Kay Snow Is Open for Submissions
Our Kay Snow Writing Contest Is Open for Submissions Through May 31! Prizes Include Conference Tickets!
Winning entries in each of the six categories of fiction, nonfiction, YA/MG, poetry, screenplay, and college student are awarded:
- First prize: $100 and one day admission to the Willamette Writers Conference
- Second prize: $25 and one day admission to the Willamette Writers Conference
- Third prize: $50
Also available: Student Awards in three grades divisions: 1-5, 6-8, 9-12.
Online FiLMLaB Screenwriting Workshop
Conference Registration Opens May 1st
The Timberline Review
Submissions are now open for the Fall/Winter 2018 Issue of The Timberline Review!
The Timberline Review is an all-volunteer literary journal operated by Willamette Writers. The theme for Issue #7 is: Rebirth.
We are looking for pieces related to rebirth (physical, emotional, professional), renewal (of self, of goals, or of relationships), and restarting (especially after a failure or setback).
Member News
Member News: Philip Kenney releases new book
Portland Psychotherapist and Author Philip Kenney announces the release of The Writer’s Crucible: Meditations on: Emotion, Being and Creativity Congratulations to Philip Kenney on the release of his new book. Here is his announcement: Flannery O’Connor once said, “Writing a novel is a terrible experience, during which the hair often falls out and the teeth…
Member News: Leonide Martin reading at Another Read Through
Another Read Through Hosts Leonide Martin Leonide Martin trained with Mayan elders and did field work to write historical fiction about powerful Mayan women. Visiting the Red Queen’s tomb inspired this remarkable woman’s story. “The Mayan Red Queen” publishes on March 1, 2018. Leonide will be at Another Read Through, 3932 N. Mississippi Ave.…
Member News: Michael Niemann New Book Released
UN fraud investigator Valentin Vermeulen is on assignment in Maputo, Mozambique. His ho-hum task is to see if Global Alternatives is spending UN money the way they promised. The nonprofit was set up by hedge fund mogul Vincent Portallis to revolutionize development aid. The only upside for Vermeulen is the prospect of seeing his lover…
Member News: Hillary Tiefer to be published
Member News: Nancy Lane story chosen for anthology
Congratulations, Nancy Lane of Beaverton, who joins 53 other short story writers from around the world in the recently published anthology, “The Best of Fiction on the Web.” Nancy’s story, “The Bird on Silver Strand,” set in the early days of the movie industry, assembles a cast of hopefuls and pretenders to celebrate July Fourth…
Member News: Release of “The Home” by L. Wade Powers
L. Wade Powers announces the release of his novel, The Home. The novel is set in the 1950s about a children’s institution (foster kids, orphans, kids of working parents). Aimed at a “new adult” and older audience, it relates the trials of preteens and young teens to emerging sexuality, dormitory violence and social relationships, but it…
Member News: Kristina Bak releases new book
From Here to Argentina: A Tango Love Story Released Tango, romance, life-or-death drama, and a little noir! Kristina Bak’s new novella, From Here to Argentina: A Tango Love Story, published by Luminare Press, is available on Amazon, or to order through your favorite independent bookstore. Kristina will be reading at Roundabout Books in Bend’s Northwest Crossing with…
Member News – Sherry Joiner Art Exhibit
Come join Sherry Joiner at the Ant Farm Cafe, Sandy, Oregon for her Art Exhibit Sherry Joiner, author of Sherry Goes Sane: Living A Life With Schizo-Affective Disorder, is exhibiting her paintings with NAMI Clackamas at the Ant Farm Cafe, 39140 Proctor Blvd. Sandy, Oregon, 97055. The exhibit begins the First Friday of October in…
Member News: Mollie Hunt launches CAT CALL, a Crazy Cat Lady Mystery #4
Mollie Hunt launches CAT CALL, a Crazy Cat Lady Mystery #4 at Another Read Through. What better way to celebrate a book whose hero is a dedicated cat shelter volunteer than to launch her latest tale during National Cat Day week? Mollie Hunt will be bringing out CAT CALL, her 4th Crazy Cat Lady cozy…
Member News: Brian K. Pinaire Releases New Book
Brian K. Pinaire releases THIS IS NOT YOUR FATHER’S FATHERHOOD Brian K. Pinaire has published THIS IS NOT YOUR FATHER’S FATHERHOOD, a comic memoir that offers a male perspective on raising children. In witty, insightful, and carefully integrated essays, Pinaire reflects on delivery room negotiations, paternity leave, work-life balancing, passive-aggressive daycare teachers, BabyBjorns, childproofing, children’s…
On Writing from Willamette Writers
What Agents Want – Tips from Meeting with Literary Agent Laura Bradford
At the April 4 Willamette Writers meeting, attendees got to hear from Laura Bradford, founder of Bradford Literary Agency, about what agents look for in writers. Here are some key takeaways from the presentation. Are You Someone Agents Want to…
Turn Bad Writing Days into Good Ones
The November 7th meeting of Willamette Writers brought William Kenower, teacher of the Fearless Writing Series, to the Old Church to share his perspectives for building up a strong writing life while keeping the topics that interest and engage us…
C. Lill Ahrens’ Tighty Writey Game
by C. Lill Ahrens The old saying, “Can’t see the forest for the trees” can be a metaphor for wordy writing. Too many extra words obscure the view of your story. In contrast to “cutting,” (the deletion of an entire…
Author Marketing – Notes from WW Portland Meeting with Tex Thompson
The June 6th Willamette Writers meeting was a wonderful time to be in community with one of my very favorite presenters from last year’s conference, Tex Thompson. The presentation focused on how writers can promote and market themselves, a topic…
Why Characters Do What They Do – Notes from WW Portland Meeting with Jessica Morrell
This contributed piece brings notes from Willamette Writers Portland’s April 4th, 2017 Meeting with author and editor Jessica Morrell by member Amy Foster Myer. Enjoy! Having seen Jessica Morell present at the 2016 Willamette Writers Conference, I can tell you she…
Ellen Urbani’s Tips for a Successful Author Reading
Today, we’re bringing you a post from Ellen Urbani who was our closing keynote at the 2016 Willamette Writers Conference. In 2015, Ellen Urbani toured the South with her novel Landfall (Forest Avenue Press, 2015). The tour brought in overflow crowds and pushed Landfall up on…
Join a Meeting or a Workshop Near You
All Writers Welcome! Members & Full-Time Students Attend for Free!
