The Central Pennsylvania Writers Organization: A History

It was September of 1984 when Charles W. Byrd and his friend, George Sheldon decided to take a chance at starting a writers group.

Charles was an ordained minister who had worked for the United Methodist Publishing House. He had thirty years experience writing and had authored hundreds of articles. He also had experience teaching creative writing at the college level.

George, following his dream to write full-time, had just begun to establish himself as a freelance correspondent for the Lancaster Newspapers. This included coverage of events in the Elizabethtown and Hershey areas. He also had dozens of articles published in a variety of magazines.

The nearest writers organization was in Philadelphia. The desire for fellowship with other writers, closer to home, led to a plan. With Charles’ encouragement and support, George composed a press release announcing their intent. The call went out to anyone who had a passion for writing, to meet at the Briarcrest Gathering Building in Hershey.

To their delight, more than a dozen people responded. They decided to meet once a month. By March of 1985 they had established themselves as the Central Pennsylvania Writers Organization.

The United Methodist Church in Hershey and the Hershey Library served as meeting places until they could find a more permanent home. Eventually, they settled at the Palmyra Municipal Building’s second floor Recreation Room. The group has been meeting there, on the third Thursday of every month, ever since.

Through Charles’ charismatic leadership and George’s enthusiastic dedication, the organizaiton continued to grow. Their philosophy was that each member should have a job to do or some responsibility to the group as a whole. This worked well. They were also committed to keeping membership dues at a minimum.

Within a year, CPWO had its first one-day writers conference at the Hershey Hotel. Other conferences followed at the Grantville Holiday Inn and at the Marriott Hotel in Harrisburg. Expenses were met in a variety of ways. Some members used their talents to raise money. The organization was also able to apply for grants from the state. In this way, conferences were more affordable to those who wanted to attend.

In 1988, CPWO began holding a yearly writing contest. Judges were picked from outside the group and remained anonymous. Winners were chosen through a rating system based on those used in college writing programs. The group held a special awards dinner and winners were given small cash prizes. In recent years, the contest has been opened to the public as a way to increase membership. The entry fee for the contest includes membership dues for the year.

Categories for the contest are fiction, non—fiction and poetry. Special categories have been added at times to commemorate group members who died. One such award was the George Brice Memorial award for Science Fiction and Fantasy. There was also the Franklin McCorkel Memorial Award in Fiction. “Mack” McCorkel’s book, Captives: The Legacy, was published just days before his death.

Through the years, CPWO has varied in size and intensity. Records show membership rosters exceeding one hundred at times. Meetings have always been structured to allow time for guest speakers and discussion of current issues relating to the writing industry. The last hour of each meeting is reserved for members to read and critique each other’s work. Depending on the number in attendance, the group sometimes broke into smaller groups for critiquing.

Another philosophy held by its founders was that CPWO should be able to survive with or without their involvement. George Sheldon became less active as his freelance endeavors carried him further away. Now, the author of more than thirty books, he credits CPWO and his mentor, Charles, for giving him a solid start in a successful writing career.

If you visit George’s website, you will see that he has written several books about Pennsylvania history, such as When the Smoke Cleared at Gettysburg. He has also written instructive books on computers, real estate and business. Most recently published is Start Your Own Freelance Writing Business and More.

One of the biggest challenges to the writing industry today is the effect that the internet has had on every aspect of the business. It has even affected the way we communicate as a writers group. Now, more than ever, there is much to be gained from joining together as a community of writers in this brave new world. We are fortunate at CPWO to have so many members from both past and present, who are willing to lend their support in whatever way they can.

Charles Byrd remained close to CPWO and attended meetings regularly for as long as his health allowed. In October of 2003, Charles died. The author of over a dozen books, such as Cry for Marsella and Days of My Life, he also wrote thousands of articles. Writing was his passion, but helping others to speak for themselves was his way of life.

On writing, he once said, “I write not because of fame and fortune, though desired they may be; but because—I must.” For Charles, the Central Pennsylvania Writers Organization started as a vision and became a family. And the biggest testimony to who this man was is written in the hearts of the people he has touched.

-- by Rita Morrow