Hillary Leftwich is a multi-media writer and the author of Ghosts Are Just Strangers Who Know How to Knock (Agape Editions, 2023), Aura (Future Tense Books, 2022), and Saint Dymphna’s Playbook (Limit Zero/University of Hell Press 2025). She teaches creative writing, business writing, environmental writing and environmental storytelling at several universities, writing organizations, and nonprofits for adults, previously incarcerated and hospitalized youth, and unhoused populations. She centers her writing around themes of class struggle, the impact of disease, ritual, and the supernatural.
Glen Erik Hamilton writes crime thrillers. A native of Seattle, Glen’s novels have won the Anthony, Macavity, and Strand Magazine Critics awards, and been nominated for the Edgar, Barry, and Nero awards. His series featuring reformed thief Van Shaw has been called “outstanding” (Publishers Weekly), “perfect mix of serious crime and caper movie” (Criminal Element), and “a must-read series” (Mystery Scene Magazine). The latest, Island of Thieves, was named one of USA Today’s “5 Books Not to Miss.” Glen grew up aboard a sailboat, playing around the islands, marinas, and commercial docks of the Pacific Northwest.
Eric Witchey has sold stories under several names and in 14 genres. His tales have been translated into multiple languages, and his credits include over 170 stories, including 5 novels and two collections. His work has received recognition from New Century Writers, Writers of the Future, Writer’s Digest, Independent Publisher Book Awards, International Book Awards, The Eric Hoffer Prose Award Program, Short Story America, the Irish Aeon Awards, and other organizations. His How-to articles have appeared in The Writer Magazine, Writer’s Digest Magazine, and other print and online magazines.
CoCo is a graduate of Bard College with a B.A. in Written Arts. Before joining Linda Chester, she worked for Tom Yoon Productions developing projects and editing existing material. She is very happy to have entered the world of her first love, books.
C. Lill Ahrens is an award-winning author, popular writing teacher and retired editorial consultant with many published and award-winning students and clients. Since 2008, she’s given numerous presentations and workshops for writing events and organizations, including Willamette Writers, Oregon Writers Colony and Oregon State University. Lill is also a published cartoonist, and her current project is drawing a how-to-write book.
Brian grew up in Alaska, then Mississippi, and has always been in love with storytelling in every medium. He earned a BFA in graphic design & illustration and an MA in writing & publishing. He’s an adjunct professor of children’s publishing at Portland State University. He is the co-owner and creative director of Believe In Wonder Publishing, has written and illustrated 20+ books, and spends his days working with the family creating new and amazing stories.
Brian U. Garrison, he/him, is President of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association (SFPA). Check out his Etsy shop to see wall art that combines his words with visuals from collaborators. His chapbook Micropoetry for Microplanets (Space Cowboy Books) earned 3rd Place in the 2025 Elgin Awards. He lives under a tall, leafy tree in Portland, Oregon.
Seattle author Alle C. Hall (pronounced AL-lee) is a veteran essayist and short-story writer (Dale Peck’s Evergreen Review, Tupelo Quarterly, The Seattle Times). Alle’s debut novel—As Far as You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back—is a gripping, ultimately uplifting tale of Carlie, a childhood trauma survivor who journeys across Asia and finds healing through Tai chi. The novel earned 16 honors, including BookViral’s Golden Quill Award and two #1 Kindle rankings. Praised for its psychological insight, the book is featured in staff libraries at leading treatment centers such as The Meadows, as well as by The Harborview Abuse and Trauma Center.
National Book Award judge Jamie Ford (Hotel on the Corner of Bitter & Sweet) called it, “A rare novel. An outstanding debut.”
Jane Friedman has spent 25 years working in the book publishing industry, with a focus on author education and industry reporting. In 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
She is the author of The Business of Being a Writer, which received a starred review from Library Journal. In addition to serving on grant panels for the NEA and the Creative Work Fund, she works with organizations such as The Authors Guild to bring transparency to the business of publishing.
Writing is a solitary practice, but community fuels it. As Daniel Nieh, author of Take No Names and Beijing Payback, puts it: “The time I spend with fellow readers and writers helps me feel like the work I do alone in my office in my soft pants has meaning beyond the limits of my skull.”
Daniel Nieh knows that spending time and connecting with other writers is an essential part of the writing life. This coming Monday, February 9th, Nieh will join us at the Vancouver chapter of Willamette Writers to do just that! We will meet in community to connect while discussing plot, characters, and the decisions they make. You can join the workshop in-person at Three Creeks Community Library or register here to join us online. The meeting begins at 6:30, with coffee and cookies.
Community and connection
“Our community of writers is a wonderful force of connection and encouragement,” says Elizabeth Moss, co-chair of the Vancouver Chapter. “I love that our members support and celebrate each other, sharing tips and resources, providing feedback, and creating a network of inspiration.”
Part of building that connection and developing the craft of writing is learning from professionals in the field, like Daniel Nieh, whose experience is broad-ranging. Nieh is an author, international model, linguist and interpreter; he even worked at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. His essays, short fiction and criticism have been featured in well-known publications like the New York TImes and Washington Post. He’s from Portland but has lived all over the world and brings incredible insight and experience to the table.
Curtis C. Chen, Vancouver’s second co-chair, is thrilled that Nieh is leading this Plot Writing Workshop. “Nieh will explore how to advance your narrative in ways that feel realistic and satisfying, and how to forge strong and resonant connections between character and plot.”
Plot and Character
If there is anyone who you want to listen to about plot and character decisions, it’s Nieh. His books are rich with both action and humor, balancing fast-paced plots with emotional turmoil. He is excellent at creating characters that are complicated; they make decisions like humans do, sometimes out of love, but also out of selfishness and greed.
As a sneak peak into what he’ll be teaching us about, Nieh answered the question: How do you write characters whose actions and choices are realistic and understandable to the reader?
“A character’s actions must spring from their three-dimensional humanity–not from a plot that the writer has worked out in advance,” he explains. “Characters can make bad decisions. Indeed, they must make bad decisions for the story to have emotional resonance. But those bad decisions only land if they are consistent with the character’s, um, character.”
The Power of Art
For Nieh, writing is more than just the words on the page. It is passion and art; it means something. But being a writer is not easy.
“The easiest part is believing in the power of art,” Nieh says. “The hardest part is believing in myself.”
In times like these, it is important to remember what art means to us, and what stories and writing can give us: inspiration, community and even hope. We look forward to diving into the craft with Nieh, and can’t wait to see you in Vancouver or online. You can find out more about the upcoming meeting here.
