National Writers Union, Tucson Chapter

National Writers Union,
Tucson Chapter

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.

Words and Work: a New Weekly NWU Tucson Podcast

words_and_work

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 1^st 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

Recent Resolutions Passed by NWU Tucson Chapter

Venezuela Resolution 1 passed on January 12 by the Steering Committee

venezuela_resolution1 Download

Venezuela Resolution 2 passed on January 12 by the Steering Committee

venezuela_resolution2 Download

The National Writers Union will be hosting a reading and open mic on Monday, July 20, starting at 6:00 p.m. at 2955 E. Broadway in Tucson.

This month our featured reader will be Dave DeGroot. Dave will discuss his book “Lost Canyon in the Northern Santa Rita Mountains,” which unlocks the secrets of Barrel Canyon, which lies in the heart of Rosemont Valley. For example: only in recent years has the canyon’s “secret” underground water been recognized as the headwater of chains of aquifers feeding into the Tucson Basin. And only after the March 2025 “BioBlitz” (by 43 citizen scientists, with a resultant list of over two hundred confirmed species of plants, mammals, reptiles, insects/arthropods, and birds) has there been solid proof of three more federally threatened or endangered species in the canyon, bringing the total to four or more. Sadly, the hidden mineral riches are no secret to foreign mining companies that plan to destroy both sides of the northern mountains in their quest for copper.

David, a retired Sahuarita public school teacher and long-time Santa Rita explorer and author, shares the story of how the canyon first caught his attention; how 19th Century miners set up camps with homes, schools, and company stores in the canyon; how he and fellow naturalist Andrea Hoerr organized the groundbreaking BioBlitz; how government agencies tried to reign in wildlife studies; and the status of DeGroot’s wildly-optimistic personal quest for a photo of a jaguar south of Barrel Canyon. Copies of his new book will be available -- and a board member of Save the Scenic Santa Ritas will provide up-to-the-minute information about efforts to save the northern mountains from destruction.

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

The event will be held at the UFCW Union Hall at 2955 E. Broadway. This is on the north side of Broadway, immediately west of the large and fancy Chase Bank, which is on the northwest corner of Broadway and Country Club Road. Parking and entry are from the rear.

There will not, unfortunately, be a Zoom option this month.