Our 2020 Conference Keynotes!
Alex Dang • Cheryl Strayed • Zoraida Cordova • Mitchell S Jackson • Rosanne Parry • Pete Souza
We are proud to announce the speakers at our 51st Annual Conference on July 31 - August 2, 2020! Our conference theme is SHARE YOUR STORY, and we know these keynotes, authors, and industry professionals will help you share your own story. On the main stage this year, we will be joined by slam poet Alex Dang, New York Times bestselling author Cheryl Strayed, young adult and romance author Zoraida Córdova, New York Times bestselling middle grade author Rosanne Parry, award-winning author Mitchell S. Jackson, former Chief Official White House Photographer for Presidents Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama and #1 New York Times bestselling author Pete Souza.
But that's not all! Click here to find out more about who you'll see at #Wilwrite20!
The 2020 Willamette Writers' Conference is Entirely Online!
This year, you can SHARE YOUR STORY and LAUNCH YOUR CAREER, all from the comfort of your own home! We will be meeting entirely online this year. Here's what you can expect:
- Wilwrite20 will be live-streamed. We will have workshops, pitches, critiques, and networking -- all from the comfort of your own home.
- You will be able to connect one-on-one with agents, producers, managers, and industry professionals -- and the slate will be growing in the coming weeks.
- There will be film roundtables where you can meet and talk shop, as well as virtual happy hours where you can relax and make new friends.
- You will also connect with colleagues in virtual hallways, readings, open mics, and evening events.
- Plus, you will enjoy some special opportunities online that we couldn't before, so expect some REALLY BIG ANNOUNCEMENTS in the coming weeks.
Wilwrite20 will be HALF THE PRICE. We want you to join us, and we think it's important to make the conference accessible during this challenging time. Many of our faculty are even donating their time so you can come. We are a community, and we are here to help each other.
We are so excited to share this conference with you -- our keynotes include Cheryl Strayed, Mitchell S. Jackson, Rosanne Parry, Zoraida Córdova, Alex Dang, and oh boy, a really big one coming up soon!
So sign up now! Join your friends online and launch your career this July 31 - August 2, 2020.
Member News
Member News: Oregon Made Grant for BIPOC Filmmakers & Stories
The Oregon Made Creative Foundation is launching a $20,000 grant focused on BIPOC Filmmakers and Stories. Oregon’s open spaces and outdoor pursuits are for all Americans and visitors, yet there is a well-documented inequity in America that is deeply rooted in our shared cultural history, and as a whole, our outdoor spaces are not equally…
Member News: Job Opportunity At Pacific University MFA program
Pacific University’s low-residency MFA in Writing program is seeking to hire an administrative assistant, responsible for coordinating administrative activities and performing clerical duties. Position is full-time and requires travel to twice-yearly residencies. Candidates from under-represented groups are encouraged to apply. Find out more or apply.
Member News: Facebook Live Book Launch
Join me for a Facebook live book launch of A Desperate Place August 11, 2020. Tuesday, 6 p.m. I’m sharing the gritty details of finding an agent and selling my suspense novel. Q & A to follow. “A nonstop thrill ride…Greer has given us one of the most memorable heroes in recent crime fiction.”—Jeffrey Deaver,…
Member News: Publication of First Fiction Book
Robert Hesslink Jr is proud to announce the publication of his first book of fiction, At Face Value. A contemporary story about face recognition and personal freedom with a little bit of political conspiracy and social injustice thrown in. Travel along with Nigel Grant and his girlfriend, Clare, on his first assignment for Face Value…
Member News: Jim Mockford Article Published, June 2020
Jim Mockford’s article “Serving Like Seth: Remembering a Meals on Wheels Service Hero Seth Young (1922-2018)” was published in Meals on Wheels People News last week, a print only (no digital) newsletter and mailed to 12,000 donors in our area. The idea began when my company, Wacom Technology Corp., selected Meals on Wheels as our…
Member News: The Investigators Book Group- Webcast
Member News: Bill Johnson’s “Heavenly Birth Insurance” Production Available on YouTube
Bill Johnson’s play “Heavenly Birth Insurance” was performed as part of the Short+Sweet Theater Festival in Dubai. The production is now available for viewing on YouTube. For more information about productions of Bill’s plays that have been produced around the United States, England, and Mexico, visit his site.
