Sat, Mar 8, 10:30am

Liz Kracht, Literary Agent

West Valley San Jose Branch Library

"Self-editing & Finding an Agent"

Elizabeth Kracht is a literary agent with Kimberley Cameron & Associates and the author of The Author’s Checklist: An Agent’s Guide to Developing and Editing Your Manuscript. She also works as a freelance developmental editor coaching authors. Elizabeth represents both literary and commercial fiction as well as nonfiction, and brings to the agency experience as a former acquisitions editor, freelance publicist, and writer. Read more here

*** Note Meeting Location Change ***

Recap of Julia Sulek's "Tne Soul of the Story"

Julia Prodis Sulek gave a heart thumping account of her 30-year reporting career. The local newspaper writer and Pulitzer-prize winner lives only 5 blocks from her family home in San Jose but her early jobs took her far away. Fortunately for us, her karmic trajectory returned her back home to us.

Her storytelling magic came from a lesson she learned on her first job at a small rural paper where she was assigned to follow up on a missing child case. After interviewing the bus driver who drove the children home, she wrote up the story and turned it in. But her boss enlightened her that she missed the background story by not hopping on the bus with the driver as he dropped off the children on his route. She would reuse this lesson to follow the story again and again ...

by Tamara Bell

View from the Board

Urgent Positions

• News Editor

• Critique Group Coordinator

• Election Chair 2025-26

Open Mic

• in-person monthly in Dec, Jan, Feb

Winter Writing Contest Winner announcement at Mar 8 Meeting

April Meeting Monday, April 7, at China Stix Restaurant. Member panel and books sales

Bay Area Book Festival June 1

Opportunity for self-published authors to display and sell your books.

Board meetings

First Wednesday of month, 7:30 pm, Zoom. In-person on June 7, 2pm. All members are welcome

Contact pres@ southbaywriters.com

Member News

Congratulations to Gerri Forte, our board secretary, who received the "Making a Difference Award" at the San Jose Black History Month Flag Raising Ceremony held at City Hall Rotunda on February 7, 2025.

Author Tonya McQuade is honoring the one-year anniversary of her book launch of A State Divided: The Civil War Letters of James Calaway Hale and Benjamin Petree of Andrew County, Missouri with a newsletter providing updates on her book and current projects.

Tuesday, March 25, 6pm at Jack's Restaurant and Bar, 1502 Saratoga Avenue, San Jose Tonya will be talking about "Paddy's Lament and the Irish Brigade," looking at how well this old ballad represents the Irish experience in the Civil War. Admission free, but most attendees order drinks or dinner.

A CWC-members-only art and photography contest

Open to all CWC Members

Link to Vision and Verse II Art Contest | California Writers Club

The California Writers Club is proud to announce a members-only Art and Photography contest beginning on February 15, 2025 and ending on March 15, 2025. The winning art/photography will appear as visual inspiration for our second Ekphrastic Book.

If you would like the opportunity to see your artwork or photography published in the book, we invite you to submit a digital image of your work to the CWC Art Contest. The chosen winners’ work will be featured prominently throughout Vision & Verse II and combined with poetry and prose that is selected from the members submissions. The Vision and Verse II submission guideline will be announced after the winning images are published in March. The announcement will be e-mailed to all members.