Commonwealth Club of California

The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics of the day. The Club's weekly radio broadcast -- the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 -- is carried across the nation on public radio stations.

Each year, The Club puts on between 400 and 500 events. It hosts speeches or panel discussions with heads of state, other political figures, business leaders, the world's top scientists, athletes, academics, and writers and other artists. They present a wide range of views, chosen to promote the impartial discussion of public issues that is necessary to a democratic nation.

Founded in 1903, the San Francisco-based Commonwealth Club has played host to a diverse and distinctive array of speakers, from Teddy Roosevelt in 1911 to Erin Brockovich in 2001. Along the way, Martin Luther King, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and Bill Gates have all given landmark speeches at the Club.

Authors are a regular feature of Club programming, and they take center state for the annual California Book Awards, which were established by the Club in 1931 to provide recognition and encouragement to California authors. Over the years, such literary luminaries as John Steinbeck, William Saroyan, Wallace Stegner and Amy Tan have received California Book Awards.