About WIW

Since then, WIW has grown rapidly in stature and scope, providing a variety of member services, including a newsletter, health insurance and a job bank. WIW conducts professional and social forums for the exchange of information and ideas, plays an active role in issues that affect the independent writing profession and strives to correct unfair practices in the field.

WIW members write and edit fiction and non-fiction. Some specialize in magazine or newspaper writing, while others write through contracts with corporations, government agencies and nonprofit organizations. Members also write novels, short stories, poetry and film scripts.

Today, WIW is a wide-ranging, full-service organization for regional writers and an example to other writers' groups across the country. WIW now provides, along with the services established at its beginnings, an Annual Spring Writers Conference, professional development seminars, neighborhood mini-workshops, several publications, dozens of Small Groups geared toward specific genre interests and geographical locations of members, and much more. There is a full-time Job Bank coordinator, who develops ways to find potential jobs for members and extend Job Bank services, including occasional workshops and an electronic announcement function for timely listing of openings.

"I'm firmly convinced that, if it hadn't been for WIW, I wouldn't have survived these 14 years as a freelance writer. I've used most of the services WIW offers from time to time, and they've all served me well: Small Groups, conferences and workshops, legal services and especially the Job Bank.

"Best of all have been the networking opportunities. Meeting other writers, sharing ideas and commiseration, knowing that I'm not alone--these are invaluable advantages... "I'm a member of other organizations. None of them give me the bang for the buck that I get from WIW." - Clyde T. Linsley, WIW President 1996-97, 1997-98

The many services and program that WIW has added over the years include:

• the annual Philip M. Stern Award for outstanding service to WIW and its members;

• courses through the prestigious Smithsonian's Resident Associates Program, on writing genres such as historical fiction, biography and children's literature;

• Pubspeak gatherings--informal talks at local hostelries, on various topics with major writers;

• technology conferences;

• home-office conferences;

• interaction with the Writers Center of Bethesda, Md.;

• membership in the Cultural Alliance of Washington;

• endorsement of the Film Biz Happy Hour networking event;

• a World Wide Web site to get the word out about services and programs to an ever-expanding audience; and

• the WIW-L Listserv e-mail list on the Internet, an electronic community in which members and other writers can exchange experiences, advice, resources and opinions.
  

"Over the many years I've been a member, WIW has given me friends, jobs and so much practical know-how that I feel I practically owe my career to the organization. Multiply that effect by 2,000 members, and you can see what a powerful role WIW has played in Washington's writing life." - Rebecca Clay, WIW President 1998-99, 1999-2000

Over the past 25 years, WIW's services have grown to the point that the Job Bank provides dozens of opportunities monthly; health insurance is available to members; the grievance and legal services programs have helped members resolve conflicts with publishers and editors; workshops and professional-development seminars attract dozens of participants; and the annual spring conference attracts 200 participants and more.

With vital services firmly in place, WIW can look back at its first 25 years with great pride and ahead to its next 25 years with renewed dedication to the needs of freelance writers in the modern literary marketplace.

Brief History

WIW Celebrates a Quarter Century of Service

By Ruth E. Thaler-Carter, © 1986 and 2003

Washington Independent Writers (WIW) has an impressive history of service to writers of all persuasions, from those just beginning a first story to those with several books under their literary belts. Founded by a small group of writers who recognized the need for a support group for area freelance writers, WIW was launched in Washington, DC, in 1975.

"Before WIW, independent writers were isolated and powerless. Common concerns and needs brought us together to achieve common goals. Life for us independents hasn't been the same since." - Joseph Foote, WIW President 1980-81, 1993-94

The first formal meeting of WIW was held on a warm night in April 1975, at the National Press Club. Reportedly, 200 people attended. The group elected officers at its first annual meeting, on June 5, 1975. WIW presidents over the years have represented a wide range of writing genres and interests, from fiction to government reports to journalism education to business to investigative journalism and more: Harvey Katz, Barbara Raskin, Charles Conconi, James Srodes, Paul Dickson, Joseph Foote, Dan E. Moldea, Daniel Rapoport, Michael Whelan, Lisa Berger, Mark Perry, Marta Vogel, Howard Bray, Bill Adler, Wanda Wigfall-Williams, Tim Wells, Susan Levin, Daniel Macey, Joseph Foote (second term), Linda Stern, Mary Scroggins, Clyde Linsley (2 consecutive terms) and Rebecca Clay (2 consecutive terms).

In building an organization that would be useful to both the new writer and the expert, WIW's founders established a range of services that included a monthly newsletter, Job Bank, social activities, directory of members, legal services program, health insurance access, grievance procedures, medical insurance, and a continuing round of workshops and seminars.

"One of the remarkable things about WIW is that it has succeeded through the energies of independently minded writers - people who don't usually join committees or belong to groups. These writers have gotten behind WIW and, by pushing for their own interests, have helped the organization. It's wonderfully symbiotic." - Lisa Berger, WIW President 1985-86

Many of WIW's founding members and first officers have remained active throughout its history, serving in subsequent years as officers, board members, committee and Advisory Board members. Their participation has given WIW a strong thread of continuity over the years, helping the organization to remain committed to its original goals while expanding services to meet new concerns.

Thanks to funding support from the Philip M. Stern Family Fund and the goodwill of David Dear of Dear Publication and Radio, the first WIW office opened at the National Press Building in June 1975 with Anne Allen as the first executive director. Judith Brody Saks served as director in the late 1970s. Isolde Chapin became executive director in 1980 and has continued to serve in that position to this day, shepherding the association into its fulltime status and constantly expanding its network of services to members.

Since 1975, the WIW budget has multiplied many times over, membership has more than doubled and redoubled, staff time has more than tripled and office hours have expanded to fulltime.

"I have always felt that WIW, as a trade association, should be more than a clearinghouse for information. To be sure, such services as workshops and health insurance are the backbone of the organization. However, we have the responsibility to stand with other writers' groups at the forefront of the battle to defend and protect writers from those abuses we bear and read about daily."
- Dan E. Moldea, WIW President 1981-82

Thaler-Carter has been a member of WIW since 1980. She was WIW's first ongoing newsletter editor, serving in that capacity from 1980-88, and the 1999 recipient of WIW's Philip M. Stern Award for exceptional service to the free-lance profession.