National League of American Pen Women

Spring River Branch

 

Members / Meetings / Achievements / Contests / Grants

 

Text Box: The National League of American Pen Women, Inc. was founded in 1897, although the “National” Designation was not added until 1921, and legally attached in 1926. In 1886, the need for an organization that would include women of the press impelled newspaper woman, Marion Longfellow O’Donohue, to resolve to found one.  She met with Margaret Sullivan Burke, who was the first woman admitted to the Press Gallery, and a regularly accredited telegraphic correspondent and Anna Sanborne Hamilton, Social Editor of The Washington Post and a special proofreader for the United States Government.  The three discussed plans for “bringing together women journalists, authors, and illustrators for mutual benefits and the strength that comes from union." By the end of the first year, The League was incorporated with a membership of 50 professional women writers, composers/arrangers, and artists from throughout the country.  By 1921, membership had reached 1,350.  The present membership is almost 5,000 in 200 branches, with 32 state associations.  National website is: http://www.americanpenwomen.org