This page offers the bios of some of our present and past meeting speakers.

Marc Acito

Marc Acito's comic debut novel, How I Paid for College: A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship and Musical Theater, won the Ken Kesey Award for the Novel and made the American Library Association's Top Ten Teen Book List. It was also selected as an Editors' Choice by the New York Times, has been optioned for film by Columbia Pictures and is translated into five languages the author cannot read. Its much anticipated sequel, Attack of the Theater People, debuts April 22nd. For four years Acito shocked and amused readers with his syndicated humor column, "The Gospel According to Marc," which ran nationwide in nineteen alternative newspapers. A former opera singer, he is now a popular contributor to the New York Times and National Public Radio's All Things Considered. Marc's web site is at www.MarcAcito.com.

Mary Andonian

Mary Andonian is the former agents and editors coordinator for the Willamette Writers conference, one of the largest writing events in North America. In past years she was also their program coordinator and co-chair. She is represented by the Reece Halsey North Literary Agency (www.reecehalseynorth.com ). Mary is a monthly columnist for the hit eZines, Writers on the Rise (www.writersontherise.com ) and WriterMama (www.writermama.com ). She has completed two books: Mind Chatter: Stories from the Squirrel Cage and Bitsy's Labyrinth. She is currently at work on her first screenplay, a romantic comedy. Please visit Mary at her website: www.maryandonian.com

Shannon Applegate

Author and lecturer Shannon Applegate is best known for her book Skookum: An Oregon Pioneer Family's History and Lore that was a best-selling book throughout the Pacific Northwest and Oregon Book Award finalist in 1989. Her book Living Among Headstones: Life in a Country Cemetery received excellent reviews including listing as one of the top ten Northwest books of 2005 by the Oregonian. Living Among Headstones was featured in May of 2005 on National Public Radio when Applegate was interviewed in her Oregon cemetery for "All Things Considered."

Nena Baker

Nena Baker is the author of The Body Toxic: How the Hazardous Chemistry of Everyday Things Threatens Our Health and Well-being. The book was recently awarded the 2009 Nautilus Book Award Gold Prize.

Doug Baldwin

Baldwin co-authored The Man Who Shot The Man Who Shot Jesse James, a full-length play, which was performed at Manhattan Punch Line , NYC. He has authored numerous news and feature pieces for trade publications and has extensive experience editing press releases for publication.

Judith Barrington

Judith Barrington is the author of three volumes of poetry and Lifesaving: A Memoir, winner of the Lambda Book Award and finalist for the PEN/Martha Albrand Award. She has won many prizes and published widely in literary journals. She teaches at universities and workshops across the United States and Britain. For more information, visit her website.

Dale E. Basye

Dale E. Basye (a subsidiary of his parents) has written stories, screenplays, essays, reviews, and outright lies for many publications and organizations. He was a film critic for Willamette Week, winning several national journalism awards, and published an arts and entertainment newspaper called Tonic. His first book, Heck: Where the Bad Kids Go received a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly, and was nominated for a Borders Original Voices award. His second book for middle readers, Rapacia: The Second Circle of Heck, was published by Random House this summer. Basye and his wife—a flamenco dancer and singer—even had a band, for a spell, called Lovenotes & Lithium, which—on a good day—sounded like XTC with a violin. When he’s not writing like Heck, he’s a writer for a small advertising agency. He lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife and son, and must, on a daily basis, wage life or death struggles with grizzly bears, nettled beavers, and inconsistent Wi-Fi signals.

