Welcome to FAW 2026!!!

Three Latest Page Updates

Click on the link to go to the latest news.

Evelyn LaTorre Elected CWC Secretary!

Evelyn LaTorre, our long-time CWC representative, was just elected as Secretary of the California Writers Club Board. Congratulations Evelyn!

FAW Member Renewal Now Open!

Renew your FAW membership at the Member Renewal Page.

The renewal period ends August 31. After that you have to pay $20 more to renew, so renew today!

The winner of the free membership lottery was Pat Doyne. Congratulations, Pat!

Join FAW

Want to join Fremont Area Writers? Click here or the “Join Us” link on the menu bar above.

New Events

FAW member Carol Hall‘s film project is progressing. In March, the 2-minute sizzle reel for The Jeweled Bird was shown at The Chinatown Film Festival in Los Angeles and won for Best Trailer and Audience Choice Award. Information on the project can be found here. This include information on a crowd funding campaign for a proof of concept. She has obtained a fiscal sponsor, From the Heart Productions, which makes contributions to the project tax-deductible.

The 10-minute proof-of-concept film is a portion of the movie that shows what the entire movie is basically about. It will also showcase the quality and the tone of the full-length film. This POC can be entered into major film festivals like Sundance, Tribeca, and South by Southwest as a short to gain credibility and attract name talent and investors. It can also be submitted to studios and other producers to partner with on the feature film. In addition, since the short stands by itself, it will be offered to schools, libraries, anti-human trafficking organizations, faith-based organizations, and Asian American groups.

New, New, New!!!

The August 2026 Ink Spots Newsletter is now available on the Newsletter Page.

The Contests and Submission Page is available at https://cwc-fremontareawriters.org/contests-and-submissions/

A new pair of contests from Gotham Writers is listed there.

Or click the sublink under the Writer Resources Menu Item at the top of the page.

You can submit your Shout Out to Ink Spots on the Newsletter page also, using a handy form. Have a story you’d like to submit to Ink Spots? You can submit it using the Shout Out form too! Don’t worry about formatting, Ink Spots will take care of it.

Speakers

All FAW members will receive Zoom information the Tuesday or Wednesday before the next meeting.FAW Our next speaker, on August 22, is Robert Anthony Siegel, who will talk about “Writing Flash Fiction.” If you are interested in submitting to the Flash Fiction Contest in October, this is a must attend meeting. Information is below.

Members will receive Zoom information. Not a member? You can join FAW today on our Join Us page. But anyone can attend, free, by requesting Zoom information from Scott Davidson.

Want to join FAW? You can also do it on-line, at our Join Us page. Fill out the form and then pay using PayPal or your credit card.

President’s Message – August 2026

I’m from New York, and in New York August is the month when everyone leaves town and heads for the mountains and the Hamptons. Not true for Fremont Area Writers. August is the month we start things up again, with a speaker (August 22), a Salon (August 24), and a lunch. Details are in this issue of Ink Spots. August is the last month to renew at a discounted rate. I want to thank the majority of you who have renewed already. You are what keeps this club going. If you haven’t renewed yet, please do so as soon as possible. You can renew at https://cwc-fremontareawriters.org/faw-member-registration . Your dues allow us to keep our meetings and events free. The FAW Board appreciates every dollar, and we do our best to spend your money wisely, in a way that will give you the most value for your contribution.
And, speaking of membership, we are excited to welcome those from Tri-Valley Writers who are joining FAW. I’ve already told them about our activities: two attended the picnic in July, and we have a new contribution to the FAW Bookshelf from Tri-Valley member John G. Bluck. Anyone else wishing to have their books featured there should contact me. We are also doing our Fremont Main Library display in October, which features books from our members. If you are interested in having your book in the display case, let me know.
Each member can get a page featuring their biography, their work, and links to where their work can be bought. Take a look at the bios page. Not enough members take advantage of posting a bio, so we encourage you to submit one.
Most importantly, we are looking for suggestions for new activities and new ideas. Be warned – if you suggest it, you will have to help implement it. But we are eager to make Fremont Area Writers even better with your help.

Keep thinking and writing!

Scott

See books by FAW Members on the Bookshelf page. Updated 3 April with books by Cherilyn Chin and Amber DeAnn

What is the Writers Salon?

From Tony Pino

Every fourth Monday evening, the Fremont Area Writers Group holds a Writer’s Salon. Yet the word “salon” is not used in the daily vernacular of ordinary Americans like you and me—with one exception: the neighborhood beauty salon.

So, what does salon mean in our monthly context?

In response to this question, I am reminded of the film, Midnight in Paris, in which prominent artists of the Post-World-War I era—Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali et al—met at midnight to share and exchange artful ideas and commentary. The protagonist of this film, Gil Pender, is a Hollywood writer who becomes a time-traveler when he is invited into this bygone era by no other than T. S.Eliot. The imagined venue of this film—the sumptuous apartment of Gertrude Stein—can be a metaphor for our writers’ group meetings, where we meet online, share ideas, and support each other in our efforts to achieve “clarity and grace”* whether it’s story-telling, essay-, technical- or report-writing, poetry, or any other communication we might consider. We don’t purport to be Hemingways, Steins or F. Scott Fitzgeralds—we’re just friends trying to get to the next paragraph.

Please consider joining us on the fourth Monday of the month at 7:00-PM and listening or commenting on our colleagues’ work. BTW: If you haven’t already done so, see Woody Allen’s film, Midnight in Paris. It’s worth the time.

The next Salon is Monday, February 23. All FAW members will get notified.

See more pictures at the Past Events page.

New!: The FAW Bookshelf is now available. See the books FAW writers have published. If you are a member and your book is not there, send a jpeg of your cover, a link to where the book can be bought and a one sentence summary to Scott Davidson.

Come to the Zoom Write-in, second Saturday of Each Month.

Our last write-in was Saturday, June 13, 2 PM. The flyer is below. Our next write-in will be Saturday, August 8, since we take July off. All FAW members will get Zoom information. Information is below. Not a member? Get Zoom information from Scott Davidson