SWG History

The Springfield Writers’ Guild is the oldest writing group in SW Missouri. In 1943, a few local writers from southwest Missouri decided a writers’ group was needed in the Ozarks and established the Springfield Writers’ Guild (SWG) with Donna Ashworth Thompson as the first president. This year, 2023, SWG celebrates 80 years!

A Chapter of the Missouri Writers’ Guild

The Springfield Writers’ Guild was one of the first chapters formed birthed from the Missouri Writers’ Guild (MWG), which was founded in 1915 by Walter Williams. Williams was also the founder of the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism in Columbia, MO. There are sister chapters all over the state. Springfield Writers’ Guild operates as a non-profit 501c3 organization in good standing with the State of Missouri. In 2018, the Guild celebrated 75 years and again in 2023 for 80 years of writing excellence!

SWG Goals

The goals of the Guild are simple. To promote the craft of writing we will:

• Encourage local writers in their craft.
• Provide mutual support among members.
• Encourage aspiring writers to become published writers.
• Encourage writers in the marketing of their literary material for payment.

The Guild accomplishes these purposes by emphasizing mentoring, genre interest, motivation, publishing, and writing skills. Through writing prompts, occasional workshops, and seasonal in-house contests, members are challenged to hone their skills in the craft of writing.

Monthly Meetings

The SWG began meeting at the Sunshine Heritage Cafeteria on Sunshine Street in Springfield in 1943. Outgrowing that location in June 1990, the group moved to the Heritage Cafeteria on Battlefield Road. When that Heritage Cafeteria folded in August 2016, the SWG began an area-wide search for another meeting place. In September 2016, the group began meeting at McAlister’s Deli on West Battlefield. The group continued to grow with more than one hundred members. The Guild now meets in the auditorium of the Springfield Library Center, which accommodates more room.

A Diverse Group

The Guild’s annual membership presently averages over 100. Some members travel from Harrison, AR, and south of Branson to as far north as Stockton and Bolivar to attend meetings. We have members from Joplin to West Plains and Lebanon. Others are considered “at-large” members, living in California, Colorado, Illinois, and Oregon. It is a diverse group of writers representing multiple genres – science fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery, thriller/suspense, romance, women’s fiction, inspirational, drama, history, children’s books, self-help nonfiction, and variations of all. The group includes a mix of men and women, young and old. There are scriptwriters and songwriters as well as history and creative nonfiction writers.

SWG ByLaws

Former long-time member, Lee Ann Russell drew up the first By-laws and SWG constitution in 1986. It was updated and revised in August 2013 by Yvonne Erwin and the Board of Directors. The Guild elects a president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer, and director-at-large annually. The President then appoints a webmaster, mentor hour coordinator, historian, auditor, and any other position as warranted. A historian was added in 1986. LeeAnn Russell served as the Guild’s historian from 1986-2016 until she passed. Many of the newsletters and archives that she kept were donated to the Missouri State University library in 2017.

In 2005, the Guild almost disbanded due to a lack of members and leadership until Phillip Hood volunteered to serve as president. Under his leadership, the group grew and found stability. Hood directed the Guild to hold a writers’ conference in 2006.

Annual dues started out at $4 before gradually increasing to $6 in 1991, $8 in 1996, $10 in 2003, and $15 in 2006. The dues cover special events, website and Zoom fees, conference fees, contest prizes, and speaker fees. The Guild has endeavored to keep this low membership fee over the years to draw in as many writers and authors as possible.

The Beginning of Mentor Hour

In 1996, a mini 50-year history was published under the leadership of Wanda Sue Parrott, SWG President. In that same year, the first SWG Mentor Hour was held. According to Parrott, “It wasn’t called ‘Mentor Hour’ at first. People donated $1 to attend from 11 a.m. until noon and then stayed for lunch and open mic readings, playing music and even singing while we dined together. It slowly grew, but only a few participated in those early days. People liked to go into the dining area of Heritage Cafeteria and mingle. If memory serves me right, Tom Withers named it ‘The Mentor Hour’ and Larry Cunningham was in charge of it.“

Today, Mentor Hour (held from 10:00-11:00) is one of the highlights of each monthly meeting. Guild members bring a sampling of their writing for feedback and constructive critique by other members. It is a time of learning and camaraderie, and sometimes mild bantering and fun. Every participant has noted how much they’ve learned. Nick Weyland, author of two espionage thrillers, coordinates and MCs the Mentor Hour each month with excellence. As an appointed office, Weyland has served the Guild in this position since 2005.