Online: Randall Jahnson Screenwriting Workshop for FiLMLaB
Corvallis: Publishing with Chip MacGregor
Portland: Editing with Abby Ranger
Lisa Schroeder on Crafting Companion Stories
Eugene: Mid-Valley Chapter Meeting
Salem: Chapter Meeting
Corvallis: First Fifteen Pages Workshop
Our News
Willamette Writers is Sponsoring Write to Publish
We are delighted to contribute to this year’s Write to Publish conference with Ooligan Press to help writers, agents, and publishers alike get more familiar the ins and outs of the industry! What: A one-day conference demystifying the publishing industry When: April 21, 2018 9:00 am – 6:00 pm Where: George C. Hoffmann Hall 1833…
Randall Jahnson and FiLMLaB Screenwriting Workshop
Screenwriting Workshop Willamette Writers and FiLMLaB invite you to join us for an online screenwriting workshop with Randall Jahnson. Details Date: Saturday, April 21st Time: 12-2PM Cost: Free Open to the public This is an online workshop Click here to register. About Randall Jahnson Randall Jahnson has written more than 20 feature-length screenplays. Not all…
Help Support Young Writers
What a wonderful year. We started out with our chapter meetings across the state, joined together at our annual conference, and finished the year with a closer — and much larger — community of support and friendship. Every day, Willamette Writers members are developing their craft and expanding their careers. Today, we ask you to…
Share your Thanksgiving stories with us!
Happy Thanksgiving, Willamette Writers! Every year, we gather around the dining room table to eat delicious food and share stories with our family and friends. These stories matter; they sustain us when we are apart and connect us to each other across the miles. Today, let’s share our stories of joy and thankfulness. Let’s move…
FiLMLaB Adds Showrunner for its Web Series Project: FiLMLaB.tv
Willamette Writers and FiLMLaB are thrilled to announce that veteran network television writer and producer F.J. Pratt has agreed to helm this year’s program, an Episodic Storytelling LaB: FiLMLaB.tv! About FiLMLaB.tv Showrunner F.J. Pratt F.J. Pratt has been a television comedy writer for twenty-five years, starting on the writing staff for network shows including “Frasier,”…
Willamette Writers at Wordstock this weekend with David D. Levine
Willamette Writers Celebrate Wordstock with David D. Levine! Thousands of book lovers are expected to fill Portland’s park blocks for this year’s Wordstock: Portland’s Book Festival on November 11th at the Portland Art Museum. They will revel in seeing the more than 100 authors who have come to present workshops, give readings and sign books.…
Join us for a meeting or write-in in November!
Happy November! We have a great month ahead of us at Willamette Writers. We’re kicking off the month talking about memoir in Eugene, and then Patricia Morrison will show us how to finish our projects. We will explore Fearless Writing in Portland with William Kenower, and also dive into improv with Marian Scadden. David Paul…
Willamette Writers is Going to the Ashland Literary Arts Festival
Willamette Writers is going to the Ashland Literary Arts Festival which will be held on Saturday, October 28th, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., in the Hannon Library on the Southern Oregon University campus. Willamette Writers will have a table on the third floor, so be sure to come up and say hi. We’ll have ChocoLove bars (come…
FiLMLaB Screening at McMinnville Short Film Festival on Saturday, October 21st
The FilmLab staff has had a great summer, planning for our 2017-2018 contest (details to come!) and performing various ritualized rain dances in a battle against the heat. Now that the weather has cooled down (you’re welcome!), prime moving watching season is upon us. We wanted to let you know our latest film, INTERCEPT, written…
Experiences at The Willamette Writers Conference
“A writers conference can be an empowering and uplifting experience,” according to Scott Myers, a producer, writer, and assistant director. Myers presented at the Willamette Writers Conference this year, and said it was a “special experience.” He explains on his website about his conference experience that he met so many writers and old friends, and his classes were packed. His…