If you're a writer or reader, want to learn the craft of writing or support literary development in the Coachella Valley, the Guild is for you!


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Thinking about joining? Watch what some of our members have to say about the Guild.


We meet monthly at the beautiful Rancho Mirage Library and Observatory


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This is a list of topics we have covered in our meetings, workshops and events:

How do I become a better writer?

How do I market my book?

How do I make money selling books?

How do I develop characters for my story?

How do I develop a plot for my story?

Where can I meet other others?

Are there critique groups in Palm Springs?

What is the best way to find an Agent?

How do I get published?

How do I self-publish?

How do I get my book printed?

How do I convert my book to an ebook?

Where do I find a writers group?

How do I prepare my manuscript?

Where can I learn about the craft of writing?


How do I write a query letter?

What is voice?

How do I get my short story published?

Where do I get help publishing my memoir?

How do I become a New York Times Bestseller?

Where can I sell my book in the Coachella Valley?

Where can I find local writing contests?

How do I get my book into a library?

How do I begin writing?

How do I overcome writer’s block?

How do I market my book?

Where can I learn about writing poetry?

How do authors use social media?

How do I write dialogue?

How do I get book reviews?



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Critique Groups are touted by many members to be the best benefit of membership. 

The guiding principle of the group is to critique, not criticize. We are here to help, not tear down. We are here not to change your unique writing style, but to help you strengthen it. Read more...


The Palm Springs Writers Guild offers several types of contests throughout the program season. Most contest winners will receive a prize of some denomination. For experienced writers, this may also be an opportunity for creative challenge by writing outside of his/her genre. Read more...


As a member, you have the opportunity to advertise your book in the Member Books section and to list your achievements in the Member Highlights section of the website. Read more...


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Season After Season, the Palm Springs Writers Guild Offers More Events!

2015-2016 Season Events

10/3/15
SEASON KICK-OFF MEETING! "Write What You Love" with Best-Selling Author DIANA WAGMAN

10/21/15
WRITER'S WORKSHOP: "13 Ways Poetry Can Enliven, Illuminate, and Improve Your Prose"

11/7/15
November Meeting: Book-to-Screen! An Interview with "White Oleander" Author JANET FITCH

12/5/15
December Meeting with Award-Winning Author DAVID MORRELL; credits include "First Blood", the iconic novel that ignited "Rambo" movie series.

12/11/15
WRITER'S WORKSHOP: "The Way of Story" with Screenwriter & Author Catherine Ann Jones

12/11/15
Writer's Workshop: “The Way of Story”

1/2/16
January Meeting: "What Kind of Loser Indie Publishes and How Can I Be One, Too?" presented by Amazon Bestselling Author Pamela Fagin Hutchins

1/16/16
WRITER'S WORKSHOP: "Spice Up Your Writing" w/ food & travel writer Carolynn Carreño

2/6/16
February Meeting: "The Writer's Quest: The real life drama of creativity" w/ Playwright & Director Andrew Harmon

2/20/16
WRITER'S WORKSHOP: "Vocabulary of Scent" with Perfumer Yosh Han

3/5/16
March Meeting: "Finish Your Book in Three Drafts" w/ Book Architecture Founder Stuart Horwitz

3/7/16
WRITER'S WORKSHOP: "B.A.M.! Crafting Fiction and Creative Non-Fiction with the Book Architecture Method"

3/9/16
2016 Annual Writing Contest. Optional entry formats are Personal Essay or Short Story. *Member Only. Deadline is March 9, 2016.

3/9/16
Poetry Contest: No Entry Fee! Prize Awards! Member Only Participants. Deadline is March 9th.

4/2/16
APRIL Writing Challenge: A Medallion (the object). *Member Only Participants. Deadline is April 2, 2016.

4/2/16
April Meeting: "So You're Writing a Book...What Are Your Publishing Options?"w/Book Marketing Expert Lynn Wiese Sneyd

4/4/16
WRITER'S WORKSHOP: "How To Market Your Masterpiece" presented by Book Marketing Expert Lynn Wiese Sneyd

5/7/16
APPLICATION FORM: "Meet the Publisher": Deadline May 7, 2016. Member Only! Must have completed manuscipt.