The Freelancer – SWG Newsletter

Notifications of meetings were sent by postcards every three months in 1989 due to frugality of words and money and lack of membership. The little postcard had dates for three forthcoming meetings squeezed onto the card in a boring non-creative manner. Long-time member, Wanda Sue Parrott says, “I am not sure how it happened, but soon after my second meeting, I ended up volunteering to send out postcards with encouragement and help from Verlene R. Franson.”

Because of lack of membership and money, the group had to decide whether to meet further. Parrott secured an old membership list, created a snazzy postcard printed on cardstock. News went out to members about the upcoming meeting. That Saturday, the Heritage Cafeteria was overflowing, as if writers were hungry to meet again. The next year, 1990, Suzann Ledbetter was elected the new SWG president. Wanda Parrott became her sidekick Publicist/Vice President. The two started rebuilding SWG which then had about $8 in the bank and eight members.

The purpose of the Springfield Writers’ Guild newsletter is to inform, educate, and celebrate the successes of fellow writers and authors. The SWG newsletter will be sent out monthly to all members as a perk of membership.

A one-page newsletter began in 1989 under President Wanda Sue Parrott as The Pen and Quill and handed out at the meetings. Lee Ann Russell took over the next year and changed the name to The Freelancer, which has remained until present. It became a four-page newsletter, printed and sent to all members. The newsletter, was one of the largest costs to the Guild due to printing, folding, and sending. Around 2005-2006, almost 80-90 newsletters were sent out monthly.

As emails became more prevalent, less and less newsletters were sent out, but many still printed and handed out in meetings. In 2019, it was decided to also go fully digital to save printing costs and be sent via email to all members. However, a PDF was still created and attached to the emails as of 2023.

It has gone through many editors through the years, but the name has remained the same. Candy Simonson served the longest in this capacity for nine years (2012-2021). Currently, Monica Holcomb serves as its editor. The Freelancer evolved over time. In 2019, it was decided to go fully digital due to the cost of mailings. The four-page newsletter complete with hyperlinks is emailed to over one hundred members monthly.

Membership Directory & Website

In 2002, the first SWG membership directories were printed for members. This tradition was carried on until 2019 when it went digital. The membership list is now on the Springfield Writers Guild website.

Then Came Technology

Under the leadership of Phillip Hood, a website was created in 2002. In 2007, Terry Smith was named the Guild’s Webmaster. He served in that capacity for fifteen years, until he passed in 2022. The website was updated in 2015 under the leadership of President Wayne Groner, and again in 2017 under President Yvonne Erwin. Candy Simonson assisted with the update and changeover from Yahoo sites to WordPress and presently serves as interim webmaster in 2022-2023. The Membership Directory moved to the SWG website.

The year 2020 brought great challenges with the global pandemic and for the first time, meetings were canceled. Under the leadership of President Chris Keller, a new avenue was pursued through the technology of Zoom. Most of 2020’s monthly meetings were held online with great attendance and no loss of membership as writers found camaraderie through online meetings.

When the COVID-19 pandemic overtook the world in 2020, meetings were stopped short. McAlister’s was closed for group meetings, as was the library. A new way of connecting had to be discovered to keep the group alive and the pens writing. The group still reached out to members through the newsletter and social media on the SWG Facebook Forum page, SWG Critique Page, Pinterest, and Twitter. Having these sources for groups, resources for writing tips, videos and workshops, and a place to ask questions proved invaluable.

