Welcome to the Missouri Writers’ Guild
Founded in 1915, the Missouri Writers’ Guild seeks to educate and encourage writers in their interest and appreciation of the writing craft, to foster and recognize significant additions to the written language, and to support and promote all genres of the literary arts.
The Missouri Writers’ Guild is a non-profit, statewide organization for professional writers in all genres, with the mission to offer recognition for published authors, mentor aspiring writers, and provide resources, guidance and opportunities for all interested in the craft of writing.
Members of the Missouri Writers’ Guild and its chapters provide workshops, networking opportunities, marketing information, contests and awards, and many other activities to assist writers in achieving their goals and developing their careers.
Walter Williams was an American journalist and educator. He founded the world’s first
journalism school at the University of Missouri. He served as the Dean of the School of Journalism, and later as the University’s President. Early in 1915, Walter Williams met with W. H. Hamby, a short-story writer from Chillicothe, with regard to the possible organization of a state society of Missouri authors. In Columbia, Missouri, on the first day of the university’s Journalism Week, Walter Williams called for a meeting of persons interested in organizing what was called the Missouri Writers’ Guild. That evening a subscription banquet was held at the Harris Café. Fifty-eight persons attended the banquet and listened to discussions regarding the organization’s plans and constitution.