Member News: Chopin’s Echoes is Published!
Chopin’s Echoes: Music, Love and Misery is a new novel published by Portland writer Susan Booth Larson. It explores the true love story of composer Frederic Chopin, whose marriage engagement was cruelly broken off because of the times in which he lived. We all know Chopin, but what do we know about the young woman…
Member News: First Book Finished, Website Published!
If You Want to be Happy Forever, Make a Garden: The Quirky Guide to Making Gardens and Understanding Plants is the title of my first book, now finished and starting to test its wings on my newly published website. I know that the title is uncomfortably long, and a professional editor may want to cut…
Member News: “Mourning” included in Plague 2020 Anthology
Dede Montgomery’s poem, titled “Mourning” was included in the anthology, Plague 2020, compiled, edited and released in June by Mahmaz Badihian (MahMag World Literature). This anthology includes COVID-19 related art and poetry from artists and writers throughout the world. Over 2000 submissions trimmed to 100 poets and 120 artists. Profits benefit Unicef. Find out more
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Writing Resources from Willamette Writers
Pre-Launch Machinations
You wrote a book. It’s been acquired! Now what in the world do you do with yourself?
Every writer has heard the axiom that penning a book is only the first in a long run of hurdles, and if we’re honest with ourselves every last one of us has believed that must be a mendacious proposition. Writing is hard work.
Ten Words To Keep In Mind For A Writer’s Conference
by Chip MacGregor As you begin preparing for this year’s Willamette Writers Conference, I’d like to suggest you keep ten words in mind… • READ. Don’t just show up and wonder who the speakers are. Read the blog of the…
Get The Most Out of Your Book Event
Authors sometimes don’t do all they can do to get the most out of their book events. A small turnout can feel discouraging, but in fact, small readings are a great opportunity to connect personally to convert readers into loyal…
Screenwriting Tips
Willamette Writers encourages writers of all genres to enter the FiLMLaB Competition–even those who have never written a screenplay before. Screenwriting has generally accepted conventions and guidelines. Below are some valuable resources as well as links and screenwriting tips to make…
What Can You Learn From Oscar Shorts?
by Ruth Witteried It is not easy to find the Oscar Nominated Shorts on Comcast Pay Per View. I found them once, then they seemed to disappear from cable and the internet. In fact, they had been pulled from the…
Script to Screen Tips and Trips
by Ruth Witteried As the Willamette Writers kick off their second Script to Screen short screenplay competition, several writers have requested tips for creating successful entries, or at the very least that we share the ‘trips’ of previous submissions; the…
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Wilwrite20 — The Willamette Writers Conference
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.…
Literary Agents at the 2020 Willamette Writers Conference Register now for our 2020 Conference, and meet these agents, along with other top notch industry professionals. You can register for a pitch or critique, and share your work with these pros. They are excited to hear from you. At the conference, you can join them in…
2019 Willamette Writers Conference Pitch Professionals We are proud to announce the industry professionals accepting pitches this year at our 50th annual Willamette Writers Conference. You will find a list of all our current industry professionals here. We are welcoming a fantastic group of agents, editors, manager, and producers, and the list will continue to…
Julie Whipple Book Signing at Powells
Julie Whipple will be reading and signing copies of her new book, Crash Course Join Julie Whipple at Powell’s downtown flagship store on West Burnside on Monday, August 20 at 7:30 (http://www.powells.com/book/-9780692070406#product_details) and award-winning audiobook narrator Heather Henderson for a special performance of excerpts from the book. Long-time Portland residents vividly recall the crash of…
HOW TO WIN THE SUBMISSION WAITING GAME
