At Willamette Writers, we're all about our members:
A community of writers supporting and learning from each other. We strive to provide members with everything they need to thrive—community support, networking opportunities, continuing education, inspiration, publicity, and much more.
Here’s all you get for just $57 a year:
Willamette Writers Membership benefits:
Weekly Chapter Meetings: with talks and inspirational, educational presentations on the craft and business of writing from leaders in the writing world
Online Coffee Hours: socialize with other writers twice a week
The Write Place: weekly productivity meeting, an opportunity for mutual support and accountability towards achieving your writing goals
The Timberline Review literary journal: free submissions and discounted subscriptions or copies
WilWrite Conference: early registration and discount on our acclaimed yearly writers conference
Kay Snow Writing Awards: Discounted submissions to our writing contest
FilmLab Contest: discounted submissions to our filmmaking contest
Critique groups: We help connect members to critique groups for various genres.
Post your writing news free: on our website, in our weekly Dispatch email, in our quarterly Newsletter, and on our social media. We want to celebrate YOU!
Join today!
We’d love for you to be part of the community.
Your writing community:
Congrats, Willamette Writers!
#WilWriteWins
2021 Conference Feedback
Wow! What an amazing online conference!
We had the best time at the 52nd annual Willamette Writers conference. From our keynotes, to our workshops, to our networking and community events, it was a weekend we will never forget. And it was all online! Thank you to all of our volunteers, faculty, and industry professionals who made the event possible. Here are highlights from the last few conferences.
Catch up with us on Twitter: @Wilwrite
One of the best conferences in the world…
“This is truly one of the best conferences in the world. The fact that Willamette Writers pulled this off during Covid is remarkable.” —April Eberhardt, agent
Awesome, fun, inspiring…
…it was awesome, fun, inspiring and looking forward to seeing each and every one of you again. You are a wonderful group and this was a fantastic intro to the Willamette Writers. See you next time! —Cheers, Rosemary (writing as RD Fiori)
Resonant with the warmth of community…
Thank you! The conference was a great experience, resonant with the warmth of community. Terrific speakers, master classes, and workshops! WW did a fantastic job of creating safe, inviting virtual spaces. Looking forward to upcoming offerings and future volunteering. —Cheers, Greta
Classy, well run conference…
As always, thank you all for putting on a classy, well run conference with excellent speakers!! It has definitely been worth my time!! —Karen, Ashland, Oregon
Another knockout conference…
I just wanted to thank everybody at Willamette Writers for another knockout conference. I’ve been going for 20+ years, and it’s always interesting, entertaining, and enlightening. Thanks especially to the folks who had to deal with Zoom’s… everything. I caught a bit of behind-the-scenes Zoom wrangling Sunday morning, and I’m very glad it was you…
Beyond grateful…
Amidst the pandemic, bright spots can be few and far between. When we find those moments of connection and grace, we hold them close. I am beyond grateful to attend the 51st Willamette Writers Conference this weekend from my home in Austin. Three days with fellow writers, all of us sharing our stories and struggling…
Excellent job all around
Thank you for everything! I couldn’t believe it was the first time you’ve done it all virtually because everything was so smooth. Excellent job all around. Couldn’t have been better! Scott
Great, great conference…
Excellent conference! You guys are the best! …Thanks again for a wonderful job and a great, great conference. —Paul
member news
Member News: Author Event — Baggy Red Pants and Other Stories
Baggy Red Pants and Other Stories: Short Stories, Poems, Lyrics and Visual Art by 3 Hand Stephen (writer, performer, recording and visual artist, and singer/songwriter Stephen Cohen) was published by Wake-Robin Press on August 3rd. There will be an Annie Blooms Books virtual reading event on Zoom at 7 PM on September 20th. Find out…
Member News: New Release — Dread Watch
Dread Watch is a middle grade supernatural thriller by Jared Agard, released on September 1st, 2021. Caleb Meyer stumbles upon an old pocketwatch in an abandoned railroad museum. Something about it makes him sure that, if he has it, the watch will take away all of his fears. But the watch is a trap concocted…
Member News: eBook — River Run
