About

The Northern California chapter is one of the largest of the eleven regional chapters of MWA, and includes California and Nevada roughly north of the 36th parallel (that is, above Cambria, Bakersfield, and Las Vegas). We have a tremendous wealth of talented writers—novels to screenplays, fiction to nonfiction, best-selling to brand-new. Our associate members include librarians, agents, booksellers, and publishing professionals. The meetings we hold are generally open to the public, and are located across the chapter area ten or twelve times a year.

As with our national organization, MWA works to educate writers regarding their rights and interests, and to raise awareness of legal, professional, and educational matters that may affect their writing lives. MWA provides scholarships for writers, sponsors literacy programs and conferences, presents awards, and conducts a variety of activities to further a better appreciation and higher regard for crime writing. Membership is open to all who love the mystery. Members are automatically enrolled in their local chapter, although you need not reside in the U.S. to join. MWA is a nonprofit organization described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. For more information on membership, see the Join page.

Our Officers and Board for 2024

Claire M. Johnson, President
Daisy Bateman, Vice President
Margaret Dumas, Treasurer
M.M. Chouinard, Events Coordinator
Chuck Freadhoff, Events Coordinator
S.A. Lelchuk, Events Coordinator
Laurie Sheehan, Events Coordinator and YouTube Archivist
Glenda Carroll, Social Media Coordinator
Lexa Mack, Lineup Editor
Bryan Avery, School Liaison
Vera Chan, Membership Coordinator
Faye Snowden, Membership Coordinator
Dale Berry, Member-at-Large

Contact information:

For questions and to ask about the newsletter or events, write to us at NorCalMWA@gmail.com