Registration is now open! Transform your writing life this August 5-7, 2022, in-person at the Crowne Plaza Hotel and online. Our 53rd Annual Conference is sure to be a wonderful weekend full of workshops, critiques, queries, and connections. With over 50 industry professionals in-person and online, you'll have the support you need to take that next step in your writing life. Register today and join us this August.
Writing books, resources, and advice
Looking for books, writing advice, or connections? We are here to help! Our Vancouver Chapter met in June and compiled a list of writing books, resources, advice, and more! Click here for a detailed list of books to pick up this weekend.
Conference Keynotes
Mark Oshiro (they) is the award-winning author of the young adult books ANGER IS A GIFT (2019 Schneider Family Book Award) and EACH OF US A DESERT, both with Tor Teen, as well as their middle grade books THE INSIDERS and YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE, DAVID BRAVO with Harper Collins. They are also the co-author (with Rick Riordan) of the upcoming PERCY JACKSON novel centered on Nico di Angelo and Will Solace. When not writing, they are trying to pet every dog in the world. Find out more about Mark at MarkOshiro.com.
Once upon a time, Laura Stanfill (she/her) lived in a New Jersey house filled with music boxes, street organs, and books. She grew up to become the publisher of Forest Avenue Press and the author of the novel SINGING LESSONS FOR THE SYLISH CANARY (Lanternfish Press). Her work has appeared in Shondaland, The Rumpus, Catapult, The Vincent Brothers Review, Santa Fe Writers Project, and several print anthologies. Find out more about Laura at LauraStanfill.com.[/caption]
All Writers Welcome!
As a non-profit educational organization, Willamette Writers is committed to helping writers connect with their communities, develop their craft, and expand their career. Our chapter meetings are open to everyone! We are here to help you!
Want to be more involved? Become a member!
A community of writers supporting and learning from each other. We strive to provide members with everything they need to thrive—community support, networking opportunities, continuing education, inspiration, publicity, and much more.
Here’s all you get for just $57 a year:
Willamette Writers Membership benefits:
Weekly Chapter Meetings: with talks and inspirational, educational presentations on the craft and business of writing from leaders in the writing world
Online Coffee Hours: socialize with other writers twice a week
The Write Place: weekly productivity meeting, an opportunity for mutual support and accountability towards achieving your writing goals
The Timberline Review literary journal: free submissions and discounted subscriptions or copies
WilWrite Conference: early registration and discount on our acclaimed yearly writers conference
Kay Snow Writing Awards: Discounted submissions to our writing contest
FilmLab Contest: discounted submissions to our filmmaking contest
Critique groups: We help connect members to critique groups for various genres.
Post your writing news free: on our website, in our weekly Dispatch email, in our quarterly Newsletter, and on our social media. We want to celebrate YOU!
Join today!
We’d love for you to be part of the community.
WW Events
YWW Southern Oregon
Portland Chapter Meeting
Salem Chapter Meeting
Eugene Chapter Meeting
Vancouver Chapter Meeting
Coast Chapter – Willamette Writers in Newport
Corvallis Chapter Meeting
Online: Publishing for Underrepresented Authors with Ooligan Press
Your writing community NEWS
Member News: New Release — Writer’s Guide to Medicine Vol. 2
The second volume of the Writer’s Guide to Medicine series, Illness & Injury, by Natalie Dale, MD, is here! Published by Ranunculus Press, the anticipated second volume launched on July 31, 2022. Volume 2: Illness & Injury is packed with straightforward, practical, and sometimes hilarious advice that will transform your writing about medicine from a…
Member News: Author Event — Character Transformation Masterclass with Eric Witchey
On Friday, August 5th, Eric Witchey will be teaching a Master Class at Willamette Writers Conference 2022. The topic is character transformation. Participants will walk away with an understanding of character resistance to change, reaction to epiphany, how resolution of cognitive dissonance demonstrates theme, and a set of executable tools for managing these crucial elements…
Member News: New Release — Dark Secrets
When light shines on something, it casts a shadow. This novel is about the shadow cast on a family and a country when light shines on its past. Lena Larsson, a young American student and aspiring writer, at the Sorbonne in Paris, was raised by her domineering Swedish Grandmother, Helga, and her stoic seamstress mother,…
Member News: Short Story Publication — El Chico Maravilla
Member News: Author Event — Bookselling with Author Event Network
Sell your books at the NW Garage event in Vancouver on 7/2/2022, with the Author Event Network. This is a member announcement, and not a Willamette Writers event. Find info below from member Andrew Sweet: Want to sell some books? At AEN, we’ve been successful selling at non-author events like festivals and the like. The…
Member News: New Release — Of the Forest
Linda Ferguson’s new chapbook, Of the Forest, was the second-place winner of The Poetry Box Annual Chapbook Prize 2021 and is available at Annie Bloom’s Books and The Poetry Box. A story of three siblings, a spouse, and a surname, Of the Forest weaves poems that hint of danger while also celebrating love… and the…