5/7/16
May Meeting: "Celebration of Story" Announcing the Winners of the 2016 Annual Writing Contest!!

6/4/16
June Meeting: Get Published! Panel Discussion with Top Industry Publishers

2016-2017 Season Events

10/1/16
SEASON KICK-OFF MEETING! NY Times Bestselling Author / Associate Professor of Creative Writing at UC Riverside: TOD GOLDBERG presents "Short Story vs. Essay"

10/29/16
FUNDRAISER LUNCHEON! EXCLUSIVE ENGAGEMENT!! "VINCE FLYNN'S "Order To Kill" by Kyle Mills. Luncheon, Author Discussion, Copy of Book, Silent Auction & More!

11/5/16
November Meeting: "Legal Issues for Artists" with Founder of Greg Victoroff & Associates, Attorney Greg Victoroff

12/10/16
December Meeting: "The 4 Pillars of Professional Self-Publishing" with president of Author Imprints: David Wogahn

12/12/16
Writers Workshop: "Maximize Your Book's Potential for Success" with Publishing Consultant David Wogahn

2/7/17
January Meeting: How to Overcome Your Writing Challenges in 2017: Plan Right, Write Right, and Submit Right. Guild President John G. Peters, Jr., Ph.D., Executive Vice President Uschi Wilson, and Recording Secretary Marilyn Janas, M.B.A., M.A. present.

2/1/17
2017 Annual Short Story Contest. Member Only. Deadline is March 15, 2017.

2/4/17
February Meeting: Two of the Top Voice Over Coaches in Los Angeles Michael Bell and Lori Tritel share the secrets of voice over and audio books with you!

3/4/17
March Meeting: Shimmering Images; A Handy Little Guide to Writing Memoir presented by Lisa Dale Norton

3/4/17
40th Anniversary Celebration Event

3/30/17
6th DESERT WRITERS EXPO: Meet the Authors

4/1/17
April Meeting: April is "Poetry Month"

4/8/17
Monthly Writing Contest

5/6/17
May Meeting, Day of New Works

6/3/17
June Meeting, Best Selling Author Jonathan Maberry

6/3/17
June Networking Event

6/15/17
Summer Writing Contest: Personal Essay

2017-2018 Season Events

9/9/17
September Meeting - NEW STARTING DATE! Presenter Ruth Nolan

9/9/17
September Networking Event

9/11/17
Writers Workshop: "Writing Your Inner Desert" with Ruth M. Nolan

10/1/17
Monthly Fiction Contest - October 2017

10/7/17
October Meeting - Presenter Angela Bole

10/26/17
Word Boot Camp (for Windows Users)

11/1/17
Monthly Fiction Contest - November 2017

11/4/17
November Meeting - Presenter Bob Masello, best selling author

11/5/17
Writers Workshop: "How to Write the Best Book You--and Only You Can Write." with Bob Masello

11/14/17
BOOT CAMP - How to Begin Writing

11/30/17
Palm Springs Writers Guild Holiday Book Fair

12/1/17
Monthly Fiction Contest - December 2017

12/2/17
December Meeting - Presenter Amy Collins

12/3/17
Writers Workshop: "How to Get Your Books into Bookstores and Libraries. The Steps and Materials Needed." with Amy Collins

1/1/18
Monthly Fiction Contest - January 2018

1/6/18
January Meeting - Speaker Donald Maass, New York Literary Agent

1/6/18
January Networking Event

1/7/18
Writers Workshop: "The Emotional Craft of Fiction" with Donald Maass

2/1/18
Monthly Fiction Contest - February 2018

2/1/18
Poetry Contest - February 2018

2/3/18
February Meeting - Presenter Lisa Dale Norton, Editor

2/4/18
Writers Workshop: "Writing the Best Memoir You Can" with Lisa Dale Norton

2/5/18
Memoir Consultations with Lisa Dale Norton

3/1/18
Monthly Fiction Contest - March 2018

3/1/18
2018 Memoir Contest. Member Only. Deadline is noon on April 1, 2018.

