by Evan Johnson

The Writers' League of Texas (WLT) has a lot of ground to cover all of a sudden. Formerly the Austin Writers' League, the organization is now trying to reach an entire state of aspiring writers with its programs and vision. It has a new director. It has a new name. It has a much larger contingency to canvass, as well as a growing local membership to satisfy. It is a huge transition for any nonprofit to make, one that requires money, members, marketing, volunteers and visibility.

But before we get into that, maybe we should look at what this group really does. Why does Texas need a writers' league? You hear about groups and their apparent causes all the time. You get that little card in the mail sometimes asking you to join or contribute. But why a writers' league? Do isolated, underpaid writer-types really need a statewide support group? Can such a group really help you finish that dusty old masterpiece sitting in the corner or under the desk?

The WLT has 1600 members paying $50 a piece in dues each year. It has a $400,000 operating budget. It has meetings every third Thursday of the month at the Unitarian Church on 49th and Grover. It has a board of directors. It has a staff, albeit a small one, and a headquarters down on West Fifth. It has a mission statement. It has a website. It has a newsletter for members. It has an electronic newsletter called Footnotes for everyone else. It has a resource library. And now it has a new executive director, and according to her, the Writers' League of Texas is one of the largest regional writers' support groups in the country (she estimates it as the second largest right now next to the Washington Independent Writers Organization). It is a real group with real budgets doing real things. But what is it doing for writers in Austin? And even more importantly, what can it do for me? I mean, I'm an isolated, underpaid writer-type. Why should I give up my hard earned $50?

"Mostly it's about putting people in touch with those who have more experience," Stephanie Sheppard, the new executive director, explains. "Pretty much anyone writing is looking to get published, and we have a nucleus where a lot of things are happening that can be helpful to those people. My experience with people in the creative process is they don't have the same sorts of strengths alone as they would with a larger group."

So, strength in numbers. That means the WLT can offer relatively cheap (cheaper) classes for beginning or experienced writers. It can offer workshops with professional writers. And you can get discounts on these if you pay dues. There is also the resource library, a collection of 1500 or so books about writing and publishing, including how-to books as well as directories and listings. The WLT website says, "Why purchase a book when as a member you are welcome to read all of the books in our library? Imagine how much money you could save each year. Easily enough to pay for your membership." That would seem to make sense, unless of course you don't live in Austin. But we are talking about benefits to Austin writers. And if you wanted to see what other Texas writers have been writing about, the WLT keeps copies of every book written by its members, comprising "the most extensive collections of Texas written literature in existence," and all you would have to do is drive down there and take a look.

But what can the WLT do for someone like me who does not like to join organizations or go to meetings or make financial contributions? For starters, the WLT has a website featuring free articles on publishing, research, unleashing inner feelings, etc. It also gives out literary grants and scholarships (as high as $4,000) in poetry, fiction or creative nonfiction to any qualifying applicant, regardless of your membership status. Furthermore, the group hosts a radio program that showcases local and statewide writers on KOOP 91.7 every Saturday at 4pm that anyone can tune into.

And for those of you who find that even these outlets are a bit too communal, for those of you who still prefer to write in complete isolation away from society -- working over your craft, drinking coffee at night, ignoring friends, support, memberships, conferences, classes and workshops -- well, we all have different ways of accomplishing our work. But when it comes to publishing, especially getting that first or second book out there, sometimes people do need a hand. And again, sometimes they don't. So, maybe that is the beauty of having the state writers' league in Austin: you may never use it, but it is always there.

"If someone shows up at our door, whether they are a member or not, we're there to help," Sheppard says. "We try to connect them with agents and publishers. We try to promote them so they can get their own work out there and learn how to market it on their own."

One of the organization's more dynamic qualities is the exposure it affords its members. It has two conferences every year. The summer conference takes place in July. It is called the "Agents, Agents, Agents" conference and is touted on the group's website as "the only one of its kind." It brings in agents and editors and attempts to team its members with people who are actively looking for new talent. If that's the kind of thing you're looking for in a writers' league, contact with an agent or editor can be helpful towards publishing, especially if you do not already have such. There is also a manuscript contest that runs concurrently with the conference, and if you win that contest you get a couple of free critiques and a meeting with an appropriate agent or editor.

