EARLY DAYS
Ernest Hemingway once said “There’s nothing to writing, you just sit down at the typewriter and bleed.” Anyone who has tried to write down a story or a memory knows the truth of what he was saying. The secret is to take a break from the blood-letting from time to time and meet others with the same secret. The two or three of you can commiserate about the blank paper, the sad characters, or the muddled plot. This need to share and be inspired is the reason Gold Country Writers was first organized.
In 2010 a local bookstore owner invited several of his customers who were readers and writers to drop by a local coffee shop to chat. After a year, the group got too big for the coffee shop and moved to the back room of another local morning place. It was not long before it was standing room only! Along the way the group had welcomed speakers to come share their expertise, had a very successful book sale, partnered with the Friends of Auburn Library for a day-long book festival, and even set-up an Indie-gogo crowd funding project.
THE PLACER ARTS YEARS
It became obvious a larger place was needed to invite speakers where an audience could be seated for the presentation. Large public groups necessitated that insurance coverage be arranged. After research the group joined as an affiliate of Placer Arts, the Placer County Arts Council. Their building at that time, at 808 Lincoln Way, served as a meeting place. The arts council provided the liability insurance needed and submitted the necessary government paperwork on April 15 each year.
When Placer Arts was reorganized in 2015, Gold Country Writers found a home in the Bethlehem Lutheran Church. GCW was not affiliated with the church but only a renter of meeting space. Almost at once the GCW treasurer set about obtaining a 501(c)3 designation for the group. The certificate was awarded in the fall of 2016. Members now pay dues, elect officers, have social gatherings, and participate in community events as an organization of like-minded people.
PRESENT ORGANIZATION
Now organized as a corporation GCW elects five officers for two years each rotating yearly. There is a board that meets monthly and an annual meeting as required by the IRS. From a loose group discussing books in a coffee shop (calling themselves Wordsmiths) to the present Gold Country Writers group of more than 100 persons, it has been a journey of scribblers looking for blank paper.
Chery Anderson taleteller2@gmail.com 530-613-1153