Professional Documents
Culture Documents
2010 Screenwriter Billy Wilder (1906–2002) came to Hollywood from Germany during
WWII. He and Charles Brackett wrote many classic films we love today: Sunset
Boulevard, The Apartment, and The Seven Year Itch, starring Marilyn Monroe.
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About Us Oakland Public Library
West Auditorium
The CALIFORNIA WRITERS CLUB, founded in 1909, is a 501(c) (3)
125 14th Street
educational nonprofit dedicated to educating members and the public-
Entrance on Madison Street
at-large in the craft of writing and in the marketing of their work. Our between 13th and 14th Streets.
monthly meetings are free, open to the public, and feature a speaker,
an author even, or both!
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Visit us at CWC-BERKELEY.COM
ARE YOU IRRESISTIBLE?
Michael Larsen and Elizabeth Pomada, whose literary agency is the oldest in northern California,
will be our featured speakers at the September 19 meeting. Since starting their business in 1972,
Michael and Elizabeth have sold hundreds of books to more than one hundred publishers. They are
also co-founders of the San Francisco Writers Conference and the Writing for Change Conference.
We’ll have a chance to ponder valuable lessons they’ve learned during their long careers.
To make the most of this opportunity, let’s prepare by going to www.larsen-pomada.com. We’ll
start with “Three Ways to Make Yourself Irresistible to Any Agent or Publisher.” Part One,
“Understanding How Agents and Publishers Work,” provides a detailed look at challenging realities.
Did you know, for example, that “the average investment a major publisher makes in a book is
more than $50,000”? It follows that publishers “try to protect their investments by holding down
advances and royalties, and by keeping as many subsidiary rights as possible.” Enter the agent in
our defense.
Part Two, “Develop Your Craft,” has useful how-to-write advice, including “write what you love to
read.” In other words, improve your skills by analyzing how your favorite authors accomplish the
effects you admire. Part Three, “Make a Commitment to Your Career,” focuses on knowing yourself
and your goals. Among the suggestions offered: “Start thinking of yourself as an entrepreneur, a
self-employed professional running a small business.”
No-nonsense material this. But spiced with humor. At one point Michael and Elizabeth feature an
Elmore Leonard character asking what kind of writing makes the most money. Another character
answers: “Ransom notes.” As we confront our literary tribulations, perhaps we should adopt our
speakers’ motto: “Life is short. Laugh first.” Come and enjoy on September 19.
CHARLOTTE COOK
Charlotte Cook, MFA, has extensive experience as a publisher and story editor, bringing six award-
winning novels to publication for KOMENAR Publishing (Writers Digest, February 2008). She’s a
popular conference presenter, successful teacher, and workshop facilitator. In 2010, Charlotte
judged four fiction categories for the 2010 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. She will be faculty
at the Willamette, Redwood, and California Central Coast Writers Conferences. She has led special
events for the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, Southern Oregon Rogue River Writers, and California
Writers Club. With award-winning screenwriter Jon James Miller, she’s developed Adapting
Sideways, a book and workshops for screenwriters to write publishable novels. An article and
excerpt can be found in the September-October issue of Creative Screenwriting Magazine, and the
two will be presenting at the Fall LA EXPO and Big Bear Lake International Film Festival.
To Register:
Send a check to the CWC for $9 (members) or $29 (nonmembers) to Madelen Lontiong, Treasurer,
PO Box 6447, Alameda, CA 94501. Hurry, space is limited!
Bring first two pages of your novel, short story, or inquiry letter for Charlotte to critique.
Membership renewal
by Clifford Hui, Membership Chairman
The time remaining to renew your membership is diminishing. Join now and reserve your front row
seat to the all lineup of programs beginning with Michael Larsen and Elizabeth Pomada, literary
agents, as the featured speakers at the September 19 meeting. Also in September, Charlotte Cook
will reprise her valuable workshop, "The Final Edit."
If you haven't renewed your membership, please do it today. And think about whom you know who
would benefit from membership. Invite them to apply.
Club Picnic
A hundred-year-old CWC tradition was revived on July 10 when sixty members of several of the
NorCal branches of the CWC met in the majestic setting of Joaquin Miller Park for food and
fellowship. Organized by Bob Garfinkle, newly elected president of the CWC, of the Fremont
Branch, youngest of all CWC branches. Bob had substantial assistance from Linda Brown of the
founding Berkeley Branch.
Northern California Independent Booksellers Association Annual Trade Show October 14–16
Lloyd Lofthouse, co-chair of the Marketing Group, reports that plans for the Berkeley Branch
exhibit at the NCIBA show are proceeding. Berkeley will have a significant presence, with three
tables supported by nine authors. This commitment also entitles us to fifteen complimentary
badges. As the date draws near, members may request these passes.
