CWC-South Awards 2018 Mini-Grants
The Southern Region of the 109-year-old California Writers Club has recognized three branches under its annual mini-grant program. Funds were awarded to branches for reading- or literacy-related initiatives conducted in partnership or by teaming with local non-profit organizations.
Recipients were: High Desert Branch working with the San Bernardino County Library Adult Literacy Program; Inland Empire Branch in conjunction with the WORDPLAY writing festival at Claremont High School; and the Orange County Branch in partnership with the non-profit 1888 Center on the traveling “Why We Write” project which will take place at multiple venues; 1888’s mission is to support the creative arts, with a large emphasis on writing.
GDPR Goes into Effect
The European Union’s new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) went into effect May 25, 2018. As reported by the Authors Guild, “The regulation, which aims to strengthen EU citizens’ rights to protect their personal data, may seem inconsequential to anyone outside the EU. However, it will change the face of data privacy and protection around the world and will require almost immediate action from anyone who gathers any personal information, including email or IP addresses, from EU citizens, regardless of where the collector of the personal information is located.”
In a nutshell for authors whose websites gather personal data, and/or who hold contests and giveaways to develop their email lists, or collect personal data by other means, the authors (“companies”) must have the consent of each affected EU citizen “by a clear and affirmative action.” The personal data must be kept up to date. In the event of data breaches, the company has to advise the “supervisory authority” (of the EU state whose inhabitants are affected) within 72 hours.
Affected individuals have the “right to be forgotten,” in other words, to have their data deleted on their request.
The Authors Guild suggests that authors contact their data processing platforms for direction and assistance.