Nebraska Writers Guild [RG3557.AM]

HISTORY NEBRASKA MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID

RG3557.AM:  Nebraska Writers Guild

Records:  1923-2009
Nebraska:  Organization of Professional Writers
Size:  5.5 cu.ft.; 6 boxes

BACKGROUND NOTE

The Nebraska Writers Guild was organized in 1925 for the “promotion of good fellowship among Nebraska writers (by residence or affiliation); to encourage the recognition of professional writing and writers in the production of fine literature; and to foster the development of the talent of those who desire to write and who show definite possibilities of authorship.”

Active members, admitted only by vote of the Executive Council, must be persons who have “published and placed on sale through the regular channels of the book trade one or more books and/or have received payment for fiction, verse, or articles accepted by magazines or newspapers of recognized merit.”

The Guild holds two meetings a year and publishes a Bulletin and a Newsletter. It has held book fairs to display publications of members, and in 1967 it published an anthology of members’ writings.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

This collection of the records of the Nebraska Writers Guild, consisting of five boxes of manuscript material and eight oversize items shelved with the collection, is arranged in ten series (plus an addendum): 1) Minutes, 1933-1942; 2) Correspondence, 1929-1976; 3) Biographical and bibliographical information about Nebraska writers; 4) Financial records, 1943-1965; 5) Programs, 1928-1966; 6) Publications of the Nebraska Writers Guild, 1929-1976; 7) Records regarding publication of the Anthology, 1967-1968; 8) Scrapbooks, 1930-1985; 9) Clippings, 1923-1963; and 10) Miscellany. See also the addendum of materials added after the collection was fully processed.

The most significant portions of this collection, containing information about the lives and work of Nebraska writers, can be found in Series 3, 6 and 8. Series 3 contains membership application forms and survey questionnaires, which were completed by Nebraska writers and returned to the Guild. The records contain biographical and bibliographical information about these authors. Series 6 contains publications of the Nebraska Writers Guild including its Bulletin and its Newsletter which describe activities of the Guild and its members. Also in this series is the Anthology, a collection of short stories, essays, and verse by Guild members published in 1967. Included in Series 8 are the scrapbooks which contain newspaper clippings on the activities of the Guild and of its members. Series 9 contains some clippings similar to those in the scrapbooks.

The official records of the organization are incomplete. Series 1 contains minutes of some of the meetings between 1933 and 1942. Series 2 includes correspondence of various officers from 1929 to 1976. An incomplete file of programs of the Guild’s semi-yearly meetings is contained in Series 5. Series 7 includes records relating to the publication and sale of the Anthology in 1967. The Miscellany includes the Guild’s constitutions, invitations, and copies of a few publications by members.

Parts of this collection have been received from time to time, courtesy of various officers of the Nebraska Writers Guild.

INVENTORY

Series 1 – Minutes, 1933-1942
Box 1
Folder

1. 1933-1942

Series 2 – Correspondence, 1929-1976

1. 1929-1976
   1996 (1 letter)
   1997 (1 letter)

Series 3 – Biographical and Bibliographical Information about Nebraska Writers

1. Membership applications, 1957-1958
2. Survey of information about Nebraska writers, A-Z
3. Survey of books published by members of the Nebraska Writers Guild, A-Z

Series 4 – Financial Records, 1943-1965

1. Treasurer’s Record Book, 1943-1947
2. Bank statements, 1947-1951 and 1960-1963
3. Receipts for dues paid, 1960-1965

Series 5 – Programs, 1928-1966
Box 2
Folder

1. Programs of meetings of the Nebraska Writers Guild, 1928-1966
2. Programs of other events, 1946-1951

Series 6 – Publications of the Nebraska Writers Guild, 1929-1976

1. Nebraska Writers Guild Bulletin, 1929-1950
2. Nebraska Writers Guild Bulletin, 1951-1976
3. Nebraska Writers Guild Newsletters, 1947-1949
4. Anthology, 1967

Series 7 – Records regarding Publication of the Anthology, 1967-1968

1. Announcement of the Anthology project
2. Manuscripts considered for publication
3. Correspondence, 1967-1968

Item

1. Galley of the Anthology (see oversize)
2. Off-set negatives of the Anthology (see oversize)

Series 8 – Scrapbooks, 1930-1985 (oversize)
Volume

1. 1949-1955
2. 1930-1952
3. 1956-1959
4. 1959-1964
5. 1960-1968
6. 1968-1970
7. 1983-1985
8. 1975-1983

