Jenny Schrader

Jenny writes Young Adult novels, operates her urban mini-farm, has a passion for knitting, and works for a renown glass artist.

Lifetime Achievement Award Winner – Tom Robbins

Author Tom Robbins wins Willamette Writers Lifetime Achievement Award 2015

In 2001, Tom Robbins won our Distinguished NW Writer Award. With the publication last year of his memoir, Tibetan Peach Pie, the Willamette Writers board felt it was finally time to award him our Lifetime Achievement Award as well. Because, as everyone knows, the memoir makes the man. OK. Not really… What makes Tom Robbins the…

Distinguished NW Writer – Brian Doyle

The Plover by Brian Doyle

The winner of the 2015 Distinguished NW Writer Award is Brian Doyle. This award recognizes noteworthy Northwest authors who have distinguished themselves by exceptional written work in various forms. Mr. Doyle is the author of several heartfelt and beautifully written novels, as well as many essays and poems. He is the editor of the Portland Magazine at the University of Portland, gives headlong inspirational talks about…

Up and Coming Award Winner – Fonda Lee

Author Fonda Lee

Our Up and Coming Award winner for 2015 is author Fonda Lee. The Willamette Writers board chose Fonda because she represents the best of emerging talent, and is an author who has already demonstrated amazing skills in the craft of writing. Fonda is also a conference success story who first pitched her novel at the 2013 conference. She…

Willamette Writers 50th Birthday – Open House Sat., April 25th, 2015

2015 is Willamette Writers 50th Anniversary! Members and non members are invited to our Open House on Saturday, April 25th, 2015 from 1-5pm. Tour the beautiful Writing House and its private writing rooms, normally reserved for Willamette Members for writing sprees and retreats. Come enjoy the 50th Anniversary cake, snacks and champagne (or the bubbly Willamette…

We Will Miss You, Ivan Doig

Ivan Doig smiling

Willamette Writers was saddened to hear of the death of award-winning novelist and non-fiction writer Ivan Doig. From This House of Sky to Sweet Thunder, Mr. Doig proved his mastery of language and storytelling. He never considered himself a “Western” writer, despite his stories taking place in the American West. He felt that writing, though…

Do You Write YA or Middle Grade Fiction?

Then enter to win our Roland Smith Award! The popular author of the Cryptid Hunters Series is also a generous contributor of his time to thousands of schools around the world and the final judge of our YA and Middle Grade in fiction. Read more about Roland.

Introducing Ruth Witteried

Note: The member meeting and FiLMLaB discussion takes place at The Old Church on 11th and Clay in downtown Portland on Tuesday, January 6th at 7 pm, NOT the McMenamin’s location mentioned in The Oregonian A&E on January 4, 2015.

Have you met Ruth Witteried, the Executive Producer of the FiLMLaB Competition, yet?

If not, then this video is the perfect way to get her insight into the Willamette Writers’ FiLMLaB, as well as getting some great background into what this unique competition is all about, including the member meeting on January 6th, and the FiLMLaB workshop on January 10th.

Bonus? This video helps you to learn what an amazing person Ruth Witteried is. She’s incredibly enthusiastic about screenwriting and FiLMLaB. She updates the FiLMLaB website every week with new, valuable information, while still finding top-notch judges, directors, and crew for the project. She’s been involved and active from the beginning in order to make sure that the filming process goes as smoothly as possible for the competition and (most importantly) for our winning writer.

(Honestly, I hate to say that more information will be coming up, but trust me. No matter how it turns out…? You’ll want to know what that upcoming information is all about. Ruth Witteried is in the final negotiations for our new director and judges, and–I’m not allowed to say anything definite yet–you’ll want to stick around for who that director and judges will be. You can follow Ruth and FiLMLaB on FacebookTwitterTumblr, and Google+.)

The previous three years have been amazing (check out the films made from our former winning screenplays.) Since it’s FiLMLaB’s fourth R.H. Cohen, the alter ego (and zombie personality) of Ruth Witteriedyear and Willamette Writers fiftieth, Ruth is even more determined to make it one of the best possible short screenwriting events ever.

To top it all off, she teaches screenwriting classes, has been an invaluable source as a former Film Coordinator for the Willamette Writers Conference, and has written a YA novel in the character of R. H. Cohen, a young zombie who breaks the bonds of zombie-dom to create poetry, music…and a website.

Willamette Writers Conference Success Story – Lux Alani

Lux Alani – Success Story from the 2014 Willamette Writers Conference Lux Alani charmed everyone that she met at the conference, from agents and editors to volunteers and staff to other attendees. We’re so happy and proud to have given her the opportunity to meet other writers and her new agent at the Angela Rinaldi Literary…

Welcome – Willamette Writers FiLMLaB 2015

Willamette Writers FiLMLaB 2015 will be beginning its fourth annual Script-to-Screen Competition soon. In preparation, we had a brainstorming session yesterday that included myself, Ruth Witteried (last year’s FiLMLaB chair), Stefan Feuerherdt (last year’s conference chair), Martin Vavra and Alyssa Roehrenbeck (Director and Assistant Director of this year’s film, Unwelcome Guests), and the always amusing and insightful…

Quiet on the Set!

I was on the set yesterday of FiLMLaB’s “Unwelcome Guests” by Jon Dragt. It was my first FiLMLaB film set—actually, my first film set ever, and it was amazing. Fantastic. Fun! Quite honestly? I loved it. Granted, I wasn’t hauling any equipment, dealing with the drastic changes in sunlight, the rain, stressing over prop malfunctions…