History of the Network

In the mid-1980s, a small group of writers and teachers met at Poetry Center Southeast of Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina, to discuss starting a statewide literary service organization. The group had surveyed writers, teachers, editors, librarians, publishers and lovers of literature who embraced the notion of a statewide organization because many felt isolated from literary opportunities. They wanted to have access to events and support groups. By June 12, 1985, the organization was approved as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and the North Carolina Writers' Network was born. The 21-member working board of trustees, elected from every area of the state and representing all genres of writing, began to design the programming and services that characterize this energetic 1800-member organization. An illustrious advisory board of writers from around the country was selected. The first members were poets from the North Carolina Poetry Society, then slowly but steadily the membership grew just as the bimonthly newsletter, the Writers' Network News, grew from a single foldover to 24 pages.

Situated in downtown Durham in free office space for the first two years, the Network gained recognition for its solid mission of service so that by 1987 there were 500 members, and the Network moved to Chapel Hill. For 18 months the office was in the director's home, and the library was packed away in her closet. Then, thanks to a grant from the Bryan Family Foundation, the Network moved to its permanent home, a classroom at the charming 1933 White Cross School, seven miles west of Chapel Hill on Highway 54.

For the first three years there was only one staff person at the Network plus some volunteers, but in 1988 a part-time person was added, then another. The staff was growing along with the membership, programming, services, newsletter and the ability to raise funds. In 2001, the Network has three full-time and three part-time staff members and occupies two classrooms at White Cross School, for offices, and for meeting and library space. The motto of the Network, "Writing and Reading: Everybody's Art," continues to drive the Network's mission. The trustees and staff strive to meet the needs of writers wherever they are and at whatever stage of development. The Network believes everyone's voice is important and should be heard, whether one is on a whirlwind tour promoting a best seller or writing from a prison cell, revising a first novel or just beginning to write. The Network is here to serve and support writers and to help connect them with readers.

The devoted writers who celebrated the energy of the written word by "Keep[ing] the Lights Burning for Literature" at the 1995 Spring Conference and Tenth Anniversary Celebration carry on the tradition. And now, this website inscribes both the Network's services to writers and the insightful, abundant works of North Carolina's writers. It is a valuable relationship, one worthy of our care.