Be the Light this Holiday Season
Give your time, your goods, and your voice to help young writers!
Happy Holidays! We hope your winter is full of warmth, joy, and words.
Our Young Willamette Writers have been steeped in story this year. They've been writing poems, learning from published authors, and diving deeper into the craft of writing.
Our Young Willamette Writers Co-Chairs have seen how YWW has helped students find their voice, and continues to make an impact on their writing and reading throughout their lives.
YWW Chair Heather Ransom says, "Young Willamette Writers helps cultivate a love of reading and lifelong learning, which is vital for teens to develop as they work toward becoming successful, responsible community members."
Ransom explains that the organization offers opportunities for teens to "meet and work with current writing professionals, making valuable connections through reading and writing to their lives and to the world all around them."
We couldn't be prouder of our young writers, and this holiday season, we would like to ask you to consider how you can support this fantastic program.
Can you donate your time? Your financial support? Your voice? Here are just a few ideas on how you can shine your light and make their futures brighter:
1. Make a donation at willamettewriters.org/donations. Your donation will go to support our Young Willamette Writers programming this year. We can’t wait to see these students at our annual conference, and read their work in their journal. You can help make that happen with your support.
3. Donate your goods! Do you run a business or cupcake shop? We would love to hear from you. Your donations to Willamette Writers are tax deductible, and we would love your support. Just email the office to find out more: wilwrite [at] willamettewriters [dot] org.
4. Raise your voice! Talk about Young Willamette Writers. Help our community grow by sharing your student's story or your own experience.
This holiday season, raise your voice, donate your goods, give your time, and share your donation. You support will make our community stronger.
We are an organization built by writers, supported by writers, and helping writers.
We are Willamette Writers.
Member News
Willamette Writers Author Signing: Holly Manno
Willamette Writers Author Signing: Laura Lee Scott
Laura Lee Scott will be signing books at booth 64 at the Portland Book Festival on November 9th. Laura Lee Scott has worked as a pro writer, ghostwriter, editor, publisher, and graphic designer for over 25 years, and has authored three empowering, award-winning picture books: THE SANTA SWITCH, A TRIP FOR MRS. CLAUS, and ONE…
Willamette Writers Author Signing: Dede Montgomery
Dede Montgomery will be signing books at booth 64 at the Portland Book Festival on November 9th. Dede Montgomery is a 6th generation who actively blogs in “Musings about Life in Oregon.” Dede was a 2019 Oregon State Capitol Foundation Speaker Series presenter, sharing her 2017 memoir, MY MUSIC MAN stories on Oregon’s February 14…
Willamette Writers Author Signing: Kerry Blaisdell
Kerry Blaisdell will be signing books at booth 64 at the Portland Book Festival on November 9th. Kerry Blaisdell is the author of The Dead Series, including DEBRIEFING THE DEAD—2019 Royal Palm Literary Award for Best Published Fantasy, RONE Award for Best Long Paranormal, HOLT Medallion Literary Award for Best Paranormal & Best First Book,…
Willamette Writers Author Signing: Tasche Laine
Tasche Laine will be signing books at booth 64 at the Portland Book Festival on November 9th. Tasche Laine has worked as a journalist, teacher, and book editor. She is the author of the 2018 International Book Award winner for Readers’ Favorite, Closure: based on a true story, and its sequel, Chameleon. She grew up…
Willamette Writers Author Signing: Marilynne Eichinger
Marilynne Eichinger will be signing books at booth 64 at the Portland Book Festival on November 9th. Marilynne Eichinger, entrepreneur, and director of hands-on science museums graduated Magna Cum Laude in Anthropology from Boston University and with an MA in psychology from Michigan State University. She founded Impression Five Science Museum in Michigan served as…
Willamette Writers Author Signing: Steven Mayfield
Steven Mayfield will be signing books at booth 64 at the Portland Book Festival on November 9th. Steven Mayfield is a past recipient of the Mari Sandoz Prize for Fiction and author of the upcoming novel, Treasure of the Blue Whale (Regal House Publishing, Spring 2020). His short fiction has appeared in Event, The Black…
Willamette Writers Author Signing: Heather Ames
Heather Ames will be signing books at booth 64 at the Portland Book Festival on November 9th. A Miami detective unjustly accused of accepting bribes takes his half-brother’s socialite girlfriend as an unlikely partner when his brother is found beaten to death in the Everglades. A trail of convoluted clues leads him on a journey…
Willamette Writers Author Signing: Donnie with Walter W Cole/Darcelle
Donnie Horn with Walter W Cole/Darcelle will be signing books at booth 64 at the Portland Book Festival on November 9th. Donald l Horn aka Donnie is a playwright, author, director, historian, producer and founder of triangle productions! a theatre company. He has written twelve books including his autobiography Crumbs of Love; the sequel, Pinch…
Willamette Writers Author Signing: Marilyn Catherine McDonald, ma
Marilyn Catherine McDonald will be signing books at booth 64 at the Portland Book Festival on November 9th. Marilyn has been a professional writer since 1967. She earned her undergraduate and graduate degrees while freelancing and raising eight children. Then, as a single parent she returned to the work force or the first time in…
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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…
New Opportunity at Conference: Author Headshots
For the first time ever, the 2017 Willamette Writers Conference will have a professional photographer at the conference to take author headshots. A limited number of slots will be offered Friday and Saturday afternoon, so book your slot before they are all taken. Why Do Author’s Need Headshots? Last year’s conference keynote speaker Jane Friedman…
Our News
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,…
Willamette Writers is Sponsoring Write to Publish
We are delighted to contribute to this year’s Write to Publish conference with Ooligan Press to help writers, agents, and publishers alike get more familiar the ins and outs of the industry! What: A one-day conference demystifying the publishing industry When: April 21, 2018 9:00 am – 6:00 pm Where: George C. Hoffmann Hall 1833…
Randall Jahnson and FiLMLaB Screenwriting Workshop
Screenwriting Workshop Willamette Writers and FiLMLaB invite you to join us for an online screenwriting workshop with Randall Jahnson. Details Date: Saturday, April 21st Time: 12-2PM Cost: Free Open to the public This is an online workshop Click here to register. About Randall Jahnson Randall Jahnson has written more than 20 feature-length screenplays. Not all…