25T02:30:00.000-07:00

Due to medical reasons, Ray Bradbury had to cancel his annual visit to us for this May 7th.
Instead, we are going to have a panel of members in a "Ray Bradbury Retrospective" on our usual third Monday, May 17th at the PV Library at the regular time.
REMEMBER! There will be no event on May 7 at the Torrance Cultural Arts Center!
All of you who are admirers of Ray and his work, please come to the Palos Verdes Library on May 17th at 6pm and meet and greet with others of a like mind...
Slated to speak about Ray are Alan Cook (Moderator), Dan Lambert, Judy Sunderland, Bernadette Shih and Ildy Lee.
This will only be the second time that Ray has missed our annual get-together in sixty years! Come and help us celebrate his legacy.

Katherine R. Gould - April 19th Guest Speaker

2010-04-12T03:11:00.000-07:00

Katherine R. Gould

“The future of reading and books.”

Born in Santa Barbara, Kathy spent her high school and college years in Manitoba, Canada.
After receiving her B.A. from Brandon University she returned to California and received her Master of Science in Library and Information Management from USC. After a brief stint as a Librarian at the Pasadena Public Library and as a corporate librarian in a small start-up technology company her career shifted away from libraries and she spent 15 years in a variety of management and executive positions in the mining and manufacturing industries in New Zealand, Australia, and Kentucky.
In 2003 she and her husband returned to California and Kathy returned to her public service and library roots when she became Director of the Palos Verdes Library District in January, 2004.

Come and hear this very special guest speak on Monday, April 19, 2010 at 7pm.
Come early at 6pm for networking and refreshments.

New National Writing Competition

2010-04-12T03:07:00.000-07:00

New National Writing Competition
Contest Name: The Southwest Manuscripters Annual National Writing Competition and Workshop

Contest Description: Poetry and short story, all categories. All submissions welcome.

Prizes: Winning entries to be published in a planned anthology. Winners also receive a medal and certificate. All entries will be constructively critiqued by a writing professional and returned to the author. All entrants will receive a one year membership in the Southwest Manuscripters and receive a monthly newsletter by e-mail.

Fee: $30 per entry. Payment must be made by check made out to The Southwest Manuscripters.

Rules: Submit entry fee check and two copies of each entry with a stamped, addressed, return envelope. Put name and contact information on each copy. Include e-mail address if possible. Indicate category, e.g. non-fiction, drama, suspense, comedy, etcetera on short story submissions. Submissions must be on white paper printed in black ink, double spaced and in size 12 font or larger. Print type should be a standard one and easy to read. Multiple pages should be stapled together in the top, left hand corner and numbered. Maximum word count: 2,000 for poetry; 3,000 for short story.

Submission Deadline: June 30th.

Tips/Advice for Entering: Use your own voice. Have your entry proof read by another person before sending. Write economically and use correct grammar. Try to engage the reader. Try to have a point or purpose for your work. Unpredictable, unusual and clever endings are always good.

Address for Submissions: The Southwest Manuscripters, c/o Austen Pell, President. 29135 Highmore Avenue, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275.

Contact Information: austenpell@sbcglobal.net.

Announcement of Winners: October 18th.

Stephen Smoke - Monday, Mar. 15, 2010

2010-03-10T23:26:00.000-08:00

An accomplished novelist, screenwriter, musician,
and businessman, Stephen Smoke successfully
navigates the worlds of art and business.

He is the author of 17 novels, including Black Butterfly, Pacific Coast Highway, and Pacific Blues, under his own and other names. He has also written several non-fiction books, including the popular Bill of Responsibilities series and the recent Palos Verdes Peninsula Artists book. Mr. Smoke has written and directed feature films, including Street Crimes (starring Dennis Farina) and Final Impact, and has written screenplays for others, including Magic Kid.

He founded and published Mystery Magazine, and published the first online mystery magazine (Hamilton Caine's Mystery Digest, on CompuServe) in 1984.

Mr. Smoke is also a published songwriter and in 1989 recorded an album (in support of his novel, Trick of the Light ) on which several well-known musicians, including one Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member, played on various tracks.

In 1997, his company, Onlineseminars, produced one of the first continuing education for-credit online courses. Later, with a partner, he published the first Standards for Online Learning.

In the mid 90s Mr. Smoke began writing his Bill of Responsibilities series and in 2002 finished work on the Teen Bill of Responsibilities Course, which is now taught in some Southern California schools. The author is actively involved with various corporate entities, teachers groups and community organizations in order to bring the FREE program to schools around the country. Another book in the series, the Corporate Bill of Responsibilities, also has a companion Workshop.

For more information, to purchase books, or to contact Mr. Smoke, go to www.stephensmoke.com.

