Portland, Oregon, is an absolutely wonderful place to be a writer (of any sort)! If you live here, too, and you are looking for ways to connect with others who are passionate about words, this resource page is for you.
Below you will find descriptions and links to writing organizations, schools, publishers, and more. I hope you enjoy exploring them.
Writers' Organizations
Schools
Local Publishers
Honorable Mentions (recommended, but not in Portland)
Writers' Organizations
Association of Personal Historians
The APH is a national organization, but there's an active local chapter in Portland. It consists of an "international organization of skilled professionals passionate about preserving life stories."
If you are interested in documenting your family's personal life story for future generations (or in finding a writer who can help you do so), this is the place to start. Alternatively, if you are writer who is interested in a career as a Personal Historian, this is the organization for you. I met representatives of APH at least year's Wordstock (see below). They are a warm, inspiring, enthusiastic group of people who love helping others tell and document their stories.
To learn more, contact either Lisa Kagan or Gloria Nussbaum. (Both are members of the Portland Chapter).
This organization isn't technically located in Portland. (It's headquartered in Enterprise, Oregon, in the beautiful Wallowa Mountains.) It is well worth checking out, however. Every July, Fishtrap offers a series of writing workshops that last a full week, as well as one- and two-week residencies in April and October. It also facilitates the Eastern Oregon Writers-In-Residence Program.
According to the website, Fishtrap welcomes:
"Anyone in love with words! In 21 years, Fishtrap has hosted over 200 published poets, novelists, journalists, song writers, and non-fiction writers as teachers and presenters. Although workshops are kept small, thousands of writers, teachers, students and booklovers from around the west have participated in Fishtrap events. Almost all of which are on a first come first served basis. That means published writers sit with beginning writers, 16 year olds with 80 year olds. The formula seems to work!"
This is a leading organization in Portland whose purpose is "Enriching the lives of Oregonians through language and literature." Literary Arts makes a major contribution to Oregonians through programs like Portland Arts and Lectures, Oregon Book Awards, Writers in the Schools, Oregon Literary Fellowships, and Writers in Motion.
These folks sponsor the Columbiar River Gorge Writers Conference (next conference: June 15-19, 2011), which gives writers the opportunity to spend a week working with "nationally recognized poets, fiction writers, non-fiction writers, screenwriters and editors" in a breathtaking setting in the Columbia Gorge. The organization also hosts monthly readings in Portland at The Press Club on S.E. Clinton Street.
NW Association of Book Publishers
The mission of these folks is "Supporting and serving independent publishers in the Pacific Northwest." Although the focus is on publishers, it's a great place for writers to learn and network, too. This is because the more you know about the publishing and marketing of books, the better partner you will be when it comes time to publish your book.
They hold meetings from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on the last Thursday of every month at the Fairfield Inn in Lake Oswego.
Oregon State Poetry AssociationOSPA has chapters located across the state. It sponsors a free contest for students and two contests for adults every year. It also hosts two annual conferences, readings, workshops and guest poets and publishes two anthologies (Versewavers and Cascadia).
This is a great support organization for writers of all backgrounds and levels of proficiency. It offers classes, workshops, conferences and writing contests, as well as lots of encouragement. One of the organization's best features is that it owns a beautiful log retreat house (the Colonyhouse) on the Oregon coast at Rockaway Beach. Colonyhouse is available--to members only--as a writer's retreat.
Pacific Northwest Writers' Association
The PNWA is "dedicated to helping writers in the northwest connect to other writers, publishers, agents, and editors across the country." Its mission is to:
"...develop the writing talent from pen to publication through education, accessibility to the publishing industry, and participation in an interactive, vital writer community."
It sponsors an annual conference, literary contest, and a variety of events.
PWW offers a full calendar of workshops that not only help women develop their skills as writers, but also personally and spiritually.
"Our passion is to offer a safe environment where women can access their creative power, express their authentic voices, and co-create a vibrant and supportive community of women. Our writing workshops provide sacred space that promotes personal growth, deep healing and the opportunity to explore and expand consciousness."
Portland Writers offers workshops and retreats for writers (men and women) of all experience levels. It provides a:
"...safe and supportive environment where you can challenge your writer self and deepen your practice. This is a place where seasoned authors will brave new territory (or that old writer's block), and novices will build confidence and recognize their strengths as writers."
The VoiceCatcher is a nonprofit collective for women authors that offers publishing opportunities, public readings, writing scholarships, and editorial guidance.
This is the major membership organization for writers in Portland (with chapters throughout the state). They hold an annual conference every August that brings in editors and agents from publishing houses around the country. They also hold monthly meetings, with speakers, at The Old Church in downtown Portland.
Wordstock is Portland’s annual festival for book lovers. This year’s festival will be held Oct. 7-10. 2010, at the Oregon Convention Center.
This is a nonprofit organization whose volunteers teach writing classes to groups of people who otherwise wouldn’t have a voice.
"Through a unique model of writing workshops, published anthologies and public readings, Write Around Portland helps people transform their lives and our community.
Our traditional workshops are held in partnership with social service agencies. They are offered at no charge to people living with HIV/AIDS, veterans, survivors of domestic violence, adults and youth in addiction recovery, low income seniors, people in prison, homeless youth and others who may not have access to writing in community because of income, isolation or other barriers."
You can take a workshop yourself or volunteer to teach workshops for others.
Schools
The Attic offers a full roster of classes on all kinds of topics at its facility on SE Hawthorne. All of the classes are taught by experienced, successful, published authors.
The Northwest Writing Institute, Lewis & Clark College
The Northwest Writing Institute is part of the Lewis & Clark Graduate School. It offers continuing education courses for teachers and adult writers on campus and in the community.
Portland State University (PSU) offers either an MA or an MS in Writing with an emphasis on Publishing. The program is unique in the country because it enables students to get practical, hands-on experience in every aspect of publishing through the school's professional, student-run Ooligan Press. (See below.)
PSU also offers an MFA in Writing.
Local Publishers, etc.
If you are self-publishing and need help with book design and production, Jennifer Omner is a great person to work with.
Independent Publishing Resource Center
This is a great nonprofit organization for people who want to produce their own books. It offers a workspace replete with letterpress studio, bookbinding machine, computers, and printers, as well as workshops on self-publishing, web design, graphic design, bookbinding and letterpress.
This is the in-house press for the MA/MS in Publishing program at Portland State University (PSU). Students here do everything: acquire manuscripts, edit them and lay them out, design the book covers, create marketing plans, and manage distribution and sales.
If you love books and publishing and would like to work in the industry, this is the place to start! (Note: I received an MA in Writing/Publishing from PSU in 2004.)
Honorable Mentions
The following people and organizations aren't located in Portland, but they still offer valuable services for writers!
This organization sounds like great fun--even for died-in-the-wool nonfiction writers like me! The website explains:
"National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30.
Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved.
Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It's all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly."
A book index makes the difference between a good book and a very good book. If you have written a nonfiction book and are looking for a professional indexer, contact Clive. He specializes in scholarly and trade non-fiction and reference books that deal with all kinds of subjects. He will provide you with on-time service that meets your specifications, and his rates are competitive.
Return Home from Writing Portland