What makes humor strange and magical is that it is often rooted in sadness, anger, or shame. The writers we find funniest reveal deeply vulnerable truths while mining the absurd even from their darkest moments. In this workshop, we’ll cover ways to do this in your own writing, strategies to help you gain perspective, and the benefits of reframing your experiences—both to your writing and your life.
Category: Wilwrite26 Online Track
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10 – 10:30AM Saturday Belmont A/B & Zoom One: Break
Time for some quick self-care! Grab a snack, stretch your legs, check in with friends, then get ready for your next amazing workshop!
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9AM – 9PM Saturday Zoom: Quiet Writing
Writing at a writer conference? You bet! Bring that brilliant idea and get it on the page in a quiet space. The quiet room is open all day.
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9 – 10AM Saturday Zoom 2: Writing as Resistance: Crafting Work That Refuses to Be Silenced
In a time of political suppression, censorship, and rising hostility toward the arts, your writing can become a vital act of resistance. In this workshop, you’ll learn practical craft strategies for embedding resistance into form, voice, and structure without relying on clichés or overt messaging. You’ll examine short excerpts from contemporary writers who confront systems of power, then generate new work through guided prompts designed for online engagement. You’ll leave with fresh material, sharper tools, and a clearer understanding of how your art can speak back.
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9 – 10AM Saturday Zoom 1: Memoir as Fiction
In this practical workshop, Laurie Scheer will show you how to thoughtfully transform real-life experiences into compelling fiction. You’ll learn how to identify which moments from your personal story are best suited for adaptation and how to reshape them to serve character, plot, and theme. You’ll leave with clear strategies for crafting a cohesive, engaging narrative based in your own experiences.
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9 – 10AM Saturday Belmont B: Publishing Industry Q&A
Have questions about publishing, querying, or building your writing career? Join literary agent T.S. Ferguson and editor Lara C. Jones for a Q&A focused on you and your goals as a writer. Bring your questions, gain industry insight, and get candid answers to help you navigate your path to publication.
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8:45 – 9AM Saturday Belmont A/B & Zoom: Break
Happy Saturday! Pack up your bag and get ready for a full day of workshops. On your way, grab a pen from registration or a journal from the book table. You have a full day of writing ahead of you!
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7 – 8AM Saturday Windsor A: Yoga
Greet the sun like a (writing) warrior with our morning Yoga class. Designed for experienced and new folks alike, this beautifully relaxing session will help you stretch your muscles and wake up all your sleepy Muses. Join us in Windsor A or from the comfort of your room.
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7 – 9PM Friday Windsor C & Zoom: Timberline Review
It’s time for the Launch of the 15th Annual Timberline Review Literary Journal. Join us online or in-person at the Conference to hear from poets, essayists, authors, memoirists, and that’s just scratching the surface!
This is a free and open to the public event hosted at the Willamette Writers Conference.
Come in-person and get your copy of the journal signed by the authors, or join us online to meet and celebrate with this year’s editors, authors, and artists.
This year’s contributors include:
Astrid Adam
ANverena
Daniel Aôndona
Amy Jean Bailey
Tomás Baiza
Jennifer Campbell
Clarissa Cervantes
Michael O. Colvin
Cathy Cochrane
Emily A. Davis
Linda Drach
Charlotte Friedman
Patricia R. Henschen
Yvonne Jayne
Teresa H. Janssen
Tess Kelly
Emily Light
Giulio R.M. Maffii
Amy Miller
Jared Mills
Michael Fowles
Kitt Patten
David J.S. Pickering
Corey Pressman
Michael Shoemaker
Sally Reiser Simon
Marianne Xenos
Amanda Yskamp
Melissent ZumwaltCome celebrate the launch of our volunteer-run literary journal!
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6 – 7PM Friday Zoom: Writer’s Fair Roundtables
It’s time for the 2026 Writer’s Fair! Our annual fair is free and open to the public, and this year, it is also online! Join us to learn about amazing programs and resources available to help you on your writing journey, and make more friends along the way. See you at the fair!