The National Writers Union national office in New York can provide you with contract assistance and help with grievances. Our Tucson, Arizona, chapter is here to answer questions; update you on issues like copyright protection and how new technology affects writers; and help you make contact with other members at events like our Friday breakfasts and our Monday readings.

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Words and Work: a New Weekly NWU Tucson Podcast

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In addition to our monthly reading and open mic, the Tucson chapter of the National Writers Union is now presenting a weekly broadcast program and podcast on union and writer’s issues titled “Words and Work.” Hosted by NWU member Ted Prezelski, it features interviews with authors and labor leaders.

It’s broadcast at 11:30 a.m. on Sundays on Downtown Radio. It’s at 99.1 on the FM dial but it’s LPFM which means that it reaches only a few miles outside of Downtown Tucson. It can also be heard streaming at downtownradio.org.

The podcast is posted the Monday after the broadcast. It can be found on Anchor, Breaker, Google Podcasts, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic and Spotify. Please see the links below.

Guests so far have been David Hill (writer and 1st Vice-President of the NWU), A. J. Flick (free-lance journalist, former crime reporter for the daily Tucson Citizen), Fred Yamashita (Executive Director, Arizona AFL-CIO), Lydia Otero (historian and author), and the organizers of the United Campus Workers of Arizona (CWA).

Links to the podcasts:

Anchor: https://anchor.fm/ted-prezelski
Breaker: https://www.breaker.audio/words-and-work
Google Podcasts: https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy81MTdiMjY5NC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw==
Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/3435puy4
RadioPublic: https://radiopublic.com/words-and-work-WPDb0k
Spotify: Words and Work

Check Out the National Writers Union Website

You’ll find it at www.nwu.org. You can use it to:

  • Build your talent profile on our new searchable database
  • Submit news items about your writing—or any relevant event—for publication by tagging your NWU chapter.
  • Apply for a press pass
  • Renew your membership
  • Request contract advice

Monday Readings

The National Writers Union will be hosting a reading and open mic on Monday, May 15, starting at 6:00 p.m. The meeting will be held both in person and on Zoom (link below).

Our featured reader this month will be Paul Justison, who will be discussing his recently published book Lost and Found in the 60s. This novel is inspired by his experience of having fled a toxic home, and a conservative Tucson high school, in 1966 and then spending most of the next two years in Haight-Ashbury and Marin County, engaging in all the pleasures and follies that magical time had to offer. Paul later earned a B.A. and M.A. from the University of Arizona and launched a career in planning and consulting where he honed a crisp ‘to the point’ writing style conducive to short executive attention spans. In retirement he’s gone a little literary and has been published in The Rumpus, The Gambler Mag, Flash Fiction Magazine, and Fiction on the Web. 

Lost and Found in the 60s is Paul's first novel and was reviewed by Norah Booth in the December 8 issue of Tucson Weekly. [https://www.tucsonweekly.com/tucson/former-tucsonan-studies-the-1960s-in-debut-novel/Content?oid=33391813]

The open mic is for spoken word only, but is open to all forms of spoken word (fiction, essays, poetry, articles, polemics, etc.)

The meeting will be held at the Pima Area Labor Federation Office at 5630 E Pima St. in Tucson, which is a block east of Craycroft Road (Pima is between Grant and Speedway). It is on the south side of the street and ample parking is available both behind the building and on its east side. There is also limited parking directly in front of the building.

For Zoom link please contact nwutucson@yahoo.com

Friday Morning Breakfasts

NWU Tucson Friday morning breakfasts will be on hiatus until further notice. Check back for dates. They take place at 9:00 a.m. at Laverna's Coffee Shop. The address is 220 S. Plumer, which is one block south of Broadway, on the west side of Plumer.

Steering Committee
Our elected Steering Committee members are Co-Chairs Keith Bagwell and Barbara Wright; Secretary Alice Whittenburg; and Events Coordinator Greg Evans. The Steering Committee usually meets on the first Monday of each month. Contact us at nwutucson@yahoo.com to confirm the date and location of the next meeting.