Past Meetings

Media Kit with Professional Author Photos, June 21, 2025

Past Meetings /

Our next meeting will be June 21 at 2:00 pm at the Livermore Civic Center Library (1188 South Livermore Avenue). Registration starts at 1:30 pm. The meeting is free, but please let us know if you are coming. RSVP this month to secretary@trivalleywriters.org.
The June meeting will focus on creating a media kit. We’ll be exploring different ways of crafting an author bio and background information. We will also have Jeff Hosier, a
professional photographer, available to take headshots of attendees. Jeff is offering a marvelous package, waiving his usual sitting fee and reducing the file fees. Members will be able to choose one pose for $29, with additional poses at $10 each. The files will be professionally edited to show you at your best, and payment will not be due until an order is placed.

Media Kit with Professional Author Photos, June 21, 2025 Read More »

Writing and Networking: May 17, 2025

Past Meetings /

Join us for a free drop-in writing session,  meet-and-greet,  and informal discussion of all things writing. We now meet in the Community Rooms A & B at the Livermore Library..

There will be plenty of time to socialize, as well as prompts for writing. Current board members will be available to answer questions about the future of the branch.

While there is no fee for the meeting, we would like to know how many people to expect, so please register at treasurer@trivalleywriters.org by Wednesday, May 14.

Attendees are welcome to bring their own water and snacks as TVW won’t be providing them at this meeting. 

Writing and Networking: May 17, 2025 Read More »

January 18, 2025: Winterfest

Past Meetings /

Join us for a free drop-in writing session, meet-and-greet, and informal discussion on Saturday, January 18, 2025. This month Tri-Valley Writers  celebrates with Winterfest! What is Winterfest, you ask? It’s a time dedicated to celebrating US! The event will start at our regular time, 2:00 pm; at our regular place, room 2470 on Las Positas College campus, but will be so much more. We’ll have food and beverages, social time, a goal-setting exercise, a gift basket give-away, and plenty of time for members to read excerpts from pieces published or given awards in the past year. If you would like to participate in our own Tr-Valley Writers open mic, email Lani Longshore at: secretary@trivalleywriters.org – or email Jordan Bernal at: president@trivalleywriters.org or Patricia Boyle at: vp@trivalleywriters.org.

Although the meeting is free, TVW would like to know who plans to attend so we can ensure enough food and drink. Please email your RSVP to Daniela at treasurer@trivalleywriters.org by Wednesday, January 15, 2025.

January 18, 2025: Winterfest Read More »

November 16, 2024: Writing Short Stories

Past Meetings /

Join us for a free drop-in writing session, meet-and-greet, and informal discussion of all things. This month Tri-Valley Writers is exploring writing short stories. Participants will first tackle flash fiction, with writing prompts designed to create a high impact short story of no more than 100 words. Later, participants will experiment with a traditional length based on themes of family, holiday drama, gratitude, or betrayal.

There will be plenty of time to socialize. Current board members will be available to answer questions about the future of the branch.

While there is no fee for the meeting, we would like to know how many people to expect, so please register at treasurer@trivalleywriters.org by Wednesday, November 13.

Attendees are welcome to bring their own water and snacks as TVW won’t be providing them at this meeting.

November 16, 2024: Writing Short Stories Read More »

California Writers Week, October 19, 2024

Past Meetings /

This month we will be celebrating California Writer’s Week with a program focused on noteworthy writers from our beautiful state of California. One essential tool for writers is the writer’s bio. This succinct and impactful statement will be our focus this month, as we craft our own author’s bio statements. It is often difficult to sing our own praises as we describe our own work, so come join in as we explore how to craft the perfect statement. Let’s celebrate the amazing authors in our own club as we deepen our friendships and support each other in our writing pursuits.

There will be plenty of time to socialize, as well as current board members available to answer questions about the future of the branch.

While there is no fee for the meeting, we would like to know how many people to expect, so please register at treasurer@trivalleywriters.org by Wednesday, October 16.

Attendees are welcome to bring their own water and snacks as TVW won’t be providing them at this meeting.

California Writers Week, October 19, 2024 Read More »

2024: A Time to Write, A Time to Talk

Past Meetings /

Join us for a free drop-in writing session,  meet-and-greet,  and informal discussion of all things.

There will be plenty of time to socialize, as well as prompts for writing, and a little ice-breaker art project. Current board members will be available to answer questions about the future of the branch.

While there is no fee for the meeting, we would like to know how many people to expect, so please register at treasurer@trivalleywriters.org by Wednesday, September 18.

Attendees are welcome to bring their own water and snacks as TVW  won’t be providing them at this meeting.

2024: A Time to Write, A Time to Talk Read More »

July and August 2024

Past Meetings /

Tri-Valley Writers takes a brief summer hiatus during the months of July and August. The Board of Directors will be busy planning for the 2024-2025 term. Critique groups, Pull Up a Chair and Write, and the Zoom Sit Down and Write will continue during the summer, so please forge on with your writing.
Check back here for updated activities.

We look forward to seeing you soon. Write On!

July and August 2024 Read More »

Margaret Lucke, Noted Novelist, Editor, and Writing Teacher, June 15, 2024

Past Meetings /

Tension, pacing and suspense are essential aspects of successful storytelling. Join noted author, editor, and writing teacher Margaret Lucke at our June 15 meeting to explore these three important topics. Whether you are writing fiction, creative nonfiction, or memoir, this discussion will provide you with valuable tips, and techniques for crafting a powerful and rewarding story.
Every great story is a suspense story, no matter what its genre might be. Suspense is the artful balance you create between the readers’ hopes and doubts, between their concern for your characters and their uncertainty about what lies ahead. The flip side of suspense, and just as important, is tension—the means by which you induce your reader to make an emotional investment in your story.
Pacing, the tempo or rate of speed at which your story moves, is one of your key tools for building and controlling tension and suspense and giving your reader the kind of powerful experience that is the goal of storytelling.
In this presentation, we will look at ways you can make your readers ask, “What happens next?” and keep them turning pages in their eager quest for the answer.

Margaret Lucke, Noted Novelist, Editor, and Writing Teacher, June 15, 2024 Read More »

HSWC Awards Ceremony, Keynote: Penny Warner, May 19, 2024

Past Meetings /

Join Tri-Valley Writers on Sunday, May 19, 2024 at 2:00 p.m. at the Livermore Library as we celebrate the winners of the 13th annual “My Story, My Vision” high school writing contest. High school students in Danville, Dublin, Livermore, Pleasanton, and San Ramon submitted works in fiction, poetry, or nonfiction. As writers know, and as TVW Member Patricia Boyle once said, “It takes great courage for students to submit writing to strangers to evaluate and comment on it. I’m proud of the students who entered the contest and took the risk of sharing their work.”

So come support local high school students’ successes as the winners receive their awards and read their submissions. This event is free and open to the public.

Keynote Speaker Penny Warner will impart wonderful encouragement and knowledge to the students and audience alike. Penny has published over 80 books, including the three-time award-winning middle-grade mystery series, THE CODE BUSTERS CLUB. She has also written the award-nominee The Official Nancy Drew Handbook, and is the author of three adult mystery series, including Dead Body Language, How to Host a Killer Party, and Death of a Chocolate Cheater, as well as a newspaper column on family life for 30 years. She and her husband, Tom, create fund-raising murder mystery events for libraries across the country. She can be reached at pennywarnerink@yahoo.com.

HSWC Awards Ceremony, Keynote: Penny Warner, May 19, 2024 Read More »