Series 9 – Clippings, 1923-1963
Box 3
Folder

1. 1923-1963

Series 10 – Miscellany

1. Constitution of the Nebraska Writers Guild, 1925 and 1965
2. Report on book exhibit, 1929
3. Invitations, banquet tickets, list of items donated to NSHS in 1970
4. Copies of publications by Nebraska writers

Addendum: 2008.0101
Box 4
Folder

1. Business papers, letters, membership list and articles, 1967, 1976
2. Business papers, letters and articles, 1980
3. Business papers, letters and articles, 1982
4. Business papers, letters and articles, 1983
5. Business papers, letters and articles, 1984
6. Business papers, letters and articles, 1985
7. Business papers, letters and articles, 1986
8. “Alive and Writing in Nebraska” grant, 1986
9. Business papers, letters and articles, 1987
10. Business papers, letters and articles, 1988, pt. 1
11. Business papers, letters and articles, 1988, pt. 2
12. Presidential correspondence (Harry Dolphin), 1988, pt. 1
13. Presidential correspondence (Harry Dolphin), 1988, pt. 2
14. Business papers, letters and articles, 1989
15. Presidential correspondence (Harry Dolphin), 1989
16. Business papers, letters and articles, 1990
17. Business papers, letters and articles, 1991, pt. 1
18. Business papers, letters and articles, 1991, pt. 2
19. Business papers, letters and articles, 1992, pt. 1
20. Business papers, letters and articles, 1992, pt. 2
21. Business papers, letters and articles, 1993
22. Business papers, letters and articles, 1994
23. Business papers, letters and articles, 1995
24. Business papers, letters and articles, 1996
25. Business papers, letters and articles, 1997
26. Business papers, letters and articles, 1998
27. Business papers, letters and articles, 1999
28. Business papers, letters and articles, 2000
29. Financial records, 1978-1999
30. Financial records, 2000

Box 5
Folder

1. Membership dues, 1978-1999, A-K
2. Membership dues, 1978-1999, L-Z
3. Membership applications, 1980s-1990s, pt. 1
4. Membership applications, 1980s-1990s, pt. 2
5. “Meet Your Nebraska Author,” 1982
6. “Meet Your Nebraska Author,” 1983, pt. 1
7. “Meet Your Nebraska Author,” 1983, pt. 2
8. Braddy, Glen, 1984
9. Eads, James, 1998
10. Reilly, Robert, 2004
11. Stortvedt, Leatta, 1990s
12. Stroman, Connie, 1984
13. Misc. authors
14. Nebraska Writers Guild Bulletin, 1961-1986 (incomplete)
15. Nebraska Writers Guild Bulletin, 1987-1991 (incomplete)
16. Nebraska Writers Guild Bulletin, 1992-1997
17. Nebraska Writers Guild Bulletin, 2000, 2004, 2006
18. Clippings, 1982-1983
19. Misc. photographs

Addendum: 2010
Box 6 (Misc. meeting minutes, conference materials, financial reports, etc.)
Folder

1. 1982
2. 1984
3. 1985
4. 1987
5. 1989
6. 1990
7. 1991
8. 1992
9. 1993
10. 1994
11. 1995
12. 1996
13. 1997
14. 1998
15. 1999
16. 2000
17. 2001
18. 2002
19. 2003
20. 2004
21. 2005
22. 2005
23. 2006
24. 2006
25. 2007
26. 2008
27. 2008
28. 2009
29. Nebraska Writers Guild Bulletins, 1976, 1983-1989, 1994-1997, 2000, 2008-2009
30. NWG The Broadside, 1990-1992, 1994-1998, 2000-2001, 2003-2006, 2008-2009
31. Misc. undated materials

Addendum: 2015

32. 2007-2008
33. 2008

Subject headings:

American literature — Nebraska
Authors — Nebraska
Nebraska Writers Guild

APD/cat   12-15-1976
Revised TMM   06-19-2008
Encoded TMM   03-20-2010
Revised TMM   06-24-2013
Revised TMM   03-09-2015