Preserving the life-saving message of Narcotics Anonymous by archiving and sharing its history

You Are the Book!  The 45th anniversary of the 1st World Literature Conference

—

by

Chris Budnick

,

Francis C.

and

Tim S.

in ,

October 6, 1979.  A small group of NA members from six US states converged on Wichita, KS. They gathered to create new literature for Narcotics Anonymous. At the time of the 1st World Literature Conference (WLC), there were 1,839 known NA meetings worldwide.1 

First world lit conference flyer Narcotics Anonymous 1st world literature conference oct. 6-7, 1979 Wichita, Kans. You are the book. Workshops Discussion New Ideas Fellowship. Preregistrations will receive a conference program, motel & accomodation information, map, and list of local meeting times. Registration portion of the flyer: 1st NA world literature conference c/o 205 north ash Wichita, Kansas 46214 Name Address City State Zip I would like to stay in an N.A. member's home $10.00 Registration Fee

Two years earlier, Bo S. ventured to the 7th World Convention of NA (WCNA) in San Francisco to find out what was happening with writing a book for NA.2 In between this and the 1st WLC, Bo commenced writing and became an elected trusted servant. The latter was important as Bo was hesitant to take any official actions for writing a book unless he was empowered by the service structure. In January 1979, Jimmy K. tried to allay Bo’s concerns by informing him that he was a member of the WSO Literature Committee and Board of Trustees Literature Committee.3 Finally, at the 1979 World Service Conference, Bo was elected Chair of the World Literature Committee.4

The Basic Text was written over seven World Literature Conferences between 1979 and 1982. Based on a commitment to include the perspectives and experiences of as many members as possible, the Basic Text was written in one of the most unique ways imaginable. 

It is a story that needs to be documented. A story that needs to be shared. And a story that needs to be remembered.

On the 45th anniversary of the 1st WLC, Chris, Francis, and Tim have attempted to do just this. We invite you to watch a more in-depth overview of the service that occurred in Wichita. Service that led to a book. A book that has led to 72,215 meetings around the world in 2024. A book that has been translated into 38 other languages.5 A book that these servants envisioned would have the following impact:

“Addicts all over the world will have the Narcotics Anonymous book for comfort and for study. When we find ourselves by ourselves, we need not be alone.  We will have our book and we will have each other.”6

In honor of the 45th anniversary of the 1st WLC, Preserving the Message has added the digitized tapes from the conference to the website.

Additionally, the following audio excerpts of workshop reports have been extracted from the above tapes.

  1. NAWS, Inc. (Growth of NA Video); personal communications with NAWS ↩︎
  2. Stone, B. (1997). My years with Narcotics Anonymous. Joplin, Missouri: Hulon Pendleton Publishing. ↩︎
  3. S., Bo. (1988, 1990).  The Story of the Basic Text. ↩︎
  4. NA World Service Conference Minutes (1979). ↩︎
  5. 2023 WSC posters “Carrying the Message in 98 languages” and “Regions Around the World” and email exchange with Nick Elson (NAWS) on June 24, 2024. ↩︎
  6. Rainbow Connection (October 1980). ↩︎