Ivan Goldman - February 16, 2010

2010-02-11T15:38:00.000-08:00

"KEEP PUNCHING; IT'S THE SMART THING TO DO"
A Fulbright Scholar, Ivan Goldman is the author of three novels and a columnist for The Ring magazine. His writing has also appeared in Columbia Journalism Review, Utne, The Nation, National Review, Rolling Stone, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and elsewhere.

Booklist called The Barfighter (The Permanent Press; 2009) "a fine book" that "illuminates a largely unknown world and tells an engaging tale of redemption filled with vividly drawn characters.
The Barfighter is wryly funny, insightful, and warmly human."

Said Kirkus Reviews: "Entertaining and acutely observed and the boxing milieu and mindset are utterly persuasive. A winner."

Kirkus Reviews called his first novel, Where the Money Is: A Novel of Las Vegas (Barricade; 1995) "an impressive debut . . . a stylish twisty first novel."

His third novel Exit Blue, a Roman à clef and political satire, is due out from Black Heron in early 2010.

His non-fiction title L.A. Secret Police, co-authored with ex-detective Mike Rothmiller, was a New York Times best-seller.

You can find out more about Goldman’s background in his article "Caste and Class on The Washington Post" It appeared in Columbia Journalism Review and is online at:

www.coliserv.net/goldman-caste.html
Join us on February 16, 2010, at the PVP Library at 6:00pm.

(click here for directions)

2010-01-21T14:26:00.000-08:00

For our January meeting of 2010 we are having
member, teacher and writer, Daniel Lambert...
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January 26 - 2010 Daniel Lambert
"Marketing Your Writing on the World Wide Web: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly"

Daniel Lambert is a writer and educator based in Los Angeles. Dan has taught English Composition and Literature at five of the nine Los Angeles Community College District campuses, one Cal State campus, and DeVry University.
Dan's fiction, articles, and poems appear in such publications as Easy Reader, Torrance People, Other Worlds, Wrapped In Plastic, The Gamer, Autoduel Quarterly, and Games Unplugged. His work also appears in the anthologies Faces of Love, Tales on the Twisted Side, and The Manuscripter Volume II.
See Dan's Web site at dan_lambert.homestead.com. His fiction and poetry collection, Love and Other Diversions, is available online at www.lulu.com.
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This meeting will be at the Palos Verdes Peninsula Center Library, 701 Silver Spur Road, Rolling Hills Estates, on January 26, 2010 from 6 to 8pm.

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For info on the meeting location and venue, go here.

Welcome to the Southwest Manuscripters Blog

2010-01-20T19:53:00.000-08:00

I wish to welcome all visiting writers to the Southwest Manuscripters Blog.

The Southwest Manuscripters was the bright offspring of the fading Los Angeles Manuscripters born early in the 20th Century.

In the fall of 1949, the new group was founded whose combined years make it the longest-active writers organization west of the Rockies. Our fabulous first speaker, Ray Bradbury, came and told us of his newly minted Martian Chronicles.
Since that glorious beginning the Southwest Manuscripters has been fortunate to have many top-notch authors as guest speakers. Rod Serling, Steve Allen, Rod McKuen, Alex Haley, Michael York, Carolyn See, Charles Hillinger, B.J. Robbins, Laurence J. Peter, Adela Rogers St. John, Frank Riley, Thomas Curwen, Jack Smith, Susan Straight, Steve Wasserman, Jimmie Butler, Doug Dutton, Mary Lee Friesz, Digby Diehl, Ken Sherman, Michael Hamilburg, Linda Bloodworth, Robert Crais, Jonathan Kirsch, Dr. Susan Perry, Hannibal Coons and many other popular fiction and non-fiction writers, agents, and publishers have graced our podium with their presence.

As our motto proudly states:

"Our aim is to encourage writers to express their talents and develop a unique writing voice by providing a nurturing environment in which to share their gifts."

Through the years our membership has grown to include novelists, screenwriters, poets, writers of children's books, science fiction, non-fiction, journalism, and so many more. We encourage and sponsor workshops and critique groups where budding writers get a chance to have "one-on-one" writing experiences with more seasoned authors.
To help encourage our member writers, our group holds three writing contests a year; Stories, Articles and Poetry.

Winners of these contests not only win a cash prize, but are guaranteed to have their items published in our newsletter, The Write Stuff, if they choose!
At each meeting, members of our practiced group are chosen to read excerpts from their works, as well as at the two yearly parties, where the Writers' Showcase features selected readings.

Our monthly club meetings are held in the South Bay area of Los Angeles County, currently in Palos verdes at the Palos Verdes Peninsula Center Library.

Visit our web site at:

http://www.coliserv.net/swm/

and find out more about us and our events.