Carmen Bernier-Grand

Carmen T. Bernier-Grand is the author of six books for children and young adults. Her books include a biography in poems and one in prose, an anthology of Puerto Rican folk-tales and a second book of four illustrated folk-tales, and a novel. Her Cesar: Yes, We Can! S, Se Puede! won Pura Belpr Honors for her poems and David Diaz's illustrations. Her book Frida: Viva la vida! Long Live Life! appeared in the summer of 2007. Diego: Bigger Than Life, illustrated by David Diaz, will be out in 2008. Her web site is at http://www.hevanet.com/grand/

Jackie Blain

Jackie Blain is a Writers Guild of America, West, screenwriter with over 40 hours of produced network television, a short film in production, and a feature in development. She most recently spent 4 years on the faculty of the Art Institute of Portland, has taught for the UCLA Extension Writers Program, and is Program Director of the Portland Film Workshops at Indent Studios in Portland. She also does script consulting work through her firm, Yellow Lab Ltd., and is associate producer on her Yellow Lab client Susan Hess Logeais independent feature Not Dead Yet (in production). Her students films have been accepted by and won awards at numerous film festivals, including the New York Film Festival, the San Francisco Film Festival, the Longbaugh Festival, and the Salem Film Festival.

Sally-Jo Bowman

Sally-Jo Keala-o-Anuenue Bowman is a Springfield writer who grew up in Hawaii in a native Hawaiian family. Her 200-plus award-winning magazine articles, essays and poems, many on Hawaiian cultural topics, have been published in more than 50 magazines, anthologies, and literary journals.

Holly Brix

Holly Brix, WGA, MFA, is a Hollywood screenwriter with projects at Warner Bros., Paramount Studios MTV Films, and Phoenix Pictures. She's been featured on NPR's "The Business" and "All Things Considered: Goes Hollywood." She teaches at Northwest Film Center and UCLA Writers Extension. Her first produced script Mile Zero was in theaters in '08.

Larry Brooks

Larry Brooks is the author of four critically-acclaimed thrillers, including a USA Today Bestseller and a Publishers Weekly "Best Books of 2004" lead entry (mass market). His workshops deliver a nuts and bolts understanding of story architecture and how to infuse it with passion, tension and meaning. Larry Brooks has launched a new website, which he calls a cross between a blog and an instructional resource. It's at www.storyfix.com, the URL for his old manuscript coaching service, which remains available through the revised site. Storyfix will deliver the same type of writing advice and coaching Brooks dispenses at his workshops, and the site will support the release of his new book, The Six Core Competencies of Successful Storytelling, which launches later this year. Subscription is free and ensures delivery of each new entry directly to your email or RRS feed.

Lenor Chappell

Lenor Chappell is the author of the memoirs One Step at a Time and The Next Leg of My Journey.

Sage Cohen

Sage Cohen is the author of Writing the Life Poetic: An Invitation to Read and Write Poetry (Writers Digest Books, 2009) and the poetry collection Like the Heart, the World. She writes four monthly columns about the craft and business of writing and serves as Poetry Editor for VoiceCatcher 3. Co-curator of a monthly reading series at Barnes & Noble, Sage teaches the online class Poetry for the People. Sage is publisher of the Writing the Life Poetic blog and zine; drop by and join in the conversation at www.writingthelifepoetic.typepad.com! To learn more about Sage, visit www.sagesaidso.com.

Gary Corbin

Gary Corbin has been a freelance writer and consultant since July, 2005. His published work has appeared in Brainstorm Northwest magazine, The Oregonian, the Portland Tribune, and Global Envision, among others. Contract clients include HDR Engineering, the Portland Development Commission, the Oregon Department of Transportation, Trilogics Corporation, the City of Portland, Innovative Growth Solutions, Nyquist and Associates, and Oregon PERS. Gary lives and work in Vancouver, WA, with the world's most expensive free dog. His novel, Lying in Judgment, seeks a willing and brave agent.

Melinda Dille

Melinda began writing in grade school and never stopped. A 30 year veteran of the advertising industry, Melinda has worked on concepting, writing and producing award winning newspaper ads, television and radio spots, as well as long form videos. Working with clients in space launching facilities, she learned that the sky is the limit when it comes to dreams coming true.

Tracy Daugherty

Tracy Daugherty is the author of eight books, most recently the story collection Late in the Standoff and the novel Axemans Jazz which won the Oregon Book Award. In 1998 he received a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. He teaches creative writing at Oregon State university, where he is the chair of the English Department.

