New Conference Refund Policy
Willamette Writers wants you to stay happy and healthy! Given the evolving situation, we have changed our 2020 Conference Refund Policy for the coming months, so you don’t have to worry. Here is our new refund policy:
- Any registering member who purchases a registration in the coming months can transfer that registration to next year – plain and simple. Free of charge.
- 2020 registrations that have been transferred to 2021 will be non-refundable after August 2, 2020.
- For cancellations, our regular refund policy applies:
- Cancellations (as opposed to transfers) before July 1st will be subject to a $50 handling fee.
- No refunds on cancelled Advance Manuscript Critiques after June 18th (when professionals begin work on manuscripts).
- No refunds on Banquet/Gala purchases after July 26th (when food is ordered).
We can't wait to see you at the conference! Come write with us!
Our 2020 Conference Keynotes!
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, and award-winning author Mitchell S. Jackson. But that's not all! Click here to find out more about who you'll see at #Wilwrite20!
Member News
Big River Mystery on Big Paddle Day
Meet local author J S James from nine to noon on June 6th at Seasons Coffee at The Old Liberty Theater in Ridgefield (115 N. Main Ave). Learn how he concocted River Run: A Delia Chavez Mystery out of several harrowing experiences on the Willamette River. Bring your board and enjoy Ridgefield’s annual Big Paddle…
Debut Novel Release: The Missing Sister
Elle Marr is the author of debut thriller The Missing Sister. In Paris, a young woman’s twin sister has vanished, leaving behind three chilling words: Trust no one. Taking the warning to heart, the woman retraces her sister’s footsteps, and they lead her down into Paris’s underbelly. As she gets closer to the truth—and to…
Virtual launch event: Treasure of the Blue Whale by Steven Mayfield
Steven Mayfield will read from his new novel, Treasure of the Blue Whale, on April 2nd at 7 pm (PST) at a Facebook Live event hosted by Annie Bloom’s Books and Mindbuck Media. Click here to join in. In Treasure of the Blue Whale, a whimsical, often funny, tale set during the Great Depression, young Connor…
Local Author Puts the Fun Back into Funerals—And Fundraisers with These Hexy Mysteries
Longtime member and local author, Sarina Dorie, creates a fundraiser to produce her bestselling series as audiobooks and to raise awareness about the Oregon Talking Book and Braille Library. After suffering from a mild traumatic brain injury at work, and experiencing the difficulties of reading and vision impairment, Sarina Dorie talks about the importance of…
Author Duel at Two Rivers Bookstore
April 9, 7:00 pm. Travel “beyond the bridge” to St. John’s Two Rivers Bookstore, where dueling mystery authors thrust and parry over character quirks, plot secrets and action clips from River Run: a Delia Chavez Mystery by J. S. James and Crossroad by W. H. Cameron. All interested in the genre are invited to come…
Last Miracle for Maria available at Woodstock Library
Sherry M. Joiner, the author of Sherry Goes Sane: Living A Life With Schizo-Affective Disorder has penned a second memoir: Last Miracle for Maria: A Story of Suicide, PTSD, and Schizoaffective Bipolar Disorder Type. Her mother, Maria, a Brazilian immigrant and World War II bride comes to the States searching for opportunity. She becomes a…
Jennifer Greer’s book launches in July 2020
Perfect for fans of Tess Gerritsen’s Rizzoli & Isles and Kathy Reichs, comes A Desperate Place, an explosive debut thriller about a team of two strong women and a crime that will shake you to your core. Three separate homicides. Three unrelated victims. One grisly secret. The book launch for Jennifer Greer’s debut suspense/thriller is…
5 Week Class on The Writer’s Crucible with Philip Kenney
Saturdays, April 11 – May 9, 10am – 12pm This class is designed for students who wish to deepen their understanding of the ideas presented in the “Coming Through the Crucible” workshop. In this five-week class, we will use the text of The Writer’s Crucible as a starting point for an exploration of the emotional…
Editors’ Choice Selection
Maryka Biaggio’s novel, Eden Waits (Sunbury Press, August 2019) was selected as an Editor’s Choice in the February 2020 issue of Historical Novels Review. Eden Waits is based on the true story of a utopian community founded in the 1890s. Author John Smolens calls is a “well-researched novel that examines a lost chapter in our…
A Literary Salon in Cottage Grove
Save the date for “A Literary Salon” at the Opal Center for Arts and Education, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m., Saturday, March 14th. Presenters will be James Burke (author of the Jake Matthews medical suspense series) and Rod Williams (author of “An Americana Singer for the 21st Century” and “Celestial Springs”). They will read selections of…
Join a Meeting or a Workshop Near You
All Writers Welcome! Members & Full-Time Students Attend for Free!
Portland and Salem Online: Agent Do’s and Don’ts with Fiona Kenshole
Online: Coffee at your kitchen table
Online Book Club: Howards End
Newport: Monthly Chapter Meeting
Vancouver: Monthly Chapter Meeting
POSTPONED Salem: Write Here Write Now
POSTPONED Willamette Writers Happy Hour at Portland Center Stage
Corvallis Online: Tiffany Pitts on Humor
On Writing from Willamette Writers
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…
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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The Willamette Writers Conference
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…
Writing Through the Tough Times by Julie Fast
New Conference Opportunity for Members: Sell Your Books at the Consignment Booth
Thanks for checking out this opportunity. We are finalizing the details and should have them for you this week. In the meantime, please let us know you’re interested by completing the short form below or via this link (same form, use whatever works better for you). We will let you know when we have more…
Our News
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…
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…
Attend FiLMLaB.tv workshops and get all the value without even attending!
Attend FiLMLaB.tv workshops and get all the value without even attending! Well, not really. Eventually you’ll have to “attend.” But thanks to space-age technology, Willamette Writers is presenting two valuable workshops online that you will be able to access 24/7 AND multiple times right up until the conference. That means that even if you’re not…
Ten Tips for Writing an Effective Pitch
By Alyssa Schaffer and Joanna Szabo Pitching your manuscript can be one of the more intimidating aspects of the writing process, so we’ve collected a few essential tips to help you prepare your next pitch. Start with a hook. This should be one or two lines covering the most exciting thing about your book. However,…