SWG Anthology

The first anthology was put out by the Guild in 1995 under President Barbara Quin.  Creative Collections, was published in 2015 under President Wayne Groner. Featuring fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from members, it is currently available on Amazon.

Genre Groups

A  new tradition began in 2019 with the idea of ‘genre groups,’ encouraged by then-Vice-President, Chris Keller. With his enthusiasm, the idea picked up even more under his presidency during the COVID time (2020-2022). By 2022, four active genre groups meet once or twice monthly either in person or by Zoom. Genre groups include the nonfiction group, sci-fi/fantasy/paranormal group, inspirational group, and thriller group. Each group meets separately during the month, some in person, and some online through Zoom. Writers of that particular genre receive a keener sense of characters, how to build worlds or research for topics. Some feared these genre groups would take away from the parent group, but it has only strengthened the group both in members and in writing skills.

Honorary Lifetime Members

Wayne Warner and Sue McDonald are the SWG’s longest Honorary Lifetime Members (HLM). Warner joined in 1971 and served as SWG President from 1975-1976. He later served as President of the Missouri Writers’ Guild. Sue McDonald joined in 1975 and was the SWG President from 1979-1980.

Shirley McCann was recently inducted as an Honorary Member at the January 2023 meeting. McCann joined in  1992. Other honorary lifetime members (HLM) include Marilyn K. Smith (1986), Theresa Bade (1988), and Wanda Sue Parrott (1988). Smith, Bade, and Parrott became HLMs in 2013. Bade served as President from 1997-1998; Parrott became President in 1996, and Smith served several years as Secretary and Director-at-Large. In order to be accorded HLM status, a member must have been consistent in attendance for twenty-five years and served the Guild in some type of leadership capacity. Other HLMs (now deceased) were Lee Ann Russell, Larry Cunningham, Vera Jane Goodin, Mary I. West, and Tom Withers). The perk of becoming an HLM is never having to pay membership fees again!

Longest Service

LeeAnn Russell (7/26/42-1/11/2017) had the longest running time on the SWG Board, serving a total of 30 consecutive years in every possible position.  Russell loved the Guild and served as President in 1986-1987 and 2007-2008.  She was also Vice-President three times; Secretary twice; Treasurer two times; Director-at-Large eight times; Contest chair four times; and Historian from 1993-2016.  She joined the SWG in 1974 and took special pride and honor in preserving the Guild’s archives.  In 1999 she was accorded the title of Honorary Life Member.  An award-winning poet and photographer, she placed over 800 times in various contests.  Her booklet, How to Write Poetry, From Ballad to Villanelle helped many poets.  Russell passed on January 11, 2017.

The First Anthology

The first anthology was put out by the Guild in 1995 under President Barbara Quin.

The second anthology, Creative Collections, was published in 2015 under President Wayne Groner and is currently available on Amazon. It highlights stories of SWG members with nostalgia, romance, science fiction and more.

Current SWG 2023 President – SIX-TERM PRESIDENT

Yvonne Erwin was elected as President for the 2023 term, which will give her the longest running time as President (2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, and 2019).  She has also served as Vice-President, Secretary, Director-at-Large, and Contest Chair. 

Erwin writes women’s fiction and has authored three books on Amazon: Discovery of Joy; The Sisters of Madelaine Lane, and A Glimpse of Glory.

Read more at her blog at y-write.blogspot.com.

2023 Board

Board members are elected every November by the membership. Officers can serve for two executive years, serving from January through November of each year.

Candy Simonson, Vice-President and interim Webmaster
Monica Holcomb, Secretary and Newsletter Editor
Andy Tarbox, Treasurer
Chris Keller, Director-at-Large
Nick Weyland, Mentor Hour Coordinator
Tim Straus, SWG Goodreads Coordinator

Springfield Writers’ Guild meets the fourth Saturday of every month (except December) at the Library Center on South Campbell in Springfield. Mentor Hour (10:00) Speaker (11:00) Business Meeting (12:00). Some genre groups meet afterward during lunch. Yearly dues are $15 (renewable in January). Visitors are welcome at no charge.