Save the Date for the 2024 Willamette Writers Conference! We are proud to announce the 2024 Willamette Writers Conference will be at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Portland, Oregon on July 31 – August 4, 2024! Save the date for a weekend of connecting with your community, developing craft, and expanding your career with Willamette…
Our News
Our News provides useful information about Willamette Writers, upcoming events in the writing and publishing world, and Pacific Northwest updates for writers.
Elizabeth Lyon Honored with Kay Snow Legacy Award
At this year’s conference, we have the pleasure of honoring three outstanding Willamette Writers community members who embody the spirit of WW. We begin today by recognizing the incredible work of Elizabeth Lyon. About Elizabeth Lyon As an independent book editor for over 35 years, Elizabeth Lyon is most proud of playing a part in…
Creative Nonfiction and Memoir at the Willamette Writers Conference
Are you working on memoir or creative nonfiction? Come have a sit down discussion with industry professionals at the Willamette Writers conference. You can pitch your work with these industry professionals or have a critique session. Here are some of the individuals you will want to meet this year if you’re interested in having conversations…
Scriptwriting in the Timberline Review
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
Willamette Writers Annual Membership Meeting
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.…