Member News
CWC BERKELEY BRANCH MEMBERS: Please send Write Angles all the news about your life in the
world of art, letters, and literature, however it expresses itself. Your efforts and
accomplishments inspire courage in others. —Anne Fox
Tatjana Greiner is a playwriting mentor of Each One Reach One, a Bay Area Organization dedicated
to mentoring imprisoned youth through theater arts. The program has just been selected a 2010
Coming Up Taller Semifinalist by the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, the
National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Kristen Caven (www.kristencaven.com) launched her unique memoir, Perfectly Revolting: My
Glamorous Cartooning Career, at a historical event at Mills College this spring. In addition to her
author event at the May CWC meeting, Kristen did book signings at Oakland's Laurel Bookstore and
Montclair's Great Good Place for Books, and was featured in an article in the June 4, 2010 issue of
the Montclarion/Mercury News/Marin IJ. (Note errata.)
Nonnie Thompson, currently a Montana resident, reports that an agent asked to represent her
after the ASJA (American Society of Journalists and Authors) conference in April. Nonnie is now
under contract for her memoir, Time It Was: Memoir of a Modern Pioneer. Learn about a
remarkable life and help Nonnie to develop her platform by going to her blog, www.timeitwas-
nonniethompson.blogspot.com/ (And What a Time It Was—Alternative Living Today) and to her Web
site www.nonnie-thompson.com/
Charlotte Cook and Jon James Miller are showcased in Creative Screenwriting Magazine's
September/October issue with an interview and excerpt from Adapting Sideways: How to Turn Your
Screenplay into a Publishable Novel. The book, their methodology and information on how to make
a novel appeal to an agent and publisher, debuts September 8 and can be pre-ordered on Amazon
now. Primary audience is screenwriters and intermediate and advanced novelists. (A proposal for a
longer book is with their agent.) Creative Screenwriting has invited Charlotte and Jon to be
presenters at the annual LA EXPO. For Charlotte’s workshop, “The Final Edit,” on September 12,
see Events/Workshops at www.cwc-berkeley.com/. See animation on YouTube www.youtube.com/
watch?v=86smAU4YY-U.
W. E. Reinka, Berkeley Branch member living in Oregon, has had his nonfiction piece, "Landfalls,"
accepted for the statewide CWC anthology, West Winds, expected to be published this fall.
Anne Fox’s story, “It Comes to This,” has also been accepted for West Winds.
Amos White, CWC-BB member and member of Alameda Island Poets, emceed in July Alameda’s
first Summer Site Write literary series, with Webster Street as the subject.
Poet Alysa Chadow, her guide dog Ellen at her side, read about people of the West End, seen and
unseen. Her poem, along with the other works and photos, were on display at the Alameda
Multicultural Center on Lincoln Avenue during August.
Therese Pipe, who coordinates the oral history collection for the Berkeley Historical Society,
reviewed and discussed the contents of the Berkeley Co-op oral histories with Greg Patmore,
Research Professor from the University of Sidney, Australia, in August 2010. Currently, Therese
continues her involvement with oral histories, awaiting publication, of such noteworthy Berkeley
figures as Ying Lee, Berkeley’s first and only Asian city council member, and the late Professor
Kenneth H. Cardwell, of UC Berkeley. A current photo exhibit sponsored by the Berkeley Camera
Club, with a reception on September 10 at Red Oak Realty Co on Solano Avenue, includes Therese’s
work. More information is available at tpipeln@jps.net.
Tidbits
Submit announcements to Write Angles with "Tidbits" in the subject line.
Tanya Grove has written a charming children's story/poem. Watch a less than two minute video of
the story read by an engaging child.http://www.smories.com/watch/blue/
Amos White has taken on the task of expanding our public outreach to include Internet postings.
Barry Boland, himself a former talk show host, is reaching out to radio and television stations.
The CWC-BB bought an 89-page Bay Area Media List with contact information for over 1,100 Media
Outlets that Publicity Chair Linda Brown and Barry are reviewing now.
Linda Brown, Publicity chair, would like to hear from members interested in contributing skills and
knowledge or learning more about media.
Kristen Caven would like to invite members of the club to a write-in about climate change as part
of a Global Work Party on 10/10/10. The CO2 in the atmosphere is currently 390 parts per million,
far beyond the maximum sustainable number of 350ppm. (Throughout human history it has been
272.) As writers can help spread understanding about this fact wherever and however we write.
Visit Write-350 on FaceBook, Redroom, or 350.org to learn more. Please pass the word on.
—Billy Wilder