A writer's life is often a challenge. There is the stereotype of the half-starved poet locked away in a garret scribbling. Novelists are renown for their isolation. Indeed, a study of a large number of famous poets found that the large majority could be characterized as depressed. Add to that the fact that writers must struggle to scratch out a living and it isn't hard to understand why Writers Unlimited got its start.

    The organization was first conceived of as a booking agency which could bring talented authors, mostly poets, to colleges and other audiences, thus getting writers up, out and even paid for their talents. In 1973, Writers Unlimited's first office was at 113 Prince Street, in NYC, well before it was fashionable SoHo, where Julie Patz acted as booking agent. The first brochure included Writers Unlimited's founders, David B. Axelrod and J. C. Hand together with such notable poets as Diane Wakoski, David Ignatow and Aaron Kramer, Dan Murray, William O'Brien and Lewis Turco.

    Writers Unlimited found its authors in demand, networking with colleges and even public schools. It joined in publicizing the then new Poets & Writers, Inc. founded by Galen William. It worked with Myra Sklar and the new Poets in the School program that was expanding throughout New York State. Soon it became apparent booking performances was not the only service writers craved.

    In October of 1975, with the help of the East End Council for the Arts and Humanities, Writers Unlimited began to meet to form as a writers co-operative. Into the group came more authors: Peter Matthiessen, Arthur Liebers, James Tyack, Graham Everett, Vincent Clemente. With the help of the Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, corporate papers were filed creating Writers Unlimited Agency, Inc. as a 501-c-3, not-for-profit, charitable and educational organization. (As an aside, "agency" was added in place of the "cooperative" which in New York State at the time was reserved for farming organizations only.)

    The group soon was sponsoring readings, a Westhampton Poetry Festival, a newsletter called Writers Ink, and maintained a mailing list of interested persons which quickly grew to at least fifteen hundred. A sister group, the Long Island Poetry Collective, also shared ideas and incorporated at that time.

    Grants, of course, were applied for. At the time, the New York State Council for the Arts was concentrated both in influence and for funding purposes, in New York City. Writers Unlimited's concept was to make a cooperative application so that the few dollars that came out to the East End of Long Island, could be dispersed as East-Enders wanted, not as the City folks decided.

    Try as they might, the panel for NYSCA didn't seem to understand that writers and small writing groups could cooperate! The panel continued to try to break the united ranks of Writers Unlimited by offering all of their money to only one or two of the numerous projects outlined by the coop in its annual applications.

    However, years later, in vindication of at least the concept that Long Islanders should decide how to spend their arts funds, NYSCA devised the system of "decentralization grants" still in place to this day. Writers Unlimited, meanwhile, continued to grow, offering a series of Long Island International Writers Conferences based at the local community college. 

    The Westhampton Poetry Festival grew into the Hampton's Writers Festival, the first three years of which were directly under the corporate sponsorship of WU. In 1978, Writers Ink Press began publication of its arts press series which has now published dozens of titles. To assist in distribution of its own authors' work and the work of other Long Island authors, LIPS, the Long Island Publishers' Service was founded, which has, over the years, purchased, displayed and sold books directly to the public.

    In 1992, in association with 3WS, World Wide Writers Services, Writers Unlimited founded its Unlimited News Service (UNS) to syndicate coverage of Long Island arts and events. UNS trains and employs writers and journalists and actively distributes material to other regular periodicals.

    More recently, reflecting an increasingly global economy and culturally diverse audience, Writers Unlimited has formed an alliance with the Association for Chinese American Enrichment, to found a Creative Health Institute (CHI). The goals of CHI are to increase creative energy and with that enhance the health of its participants. In addition to distinctly health related or philosophical studies, CHI also offers the general public workshops on "The Healing Power of Writing."

    Writers Unlimited, entering its fourth decade of service, continues to grow and change to meet the needs and fulfill the promise of its founding authors. Good writers need good readers and WU helps put the two together. Good writers, contrary to the stereotype of the asocial and isolated scribbler, make good company. Writers Unlimited continues to offer a wide range of programs that build goodwill and provide a public service to the writing arts.