The winter conference, called "Why Fiction Matters," took place a few weeks ago in early March. It featured Ann Pratchett, Janice Wood Windle and Mark Dunn, as well as some other published writers. It focused more on the actual writing process: narrative technique, character development, mystery writing, turning your book into a film, that kind of thing. In all, over twenty writers came in and held workshops and discussion groups about these kinds of topics. That conference cost $200, unless you were a member, in which case it only cost $135. So, if you paid a $50 membership fee, you actually saved an additional $15 somewhere in between.

Yet Sheppard insists the group's mission transcends any individual's or member's concerns. Much of the group's efforts are expended upon literary initiatives in the community and school system.

"With literature and writing, you don't have to be (William) Faulkner for it to be a creative outlet for you. It is very important for people to know that and have that possibility. We want to be a presence in the community...to become more visible in different communities in Austin, as well as across the state."

One of the more interesting projects the league sponsors is Writers in Schools for Enrichment (WISE). In cooperation with the Austin Independent School District (AISD), the program sends volunteers, who are practicing publishing authors, out to the schools to visit with third to fifth graders and hold small writing workshops. According to Sheppard, the benefit of the program is two-fold.

"For one, the programs are in the schools so the students don't have to go somewhere else. It also employs writers to teach, which I think is important. I think the most valuable things you can do is to teach people to create their own artwork. The government sort of took arts out of the schools for a while, and now they want to put it back in. I think the arts program is probably one of the best things for young children. And it builds our audience, so it provides a great service for both of us.

"It's interesting because there are several published authors who love the program we do at the Austin Museum of Art. A lot of (them) might teach before they come, and they love to teach...and want to continue."

The WLT is currently doing projects in Sanchez Elementary and Johnston High School, but it provides services upon request for any teachers in the AISD school system.

So, if you were paying dues to the WLT, you would be supporting such programs without actually having to do anything yourself. You could feel good about that if you were not the kind of person who gets away from the computer long enough to exert any effort in the community. And if one of those programs does not strike you, there is also a summer camp writing program, a middle school workshop program and a Young Authors Day program. If you had the hankering to do so, you could even volunteer at one of these and be someone's role model for a day. That might feel good, for $50 a year.

"What we do best is provide services for lots of organizations," Sheppard says. "What makes us really unique though is we do the sub-grants for the state, and that's a big job. It provides some fairly nice fellowships and some decent sub-grants to lots of different groups."

The WLT receives a $100,000 Texas Literary Initiative grant from the state, which qualifies it every December to review proposals and administer the Texas Commission on the Arts' sub-grants to various smaller groups like the Austin Poets International, the Zachary Scott Theater Center or the Austin Poetry Slam. These grants range from a few hundred dollars up to $6000.

"I think it's really good to partner whenever possible," Sheppard says. "We also umbrella a lot of film organizations. For example, the Austin Film Society can only umbrella so many groups or people, so we have several filmmaking groups that we support as well."

All in all, the league serves as an umbrella organization for nine groups. It administers between 25 and 30 sub-grants from the state each year. It also has programs in ten libraries.

"There's a lot of work to be done," Sheppard says. "I think there's a bigger responsibility now to represent local writers and provide services and keep up our standards to our members.

"Locally, our desire would be to work with more underprivileged schools. We want to make sure our writers go to schools that have a need and don't already have that service, to see more collaborative efforts with the African American community and with the Hispanic community as well. But I think we are moving more towards stuff like that. Everything has to be supplemented by volunteers, and sometimes you can't do that unless people want to get involved. I think there has been less focus on that so far because of funding."

Yet despite funding concerns, Sheppard is optimistic about the future.

"I would like to see us have a signature event each year that is a lot of fun...where we can get the word out more: That we (will) have a permanent home sometime soon. That we (will) have a place with classroom space and a larger library and more support where people can come and hang out. To have some satellite programs in other communities but continue to partner with organizations in those communities to get things done. To offer larger and more prizes for writing. To continue to provide services and listen to what members say. I think we have lots of opportunities available on all levels of how to write. We're the best and the oldest, and we're available to anybody."

[Evan Johnson plays bass for the Kings of the Motel Six and writes short stories under a pen name. He receives his master's degree from The University of Texas at Austin in May. He enjoys hang-gliding and South Texas polkas.]