In January, 2003, three well-published authors met for breakfast at Perkin's in Bullhead City.  Shirley Kennedy, Marja McGraw and Larry Wonderling all had a common interest--writing.  Were there others in the Tri-State area interested in writing?  Halfway through breakfast, the threesome unanimously agreed to start a writers group for no other reason than sharing their art.  The founders intended the group to become a free, open-ended group of people, from neophytes to professionals, who simply wanted to share their interest in writing, while sharpening their skills through group interaction.    

    After a month of phone calls, more restaurant meetings, newspaper notices, bulletin board flyers and word-of-mouth, they found and held their first get-together at the Laughlin Public Library.  The location provided a spacious room, helpful staff, reference books galore, and ample parking--all for free!     In addition to the three founders, Patti Kohut, Al Petty, Jackie Rowland, Marjorie Sims, Chris Thorn and Carol Eversole composed the initial core group.  They remain active members today.    

    Like most marriages, Our writers group has a history of literary successes, endearing friendships, subversions, and near rebellions.  For three years, we wrote under the banner of Desert Sky Writers Group until a splinter group of relatively new members threatened to sue unless they were granted the name. The original group elected to rename the organization River Writers Support Group.  The word "Support" wa dropped in 2008 when volunteers designed our first website.    

    The River Writers Group enlists volunteer facilitators to sustain a prescribed meeting format.  There is no appointed/elected leader, hierarchy of officials; no fees; and no business license. The group is non-political, and regular attendance is not required.    

     An arrangement with Mohave Community College in the fall of 2009 made it possible to meet in their Bullhead Campus Hargrove Library.  The new location is more centrally located for our far-flung members.  As the group's contribution for this privilege, our instructional meetings are open and readily available to the MCC students and faculty as well as the general public.    

    An informative and motivational monthly newsletter is emailed to each member.  Our roster currently boasts nearly seventy members from the United States and Canada.   To receive the newsletter, please send an email to join the list by clicking here.

     River Writers’ Support Group (formerly Desert Sky Writers’ Group) is a not-for-profit community service organization. It was founded in January, 2003 by three Bullhead City/Laughlin published authors interested in establishing a free support group for all writers, from beginners to other well-established authors. The founders are Shirley Kennedy, Marja McGraw and Larry Wonderling.

     The major premise in forming the group was to provide a stimulating group-centered learning setting to advance the fading art of writing and reading. As a non-partisan and non-religious group, we welcome new members with any political and religious beliefs, provided such beliefs are not openly endorsed or expressed during River Writers’ Support Group meetings. The following remain specific group objectives:

• To develop a twice monthly writers’ group open year around to anyone willing to share with others their interest in writing.
• To acquaint the Bullhead City/Laughlin communities with local writers, their projects and efforts to artistically enrich the communities.
• To provide writers of all genres with an enthusiastic, supportive group atmosphere that encourages members to keep writing.
• To help improve a writer’s skill by sharing information and constructively critiquing members projects.
• To equally share in the responsibility of offering all group members a pleasant, worthwhile experience.

     The following volunteered responsibilities are shared by all members and considered essential to ensure an effective operation:

• Group Facilitator, to oversee all functions and serve as group meeting leader.
• An e-mail monitor to notify all members of meeting dates and other activities and answer inquiries by anyone interested in joining the group.
• Public Relations, functions as liaison between the writers group and the community, by sharing ongoing information.
• To solicit persons who can provide presentations relevant to any aspect to writing, publishing and marketing.

     All members are also responsible for sharing articles, workshops, book fairs, conventions or any other information relevant to writing or reading, as well as supporting the book signings of members.

     The River Writers’ Support Group remains a successful community resource, thanks to the active participation of its very talented members.