Willamette Writers Chapters are local writing communities where writers improve their craft and acquire the career skills required in today's publishing world.
Willamette Writers Chapters are local writing communities where writers improve their craft and acquire the career skills required in today's publishing world. They also provide opportunities for local writers to hone their leadership, presentation, and teaching skills.
Willamette Writers on the River serves writers in Corvallis, Albany, and Linn-Benton County. We welcome members from other chapters and all writers aged 18 and older (unless otherwise stated).
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 such as free meetings for all WW chapters and reduced conference registration fees.
Upcoming Meeting
Corvallis: Writing a Play with Merridawn Duckler and Cristina White
Nothing Dull: Writing a Play
11/26/2018 “Drama” said Alfred Hitchcock, “is life with the dull bits cut out.” In NOTHING DULL: Writing A Play, playwrights Merridawn Duckler and Cristina White will talk about the fundamentals of writing a stage play and the ways they are relevant to other forms of writing. Whether you write fiction, poetry, or nonfiction, you’ll learn how playwriting fundamentals can be applied to your own work. With local actors on hand, you’ll also be able to see two original one-minute plays, and have the chance to discuss the process of seeing your work go from page to stage.About Merridawn Duckler and Cristina White
Merridawn Duckler is a poet and playwright from Portland and the author of INTERSTATE, Dancing Girl Press. She has adapted works by Brecht, Kafka and Omar Khayyam. Plays in Fertile Ground, Portland, IPOP Festival, Olympia, Playwrights Forum Festival, Spokane, Manhattan Shakespeare Project, New York, SWAN festival, OCT and commission work on the artist Rick Bartow at Newport Performing Arts Center in December. Fellowships: RACC, Yaddo, Last Frontier Theater Conference, Valdez, Alaska, Southampton Theater Conference, Norman Mailer Center. She’s the drama editor for Narrative Magazine and teaches at the Attic Institute. Cristina White began writing plays as resident playwright for a San Francisco children’s theatre troupe. Her four plays for the company toured throughout the SF Bay Area, and one of them, published by Samuel French, has been produced throughout the United States and in Canada. Her plays and monologues for adults have been produced in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and at Oregon theaters in Newport and Corvallis. Her directing experience includes independent films, revues, and stage plays in San Francisco, Santa Rosa, Los Angeles, and New Haven. She is a co-founder of the Majestic Playwright’s Lab, and Coordinator for Majestic Eight, a biennial 10-Minute Play Festival. Find out more »About the Meetings
Willamette Writers on the River offers monthly meetings normally held on the fourth Monday of each month at the First Presbyterian Church (Allison Room) in Corvallis. No meeting in August when we head to Portland for the Willamette Writers Conference. No meeting in December due to proximity of holidays.
In March, June, and September, we use our meetings for open mic readings.
Meeting Time
6:30-8-30 p.m., Fourth Monday of each month
Meeting Location
First Presbyterian Church in Corvallis—114 SW 8th Street
Use the parking lot entrance at 9th & Monroe as other doors are locked. We will be in the Allison Room. Watch for the sign in the hall to point you in the right direction.
Our programs are not endorsed or sponsored by First Presbyterian Church.
Meeting Format
Open-Mic Readings in March, June, and September give writers the opportunity to test their work on an audience of their peers. The readings are free and open to the public.
Meeting Format:
- 6:15-6:30 — Sign-up for a 7 minute slot.
- 6:30-8:30 — News and Announcements followed by Readings
Programmed Meetings in which WWotR presents a speaker/workshop/panel discussion to help writers learn more about writing.
Meeting Format:
- 6:30-6:45 – Networking & social time
- 6:45-8:15 – WWotR News and Announcements followed by the Program
- 8:15-8:30 – Q & A, Networking, and Speaker’s Book Sales
Meeting Cost
Monthly meetings at all the chapters are free for members of Willamette Writers. The three open mic readings are free and open to the public. Fees for Nonmembers to attend programmed meetings (suggested donation):
- Nonmember guests of members pay $5.
- Nonmember full-time students with student ID pay $5.
- All other nonmembers pay $10.
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 Willamette Writers on the River Chapter is run by two co-chairs who together create a program to fit the needs and interests of the Willamette Writers members around Corvallis.
Maren Bradley Anderson
Maren Bradley Anderson is a writer, teacher, and alpaca rancher in Oregon. She teaches English at Western Oregon University. She fills her days caring for alpacas, playing with her kids, and reading books that make her laugh. She has written two plays for the Apple Box Children’s Theater, and her writing has appeared in The Timberline Review and Alpacas Magazine. Her novels Fuzzy Logic and Closing the Store are available online and through your local bookstore—just ask them to order them for you.
Visit Maren's website, and follow her on Facebook @MarenBradleyAnderson, and on Twitter @marenster.
Rachel Barton
Rachel Barton, poet, writing coach, and editor, has been published in print or online in Cloudbank, Hubbub, Oregon English Journal, VoiceCatcher, Plum Tree Tavern, and more. She has taught poetry workshops independently and at Linn-Benton Community College, the Northwest Poets Concord, Willamette Writers on the River, and the Oregon Poetry Association Conference. She is editor of Willawaw Journal, an online journal for poetry and art, and is a memberof the editorial collective for the woman’s journal, Calyx. She facilitates a couple of longstanding critique groups and is co-chair for Writers on the River, the Corvallis Chapter. Barton just released a chapbook, Out of the Woods. Her chapbook, Happiness Comes, is forthcoming from Dancing Girl Press (Chicago). To learn more, go to RachelBartonWriter.com.
Connect with the Chapter
- Join our meetings and workshops if you’re a writing enthusiasts from the Corvallis area, if you happen to be in the area, or if you are interested in a specific topic/speaker. All writers 18 and older welcome. Join us!
- Follow our Facebook Page and subscribe to our events to keep in touch.
- Join our mailing list to learn what’s coming up next for the chapter.
- Find a local critique group or announce your group.
- Contact us privately if you have a specific inquiry or an announcement to share with the chapter.
- Join our chapter's mailing list to receive updates by email.
- Find a local critique/writers group or announce your own.
- Visit our contact page if you have a specific inquiry or something you'd like to share with the chapter co-chairs.
Volunteer with the Chapter
Are you a local writer and want to be more involved with the Mid-Valley 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.