The South Bay Writers club, in partnership with SASCC, welcomes Meg Waite Clayton as our September speaker. She will take us on “A Writer’s Journey: For anyone who wants to publish, or simply find the courage to write.” As a best-selling author, Meg is now living out her childhood dream of becoming a novelist. Her journey to becoming a full-time writer, however, was not quite the straight path that she might have envisioned. Along the way, she went to law school and became a corporate lawyer. It wasn’t until the age of 32, when she was pregnant with her second child, that she decided to try her hand at writing. She discovered that writing is a lot harder than it looks, and it wasn’t until her son was 11 years old that her first novel was finally published. She has now written nine novels, in addition to numerous articles for major newspapers, magazines, and public radio.
Meg’s most recent book, Typewriter Beach, takes place mainly in Carmel, and it includes details about popular locations in that area, such as Tor House and Hawk Tower. This novel is of particular interest to her fellow writers because the main characters are screenwriters, and she has infused some great writing advice within its pages. Another of Meg’s novels, The Wednesday Sisters, is also appealing to writers because it centers around a group of women who meet at a park in Palo Alto to share their love of books, and who end up forming a writing group. Meg has been a member of several different writing groups over the years, and is now a member of The Rough Drafts group in Santa Cruz.
The greater Bay Area is a familiar place for Meg, not just as the setting for novels, but as her residence for a good portion of her life. She currently lives in Carmel and she raised her sons in Palo Alto. She also has many great memories of visits to Saratoga, where her parents had lived since the 1970s.
Meg’s work is well-known far beyond the Bay Area. Her books have been published in 24 languages, have been featured on Good Morning America, and have been finalists for the National Jewish Book Award, the Langum Prize, and Barbara King solver’s Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction. Her screenplay for The Last Train to London was chosen for the Meryl Streep- and Nicole Kidman-sponsored The Writers Lab.
Meg’s novels draw on the history of real women facing challenges and defying the odds to make a real difference in the world. Her inspirations include journalists, photographers, and the women of Hollywood, past and present. Regardless of whether you are already a published author or someone who is just looking for inspiration on how to get started with a writing project, you will not want to miss out on hearing about the compelling and inspiring journey of best-selling author Meg Waite Clayton