We’re excited that Erick Mertz is a member of the faculty at the upcoming Willamette Writers Conference. Erick is a Portland-based ghostwriter and fiction/memoir manuscript consultant. Over the last five years as a full-time freelancer he has written manuscripts for a variety of clients. In a blog he posted this past December, he shares advice…
The 7 Things Writers Need to Make a Living by Sonia Simone
Written by SONIA SIMONE Reprinted with permission from Copyblogger. If you’re a writer, you might have heard this most of your life: People don’t make a living writing. You should find something practical to do with your life. Smart, capable writers grimly pass around war stories on Facebook. Penny-a-word assignments, clients who don’t pay, disdain for our…
Open Mic Night at the Willamette Writers Conference
Open Mic night started at the Willamette Writers Conference in 2013, when I mentioned to the conference chair that I attended a really fun Open Mic Night at another writing conference. This launched us into a talk about how we could make one for Willamette Writers and how we could make it even better than…
What’s New at the Willamette Writers Conference
Welcome to our 2018 Conference! This year, our theme for The Best Three Days in Writing is “Celebrating Diverse Voices in Writing.” The whole team is really looking forward to what we’ve got in store for you all this August 3rd -5th. As you know, the conference has grown and changed much over its 49-year…
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…
WW News
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.…
Literary Agents at the 2020 Willamette Writers Conference Register now for our 2020 Conference, and meet these agents, along with other top notch industry professionals. You can register for a pitch or critique, and share your work with these pros. They are excited to hear from you. At the conference, you can join them in…
C.C. Humphreys, Best-Selling Author of Historical Fiction, Joins the Willamette Writers Conference
TV Development and Production with Grant Rosenberg
Willamette Writers Authors at the Portland Book Festival
We are proud to be supporting these Willamette Writers member authors at this year’s Portland Book Festival on November 9th! 9AM-9:30AM Dede Montgomery Sue Fagalde Lick Sharleen Nelson Tasche Laine 9:30AM-10AM Kerry Blaisdell Kay Jennings Phillip Kenney Deni Starr 10AM-11AM Paula Butterfield Charley Descoteaux Marilyn McDonald Holly Manno 11AM-12PM Mazarine Treyz Marilynne Eichinger Rick George Jo Sparkes 12PM-1PM Ruby Lee Cornelius Holly Manno Bob Ferguson Kim Hester 1PM-2PM Anne Hendren Jeff Stookey R. Gregory Noakes Heather Ames 2PM-3PM Dawn Prochovnic Julie Dawn…
FiLMLaBtv 2019 Writer’s Room The 2019 winning script is “Stripes,” written by Alexandra Keister. Keister, an executive assistant and screenwriter, has written two feature-length screenplays, both romantic comedies, and a handful of short screenplays that range from dark sci-fi to the classically uplifting my-dog-is-dead story. She graduated from Oregon State University in 2012 with a BA…
Willamette Writers Authors Sign Books at The Portland Book Festival
by Ari Mathae Willamette Writers, the Portland literary community, and book lovers near and far will meet again Saturday 10, 2018, for the largest celebration of books in the Pacific Northwest: The Portland Book Festival. The event starts at 9 A.M. at the Portland Art Museum and continues there and at other neighboring venues in the…
Member News: Mary Andonian & David Poulshock launch ISA Third Thursdays
Mary Andonian & David Poulshock launch ISA Third Thursdays Members Mary and David are launching the local chapter of the International Screenwriters Association(ISA). It’s a monthly mixer for screenwriters on Third Thursdays, where you can mingle with fellow screenwriters, meet film and television industry professionals, and win door prizes — including a free Willamette Writer’s…
How To Happily Write A Query Letter
We’re excited that Bill Kenower is a member of the faculty at the upcoming Willamette Writers Conference. Bill is the author of Fearless Writing: How to Create Boldly and Write With Confidence and Write Within Yourself: An Author’s Companion. In a blog he posted this past June, he shares his perspective on how he learned…