About - Redwood Writers Club

“Writers helping writers.”
_{-RWC Branch Motto}

Redwood Writers is the largest of 21 branches of the California Writers Club.

Redwood branch is located in Sonoma County, California, about sixty miles north of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge, and holds its monthly meetings in Santa Rosa while other branch activities are offered throughout Sonoma County.

CWC is a statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to educating both members and the public in the craft of writing and in the marketing of their work, through public meetings, workshops and conferences. The California Writers Club is a professional writers club open to writers of all genres. It was founded in 1909.

Our mailing address: Redwood Writers, P.O. Box 4687, Santa Rosa, CA 95402.
Or send us a message on the Contact page by clicking here.

Browse this site to learn about our meetings, speakers, events, writing contests, and workshops. Drop in at our events. If you find value, please apply for membership and become part of our community of writers supporting writers.

Events & Activities

The Redwood Branch of the California Writers Club sponsors a wide variety of events and activities throughout the year. Our activities are held in or around Santa Rosa, CA, in beautiful Sonoma County wine country.

Membership Meeting

Our membership meeting is typically held on the third Saturday of each month. Our members gather to network, hear branch announcements, and a featured guest speaker.

Monthly meetings are held from 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. at the Santa Rosa Finley Community Center, 2060 W. College Ave, Santa Rosa, CA 95401.

Meetings

Events

Other events, such as the Salon and Redwood Writers Circle, provide a more informal opportunity to meet other members and hear their literary works. Workshops on different genres, the craft of writing and publishing trends further enhance our skills as authors. Every other year, Redwood sponsors an all-day writing conference.

Events

Contests

At least three contests are offered each year, periodically along with a play-writing contest in collaboration with Off the Page Readers Theater.

Contests

Publications

Redwood Writers publishes a members-only anthology each year, launched in the fall. Every other year, a poetry anthology is published, open to all writers, members and non-members.

Publications

RWC History

Redwood was the fourth CWC branch, established in 1975, with special impetus from Helene S. Barnhart of Berkeley CWC who had moved to the North Bay. In Santa Rosa, Helene was a writing teacher who formed a private critique group with some of her more eager and talented students. She, along with Ruth Walker, promoted to the critique group the idea of forming a regular club as a branch of CWC. She founded the Redwood Branch with 45 charter members with the help of James Walker, acting chairman for the organizational period.

It was through the teachers of writing, Helene S. Barnhart in Santa Rosa and Margaret Scariano in Novato, that many new members were recruited and guests invited to the dinner meetings.

In 1984, the late Inman Whipple (President, 1978) wrote of Helene S. Barnhart and Dianne Kurlfinke:

“In my opinion, these two people have brought the dream of a writing club to fruition and then stood behind it and encouraged it all the way. They have constantly fostered the exchange of ideas, speakers, activities, support, and cooperation with all the other branches. Our success is directly due to the efforts of these two—the right dream with action at the right time.”

For a period of ten years, Redwood Branch was one of the CWC “Quad,” the four existing branches (Berkeley, Sacramento, Peninsula, and Redwood), each in Northern California. It was possible to hold all-branch meetings and to form close relationships among CWC members.

Today, Redwood Branch continues the tradition and purpose that our founding officers established. Redwood is currently the largest branch in CWC and its growing membership both attends and supports its many activities.