This year’s conference will be completely online once again, and we’ll be offering all of our programming via Zoom. We’ll have workshops, Master Classes, pitching and critiques, and Zoom games aplenty. Everything for you to connect with your community, develop your craft, and expand your career as a writer!
There will be plenty of announcements and communications to come, but for now, mark your calendars and get ready join us!
Our 2021 Willamette Writers Online Conference Presenters
We are beyond excited to share with you that the Willamette Writers Conference will once again be hosted online via Zoom, July 29th-August 1st, 2021. Registration will open May 1.
This year, we’re making it even easier for you to pitch to your selected agents without having to worry about missing out on workshop programming, by offering pitching and critiques July 29th and 30th, and our workshops and panels on July 31st and August 1st.
Our keynotes this year will be NYT best-selling Young Adult and Sci-Fi author, Daniel José Older, and PEN/Bellwether Prize winner for socially engaged fiction and Portland-born author, Heidi W. Durrow.
We thank you for being part of our community, and can’t wait for you to join us this summer! Here’s who we have confirmed so far to join us. We’ll be adding to the list in the coming weeks!
Master Classes
Fonda Lee | Award winning science fiction and fantasy author
Hallie Ephron | NYT bestselling author of domestic suspense
Kate Gray | Poet, writer, and writing coach
Pam Houston | Author, teacher, speaker
Jeremy Townley | Fiction, translations, and essay writer
Industry Professionals
Rachel Bell | Overcup Press
Angelina Chen | Literary Manager | Energy Entertainment
Jennifer Chen Tran | Literary Agent | Bradford Literary Agency
Lori Galvin | Literary Agent | Aevitas Creative
Sasha Henriques | Associate Editor | Penguin Random House
Andrea Hurst | Literary Agent | Andrea Hurst Associates
Fiona Kenshole | Literary Agent | Transatlantic Agency
Kat Kerr | Literary Agent | Donald Maass Literary Agency
Iwalani Kim | Associate Agent | Sanford J. Greenburger Associates
Natalie Kimber | Literary Agent | The Rights Factory
Laura Mazer | Literary Agent | Wendy Sherman Associates
Jim McCarthy | Literary Agent | Dystel, Goderich, & Bourret
Brent Paxton | Manager | Kreativ Media Partners
David Pomerico | Executive Editor | HarperCollins
Paige Terlip | Associate Agent | Andrea Brown Literary Agency
Acclaimed authors and teachers
Susan DeFreitas | Author and editor
Kerrie Flanagan | Author, editor, consultant
Susan Kelly | Amazon best-selling fiction author
Carol Saller | Author and editor- the Chicago Manual of Style
Eric Witchey | Award winning author
Science Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult
Ines Johnson | Paranormal Romance author
Amber Keyser | Author, activist, advocate for young adults
Kara Lockharte | Romance author
Cat Rambo | Award winning sci fi and fantasy writer
Addie Woolridge | Romance author
Poetry
Tehlor Kay Mejia | Author, poet, editor
Mindy Nettifee | Poet and artist educator
Crime, Mystery, Forensics
Jennifer Dornbush | Screenwriter, author, forensic specialist
Short Fiction
Alissa Hattman | Writer and teacher
Nonfiction writers and coaches
Melissa Hart | Award winning nonfiction and middle grade author
Nonprofit writers organizations
Write Around Portland
Registration opens May 1!
We will share much more in the next few weeks about the workshops and events you’ll enjoy this year, so stay tuned! It’s going to be a fantastic celebration of writers and writing!