Willamette Writers Chapters are local writing communities where writers improve their craft and acquire the career skills required in today's publishing world.
The Coast Chapter offers monthly meetings and occasional workshops. Meetings are normally held on the third Sunday of each month from 2:00-4:00 p.m. at the Newport Public Library (McEntee Room). No meetings in December, July, or August. In August we head to Portland for the Willamette Writers Conference.
Monthly meetings are open to all writers 18 and older. Members attend for free. Read on to learn about our chapter, and join our mailing list to keep in touch.
Become a Willamette Writers Member today to enjoy membership benefits (like free meetings) and to support our community of writers.
Upcoming Meeting
Tools for Querying Literary Agents
April 26 @ 6:30 pm - 8:00 pmHow do you approach literary agents to get your book published? Find out at the April 26 joint meeting of the Coast and Corvallis chapters of Willamette Writers. Presented via Zoom, the meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. If you’re ready to dive into the query trenches for literary agent representation, there are plenty of helpful resources available. In this workshop, Kristin Owens will cover why you need an agent for traditional publishing, the materials required to pitch and query, the truth about social media contests, and how to eliminate embarrassing rookie mistakes. She’ll provide and review online databases to find the best agent for your work and share best query practices and cold hard statistics. In the end, she says, it’s about working smarter, not harder.
Kristin Owens, Ph.D. is an award-winning educator and writer. She has published over 100 articles and essays, and is a frequent blog contributor on writing. Her essay, “War Bride,” won honorable mention for the 2018 New Millennium Writing Awards and was a finalist for the 2019 New Letters’ Conger Beasley Jr. award for nonfiction. Her work is included in the 2020 Colorado Book of the Year, Rise: An Anthology of Change. Owens’ high-energy presentations and classes motivate writers to stick with it. She's represented by literary agent Madelyn Burt at Stonesong NYC and Peel Talent Agency in the UK.About the Meetings
The Coast Chapter holds monthly meetings for writers near Newport. We always look forward to meeting and seeing members from other chapters.
Unless otherwise stated...
Meeting Time
The Coast Chapter meets on the third Sunday of each month from September through June, with no meetings in July, August and December.
In August we head to Portland for the Willamette Writers Conference.
Meeting Location
Meetings are held at the Newport Public Library (McEntee Room).
35 NW Nye St.
Newport, OR 97365
The Meetings are Free Thanks To Our Sponsors
The meeting is free thanks to the generosity of the Newport Public Library and local businesses such as Hallmark Resort, Anchor Pier Lodge, Elizabeth Street Inn, and Sylvia Beach Hotel, and the generous time and space provided by our media partners.
Thank you for your support!
Would you like to be a speaker?
We are always looking for new speakers from around the region and around the country. Do you have a topic of interest to present to writers in our region?
Please contact us for scheduling and details.
The Chapter Co-Chairs
The Coast Chapter is run by two co-chairs who together create a program to fit the needs and interests of the Willamette Writers members from the Newport area.
Sue Fagalde Lick
Sue Fagalde Lick returned to creative writing after a long detour in the newspaper business and a better-late-than-never MFA at Antioch University Los Angeles. Her work has appeared in Full Grown People, Voicecatcher, Cloudbank, New Letters, Tenemos, The American Journal of Poetry, Diode Poetry Journal, and other publications. Her books include Stories Grandma Never Told, Childless by Marriage and Shoes Full of Sand. Sue and her dog Annie live in South Beach on the Oregon coast. When not writing, she lives an alternative life as a church musician.
Lori Tobias
A longtime journalist, I have been on the staff of The Oregonian and Rocky Mountain News and have freelanced for numerous magazines and dailies, including as a stringer for the New York Times. My novel "Wander" was published by Red Hen Press in 2016 and won the Nancy Pearl Book Award in 2017, and was a finalist in the International Book Awards contest.
Past Co-Chairs of the Coast Chapter
Connect with the Chapter
- Join our meetings and workshops.
- Like our Facebook Page and subscribe to our events to keep in touch.
- Contact us privately if you have a specific inquiry or an announcement to share with the chapter.
Volunteer with the Chapter
Are you a local writer and want to be more involved with the Coast Chapter? Volunteer!
How would you like to be involved? Get in touch and let us know how you’d like help.
Click here for other volunteer opportunities at Willamette Writers.