Who are we?

The California Writers Club was formally chartered in 1912. The Club began with the informal gatherings of Jack London, poet George Sterling, and short story writer Herman Whitaker in 1909. We have grown since those early days with over 1500 members throughout California.

CWC is a nonprofit professional organization for writers that provides writing and market information and promotes fellowship. Our members are writers of novels, short stories, nonfiction works, poetry, scripts and plays. Other members are editors, newspaper journalists, columnists, photojournalists and literary agents. The majority of members are published.

The aim of the organization is to provide information to enable all members to achieve their writing goals of publication. The central board and monthly bulletin provide unity and cohesiveness among the branches. Each branch meets monthly to hear writers, editors, teachers, publishers and agents speak on topics pertinent to the industry. Both published and unpublished guests and interested members of the public are welcome at any branch meeting. Some branches also sponsor workshops, contests, conferences, and critique groups.

The CWC South Bay Writers Branch was chartered in January 1987. The members are an enthusiastic group dedicated to expanding contacts among other writers of the greater San Jose area. Our members, more than a hundred now, include published novelists, poets, memoirists, and journalists, and also beginning writers seeking support and encouragement.

Our purpose is to provide a forum for educating members and the public in the art and the business of writing. To that end, we schedule experts in writing, editing, marketing, and publishing to speak at our monthly meetings.

Where do we meet?

Our regular monthly dinner meetings are held at the Lookout Bar & Grill in Sunnyvale, CA. In general, we meet the second Tuesday of every month at 6 PM. However, some months we have a workshop or other special event instead of the regular meeting. Information will be posted on this website and in our newsletter, WritersTalk.

Non-members are always welcome. We advertise our meetings to encourage the public to attend and we try to make everyone feel at home. 

For more information about our schedule of meetings and directions, go to our Meetings page.

SBW proudly hosts the East of Eden Writers Conference

Our acclaimed writers conference, East of Eden, is held every other year in early fall.  Our goal for the conference is for everyone who attends to get what they needed to take their writing to the next level, whether that means beginning to write a little poetry, getting a first novel published, or marketing published work. Judging from the tremendous feedback we've received, we have succeeded beyond our wildest expectations. We'd like to thank our hard-working Conference Committee, our outstanding Faculty and Speakers, and the many talented writers who attended for a truly memorable experience. Read more about the conference.

Open Mic Nights

South Bay Writers host several Open Mic Nights in the South Bay area. Writers who would like to read their own prose or poetry, or short selections from a favorite author, should reserve a time slot. See the Open Mic page for details. Non-members are more than welcome to join the fun.