Amazon has chosen River Run by J. S. James as a Kindle Book Deal (priced at $1.99) beginning Aug. 9, 2021. Tell your friends. River Run is an explosive debut mystery for readers of Christine Carbo and Paul Doiron featuring a newly minted deputy thrust into the cutthroat world of hunting. This waterfowl season, the…
Member News: New Release — Guin the Emerald
Portland author Louisa Kelley announces the release of the latest book in her WLW fantasy romance series, The Shift Series. Shape-shifting dragons in Portland, gorgeous women, intrigue, romance and mystery, plus a baby dragon! This book follows the acclaimed first book in the series, Fianna The Gold. Guin is on a mission in the Oregon…
Member News: New Release — Blue Song
Blue Song, Nancy Rhodes’ first published novel, released on May 19. Allie Bennett, fed up with a lackluster advertising position at a dying newspaper and a life choked by a traumatic relationship, purchases a one-way ticket to Chile. The plan to find and face that demon from her past goes awry when a group of…
Member News: New Release — Back Up
Member News: New Release — The Blossom of the Thar
Oscar Z. Hutson’s new novel, The Blossom of the Thar, released June 6th. Rahoul Sharma wants to improve life in Thar desert in his native State of Rajasthan, India. His friend, Sohrabi Mirza, a Muslim girl of great beauty, shares his ideals. Using his engineering skills to implement solar power on a large scale, Rahoul…
Member News: New Release — Kay Jennings Releases Book 3 in Mystery Series
Estacada author Kay Jennings has released the third book, Code: Tsunami, in her A Port Stirling Mystery series. The series, featuring Police Chief Matt Horning, is set on the southern Oregon coast, and features a cast of continuing characters. Code: Tsunami imagines what would happen to the coastal village of Port Stirling if the ‘Big…
Member News: Concise and Constructive Script Critique
For a limited time, Grant Rosenberg is offering detailed, concise script notes to help you polish your drama pilot or screenplay before you submit it to an agent, a producer, or a script competition. You’ll receive constructive comments on formatting, story, characters, pacing and dialogue. Also, a 30 minute zoom consultation to discuss the notes.…
Member News: New Release — The Director
Longtime Willamette Writer’s Guild member, Paul R. Letersky, has a new book coming out. The Director: My Years Assisting J. Edgar Hoover was published by Scribner/Simon and Schuster with a release date of July 13, 2021. Paul worked for two years as an assistant to Hoover, and then spent 5 years working as a Special…
Join a Meeting or a Workshop Near You
All Writers Welcome!
Members & Full-Time Students Attend for Free!
Online: Coffee at your Kitchen Table
Online: Query Letters That Work, with Curtis C. Chen
Online: Coffee at your Kitchen Table
The Write Place: An Online Meeting for Productivity
Online: Fall Open Mic Night
Online: First Lines Critique Group: Query Letter or Proposal
Writing Resources from Willamette Writers
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…
What Agents Want – Tips from Meeting with Literary Agent Laura Bradford
At the April 4 Willamette Writers meeting, attendees got to hear from Laura Bradford, founder of Bradford Literary Agency, about what agents look for in writers. Here are some key takeaways from the presentation. Are You Someone Agents Want to…
Turn Bad Writing Days into Good Ones
The November 7th meeting of Willamette Writers brought William Kenower, teacher of the Fearless Writing Series, to the Old Church to share his perspectives for building up a strong writing life while keeping the topics that interest and engage us…
C. Lill Ahrens’ Tighty Writey Game
by C. Lill Ahrens The old saying, “Can’t see the forest for the trees” can be a metaphor for wordy writing. Too many extra words obscure the view of your story. In contrast to “cutting,” (the deletion of an entire…
Author Marketing – Notes from WW Portland Meeting with Tex Thompson
The June 6th Willamette Writers meeting was a wonderful time to be in community with one of my very favorite presenters from last year’s conference, Tex Thompson. The presentation focused on how writers can promote and market themselves, a topic…
Why Characters Do What They Do – Notes from WW Portland Meeting with Jessica Morrell
This contributed piece brings notes from Willamette Writers Portland’s April 4th, 2017 Meeting with author and editor Jessica Morrell by member Amy Foster Myer. Enjoy! Having seen Jessica Morell present at the 2016 Willamette Writers Conference, I can tell you she…
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…
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…