3/3/18
Pitch Your Book to Commercial Publisher Randy Shur

3/3/18
March Meeting - Presenter Rudy Shur, Publisher

3/4/18
Writers Workshop: "How to Maximize Your Chance of Getting Your Nonfiction Book Signed by a Commercial Publisher" with Rudy Shur

3/15/18
2018 Annual Short Story Contest. Member Only. Deadline is noon on April 15, 2018.

3/27/18
7th DESERT WRITERS EXPO: Meet the Authors.

3/30/18
Public Poetry Event

4/1/18
Monthly Fiction Contest - April 2018

4/7/18
April Meeting - Presenter Deborah Landau, PhD, Poetry

4/21/18
PSWG - ART Patron Magazine Marketing Opportunity

5/5/18
May Meeting

6/2/18
June Meeting - "Minibüks can Enhance Your Sales" Presenter David Seid

6/2/18
June Networking Event

2018-2019 Season Events

9/8/18
September Meeting - "The Power of Place" Presenter Ruth Nolan, Professor of English and Creative Writing, College of the Desert

9/9/18
Workshop: "THE POWER OF PLACE: Using Setting to Bring Your Stories/Poems to Life" with Ruth Nolan, Professor of English and Creative Writing, College of the Desert

10/1/18
October Monthly Fiction Contest: Obstruction

10/6/18
October Meeting - "How I Ran Away to the French Riviera and Wrote a NY Times Bestseller" Presenter Andrew Kaplan, Best-selling author

10/8/18
Workshop: "Part 1: Seven Elements That Can Turn Your Book into a New York Times Bestseller Part 2: How to Create Instantly Compelling Characters" with Andrew Kaplan, Best-selling author

11/1/18
November Monthly Fiction Contest: Fired!

11/1/18
Memoir Contest for the 2018/2019 Season. Member Only. Deadline is noon on December 1, 2018.

11/3/18
November Meeting - "Perils and Payoffs: The Risky Business of Researching for Fiction" Presenter Elizabeth Sims, Award-winning author

11/4/18
Workshop: "Short Story Writing for Publication" with Elizabeth Sims, Award-winning author

11/9/18
Edit for Success Part 1: Micro Edits

12/1/18
December Monthly Fiction Contest: First Snow

12/1/18
December Meeting - “What is Voice?" Presenter Malaga Baldi, Independent Agent and owner of the Baldi Agency

12/2/18
Workshop: “No More Tears! Query Letter Writing" with Malaga Baldi, Independent Agent and owner of Baldi Agency

12/7/18
Edit for Success Part 2: Macro Edits

1/1/19
January Monthly Fiction Contest: Yellow

1/5/19
January Meeting - “I’ve Written The End – Pass Me the Maalox” – Preparing Your Manuscript for Publication" Presenter Lynn Price, Publisher, Behler Publications

1/7/19
Workshop: “Publishing Options - Making the Right Decision" with Lynn Price, Publisher, Behler Publications

1/15/19
Poetry Contest - January 2019

2/1/19
February Monthly Fiction Contest: Heartburn

2/9/19
February Meeting - “Topic TBD" Presenter Gary Fisketjon, Knopf Vice President and Editor at Large

2/10/19
Workshop: “Topic TBD" with Gary Fisketjon, Knopf Vice President and Editor at Large

3/1/19
March Monthly Fiction Contest: Pluck

3/2/19
March Meeting - “What’s YA Anyway" Presenter John Smelcer

3/3/19
Workshop: “Zen and The Writing Life” with John Smelcer

3/15/19
2019 Annual Short Story Contest. Member Only. Deadline is noon on April 15, 2019.

4/1/19
April Monthly Fiction Contest: Serendipity

6/1/19
June Meeting - “Seven Secrets of Successfully Selling Books" Presenter Brian Jud, President, Premium Book Company

6/2/19
Workshop: “The Buck Starts Here: How to Write and Sell Books in Large Quantities" with Brian Jud


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Additional Benefits

Private Member Website Directory with Profile Page

Email Blast Reminders for Contests, Meetings & Events

Volunteer Opportunities

Networking Opportunities

Website Advertisement for Professional Writing Services (additional fee)



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