At the urging of Ron Jobe, Calgary’s Round Table was started in 1980 by Helen Menzies and Anne Stang. An informal executive or steering committee planned a year’s events and took turns contacting speakers and making the necessary arrangements. About half the membership came from the schools and the other half from the public library and other interested individuals. Membership peeked at about 90.
Most of the meetings were held in schools because there was no rental fee and parking was easy. For most of those twenty some years there was a newsletter edited first by Anne Stang and later by Trish Wilson. Authors and illustrators were the favorite guests, though there were other speakers and occasionally discussions on current topics. For about five years in the early 1990’s, the Authors’ Roundups were very popular.
Recently the biggests events have been the visits by the British authors. As of February 2002, Calgary’s Round Table is not very active though Diane Langston (United Library Services) has organized two dinners, one with three Canadian authors and the other with Michael Morpurgo from Britain as guests