The Writers & Publishers Network (WPN), a national literary nonprofit, is merging the Independent Writers of Southern California (IWOSC) and the Publishers Association of Los Angeles (PALA) into its organization. This will almost double WPN’s membership and expand its educational offerings through monthly online meetings, satellite meetings, seminars, and webinars.
“When I started my adventures in book publishing in 2008,” Kathleen Kaiser, WPN’s President, said, “IWOSC was one of the first groups I joined. Flo Selfman, then the group’s President, introduced me to many people I still work with. Having been on IWOSC’s board for some years, I know all participants’ quality and commitment to providing education and support to writers. The WPN board is excited about the opportunities this will bring to our national membership.”
This joining of three literary nonprofits will benefit the groups by offering more seminars, webinars, book fair participation, and meetings to a national audience of WPN members.
Gary Young, IWOSC President, said, “The brilliant folks on the IWOSC/PALA board of directors work hard to keep current within the rapidly changing writing/publishing scene. We have added UCLA Extension and Chicago’s IWOC as affiliates. The next logical step is to expand our programs exponentially with the merger with WPN, and we are not done yet. I want our members to enjoy the expanded resources and opportunities and take an active part in the collaboration with WPN. The merger has been complicated but exciting and worth every second.”
An expanded board of directors will incorporate members of the IWOSC/PALA board, and new committees will form from members of all three groups to support these efforts. Gary Young, IWOSC president, and Steven Sanchez, IWOSC Vice President, will join WPN’s Advisory Board along with Flo Selfman, IWOSC’s Past President. Sharon Goldinger, PALA President, will join the WPN board, assuming responsibilities for small publishers, replacing Jay Hartman, who has moved to WPN Vice President.
The merger is effective March 15. The websites will be unified soon, but all business will occur through WPN, which is located in Ojai, California.
An email will be arriving soon for all WPN members explaining all the new benefits.
For more information, please get in touch with Kathleen Kaiser, WPN President, at kathleen@writersandpublishernetwork.com.
