Workshop history
| From an informal gathering of aspiring writers meeting at the Hurst Christian Church in January, 1977 and calling themselves the Tarrant County Creative Writers’ Workshop, DFW Writers’ Workshop has grown into an organization whose membership numbers over a hundred. It now includes thirty-eight published authors with forty-six publishers represented. The group meets every Wednesday at the Ruth Millican Center in Euless, Texas, to read and critique their workOver the years the group tried many “Read and Critique” formats but had not established any rules. After several individuals’ reads lasted nearly all night, the group established official By-Laws and Standing Rules in 1981.A maximum time of twenty minutes was allocated to each reader. The maximum read time was fifteen minutes. Working within his allotted twenty minutes, a reader hoping for more than five minutes of critique could shorten his read to allow for additional discussion. Once listeners had finished their critiques and/or the twenty-minute limit had expired, the monitor moved to the next read. Even in the early years, ten o’clock was the official cut-off time, but members found being with other writers so stimulating, many adjourned to Denny’s to talk and exchange ideas. With Denny’s co-operation, that tradition continues with a few diehards occasionally staying until dawn.To provide a smooth transition, former presidents traditionally help new presidents by serving as an unofficial ad-hoc advisory council. At the end of the year, each president publishes and submits an End-of-the-Year Report to the membership, summarizing the most important events and accomplishments for that year. Expansion and Division: In December of 1988, with membership over one hundred crammed into very close meeting quarters, a contingency of members decided to form a separate workshop. This group began as TAWA (Trinity Arts Writers’ Association) and currently goes by the name of Trinity Writers’ Workshop.
In December of 1993 the Workshop divided when soaring membership made management almost impossible. This group formed as the North Texas Professional Writers.
Both of these groups are functioning in the area and offer similar programs. Links to these groups can be found on our ‘Affiliations & Links’ webpage.
Additional Activities: As a group and individually, members attended seminars, conferences, and entered contests. They won awards at the Oklahoma Writers Federation and attended their conferences, becoming the first out-of-state club to have a membership. They often attended The Ozark Writers’ Conference, The East Texas Writers’ Conference, The Craft of Writing Conference in Dallas, The Golden Triangle Conference, The Western Writers’ of America Conference, The Chisholm Trail Conference at Texas Christian University, and The University of Oklahoma Journalism Department’s Summer Professional Writers’ Course.
Attendance as a group at numerous conferences enabled members to meet and invite editors, agents, and scholars to give week-end seminars for the Workshop. Some of the guest speakers were Jack Bickham–author of over fifty novels; Pat LoBrutto–editor at Doubleday and later at Kensington; Michael Seidman–editor at Tor, Mysterious Press, and Walker; Gary Goldstein–editor at Doubleday, then at Berkley; Sara Ann Freed of Mysterious Press and Warner Books, Jon Guthrie–award winning short story writer and teacher; Peter Miller–agent and author; Cherry Weiner–agent; Donald Maas–agent; Carlton Stowers–award winning author of true crime; Bill Gray–author of mysteries and horror; and many others including poets and dramatists.
For years the Workshop gave two seminars a year: one taught by members and for members only, the other open to the public with experts from New York and elsewhere to instruct. These events served to increase the membership and the treasury. At present, the Euless Library sponsors Workshop events by allowing the use of their facility and by advertising the event.
Community Service: To encourage writing in the community, the group held writing contests in sixteen elementary, middle, and high schools, and Tarrant County Junior College for four years (1980−1983). It provided speakers for Texas Christian University, Tarrant County Junior College, and senior citizens’ groups. Later, members worked with schools in Keller, Euless, and South Fort Worth, visited classes, and consulted with students in their endeavors to write stories and the publish their work. The group was frequently invited to judge writing contests in Oklahoma, East Texas, Johnson County, Dallas, and local schools. For three years the workshop participated in the Euless Annual Arbor Daze Festival by making over 60 authors and their books available to the public during the event.
Since 1995, the group has given hundreds of books to Headstart children at Christmas at Mid-Cities Pre-School in Euless. In 1999 the Workshop sponsored a writing contest for regional high schools and gave significant monetary awards to three winners. Members have participated in the Adopt-a-School Program at Euless Middle School for several years and in the City of Euless Library’s “Let’s Talk About Books” for over ten years. In 1989 the Workshop published a quarterly newsletter, The Critique. Printed on slick paper and including photographs, it continues to be mailed to publishing houses, writers’ organizations, and libraries. It serves as a record of Workshop activities and of its members’ accomplishments.
Incorporation and Non-Profit Status: In 1991, a committee led by President Al Buckner and composed of five past presidents, (Jack Ballas, Glenn Bavousett, Joan McCord, John McCord, and Roy Mullins) sought to clarify the Workshops’ goals and purposes and submitted its recommendations to the 1991 Board of Directors for their consideration.
The Board led by President Al Buckner submitted the committee’s recommendations to the membership who, after making amendments, adopted the By-Laws and Statement of Ethics. The Workshop received their Non-Profit Corporate Charter from the State of Texas in 1991.
The IRS’ “Letter of Determination”, received in January 1992 successfully completed the detailed requirements to establish the Workshop’s non-profit tax exempt 501©(3) status.
Member Support: Each time a member publishes a new book, the Workshop sponsors the author’s first book signing at a local bookstore. These sponsored events permit the community to share in our success, support local businesses, and educate members in how to hold a successful book signing. The Secret of Success: The secret for writing well and getting published is the same as the secret for a successful organization: hard work by committed individuals willing to learn from past experience.
The Secret of Success: The secret for writing well and getting published is the same as the secret for a successful organization: hard work by committed individuals willing to learn from past experience.
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