Member News: New Release — Dark Sand
Book #4 in the Port Stirling Mystery series, Dark Sand, released in March from author Kay Jennings. Police chief Matt Horning thought life in Port Stirling, Oregon was returning to normal after the earthquake. He was dead wrong. One of the world’s leading geologists, British Lord Phineas Stuart, has gone missing in this classic whodunnit.…
Member News: New Release — Kaleidoscope
Tiffany Dickinson has released Kaleidoscope, a middle-grade novel set in Portland in 1980. This coming-of-age historical novel is a warm and funny read starring Tabby, a bi-racial 12-year-old, and her eclectic group of friends. While navigating the typical 7th grade stressors of friends, family, and boys, Tabby struggles to determine who she really is as…
Member News: New Release — Blood Sapphire’s Revenge
Book publisher Epigraph announced the release and worldwide availability of Blood Sapphire’s Revenge — the new military thriller novel by author Dr. Bruce Farmer in eBook, audiobook, softcover and hardcover formats. Mixing questions of faith and existential fate with an exploration of resiliency, human struggle and fortitude in the face of extreme pressure, Blood Sapphire’s…
Member News: New Release — The Model Spy
Maryka Biaggio’s The Model Spy was released by Sunbury Press March 2022. The Model Spy is based on the true story of Toto Koopman, who spied for the Allies and Italian Resistance during World War II. Largely unknown today, Toto was arguably the first woman to spy for the British Intelligence Service. Operating in the…
Writing Resources from Willamette Writers
In Her Cultish YA Novels, Kelly McWilliams Blends the Personal and the Historical
To author Kelly McWilliams, writing is about asserting valuable truths. With her 2020 novel, AGNES AT THE END OF THE WORLD, she “felt [she] needed to send a message into this world: a message about feminism and patriarchy and how…
Writing Advice from Willamette Writers
By Rebekah Postupak In June, the Vancouver Willamette Writers chapter met online to share favorite writing books, conference tips, and goals for the summer. We’ve compiled those terrific ideas to share with the rest of Willamette Writers. Some of these…
Writing Advice from Zoraida Córdova
by Mari Hotchkiss An unusual career path. As a young child in Ecuador, Zoraida Córdova grew up listening to her grandmother’s stories that were filled with magic and wonder. At six years old, she immigrated to the United States with…
Creating Characters
Happy Fall! Have you got your sweater? Your scarf? Your pumpkin-spiced whatever?Then sit down and talk with us about character. Hemingway said, “When writing a novel, a writer should create living people; people, not characters. A character is a caricature.”…
How To Happily Write A Query Letter
We’re excited that Bill Kenower is a member of the faculty at the upcoming Willamette Writers Conference. Bill is the author of Fearless Writing: How to Create Boldly and Write With Confidence and Write Within Yourself: An Author’s Companion. In…
HOW TO WIN THE SUBMISSION WAITING GAME
We’re excited that Erick Mertz is a member of the faculty at the upcoming Willamette Writers Conference. Erick is a Portland-based ghostwriter and fiction/memoir manuscript consultant. Over the last five years as a full-time freelancer he has written manuscripts for…
WW News
In Her Cultish YA Novels, Kelly McWilliams Blends the Personal and the Historical
To author Kelly McWilliams, writing is about asserting valuable truths. With her 2020 novel, AGNES AT THE END OF THE WORLD, she “felt [she] needed to send a message into this world: a message about feminism and patriarchy and how we can survive oppression.” That sense of survival and hope is key to both of…
Writing Advice from Willamette Writers
By Rebekah Postupak In June, the Vancouver Willamette Writers chapter met online to share favorite writing books, conference tips, and goals for the summer. We’ve compiled those terrific ideas to share with the rest of Willamette Writers. Some of these books and ideas are likely very familiar to you, but we hope you find a…
Willamette Writers Annual Membership Meeting
We welcome members to join us at our Annual Membership Meeting on Thursday, June 30, 2022, from 6:30pm – 7:30pm Pacific Time. Members will be sent a link in their email to participate in this meeting (via Zoom, as authorized by the Board of Directors). Members will be invited to vote on the slate of…
Author Cohorts
Join your author cohort this fall! Author cohorts will meet online for weekly write-ins, check-ins, and workshops during the month of November. After the cohort, you will be connected with a published mentor to help you continue along your author journey. Reserve your spot now – $99 for Willamette Writers members, and $199 for guests.…
Writing Advice from Zoraida Córdova
by Mari Hotchkiss An unusual career path. As a young child in Ecuador, Zoraida Córdova grew up listening to her grandmother’s stories that were filled with magic and wonder. At six years old, she immigrated to the United States with her mom and grandma, causing her to abandon her love of stories. “I stopped reading.…
Literary Agents at the 2020 Willamette Writers Conference Register now for our 2020 Conference, and meet these agents, along with other top notch industry professionals. You can register for a pitch or critique, and share your work with these pros. They are excited to hear from you. At the conference, you can join them in…
C.C. Humphreys, Best-Selling Author of Historical Fiction, Joins the Willamette Writers Conference