Monica Drake

Monica is the author of Clown Girl, published by Hawthorne Books of Portland. The book was an Oregon Book Award finalist in 2007, and reached the New York Times best-seller list. Drake has an MFA from the University of Arizona and teaches at the Pacific NW College of Art. She is a contributor of reviews and articles to The Oregonian, The Stranger, and the Portland Mercury. Her fiction has appeared in the Beloit Fiction Review, Threepenny Review, The Insomniac Reader, and others. She has been the recipient of an Arizona Commission on the Arts Award, the Alligator Juniper Prize in Fiction, and a Millay Colony Fellowship, and was a Tennessee Williams scholar at Sewanee Writers Workshop. For more information, visit her website.

Laurie Lynn Drummond

Laurie Lynn Drummonds first book, Anything You Say Can and Will be Used Against You (HarperCollins 2004), was a BookSense76 selection, a finalist for the 2005 PEN/Hemingway Award, and won the 2004 Violet Crown Award, the 2004 Texas Institute of Letters Award, and the 2005 Edgar Award for Best Short Story. Finnish, Japanese, and French editions are forthcoming. A former uniformed police officer in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Drummond now teaches creative writing at the University of Oregon.

Robert Dugoni

Dugoni has been writing his entire life. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford University with a degree in journalism. He worked briefly as a reporter for the Los Angeles Times before obtaining his doctorate of jurisprudence from the University of California at Los Angeles School of Law. He is also a two-time winner of the Pacific Northwest Writers Association Literary Award for fiction. His novels are The Jury Master and False Justice.

Craig English

Craig English, M.F.A., is an award winning author with extensive experience in both fiction and nonfiction. He is the co-author of “Anxious to Please: 7 Revolutionary Practices for the Chronically Nice,” Sourcebooks, 2006 (4th printing) (Spanish/Greek translations). Other publications include numerous short stories and recent articles in The Writer Magazine and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Getting Published. His current project is a novel, “The Anvil of Navarre,” a gender-bending political thriller and swashbuckler.

Craig is a sought after teacher and speaker at conferences. He brings 25 years of experience to his dynamic workshops, most recently “Nonfiction: Writing Seminar and Portfolio” at the University of Washington.

Elizabeth Engstrom

Elizabeth Engstrom is the author of nine books and over 250 short stories, articles and essays. Her most recent volume of short fiction is Suspicions, and her most recent novel is Black Leather. She teaches the fine art of fiction and is a sought-after speaker and instructor at writers conferences around the world. She has served as the Director of the Maui Writers Retreats for the past decade. www.elizabethengstrom.com

Julie Fast

Julie A. Fast is the bestselling author of Loving Someone with Bipolar Disorder: Understanding and Helping Your Partner (over 65,000 copies sold. New Harbinger, 2004), Take Charge of Bipolar Disorder (Time/Warner, 2006-17,000 copies in the first year) and her latest book, Get it Done When You're Depressed (Penguin, 2008). She is the recipient of the Mental Health America Excellence in Journalism award for her magazine writing. Julie's weekly KTRO AM 910 radio show can be heard by podcast on www.juliefast.com/radio. Her web site is at www.juliefast.com.

Will Fendon

For the past 12 years, Will Fendon has worked as a screenwriter in television and film and has been a contributing writer and segment producer to such programs as The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Safari Tracks and many others. He has optioned screenplays to film studios and independent production companies, served as a story analyst to literary agencies and organizations such as the William Morris Agency, American Film Institute and Writers Guild of America West. Most recently he founded a screenwriting mentor program for middle school kids in Portland, Oregon, where he lives with his wife, four-year-old twin boys and a Chesapeake Bay retriever named Tioga. In his spare time, he enjoys paying late fees at Blockbuster and writing about himself in the third person.

Christine Fletcher

As a child growing up in the San Francisco Bay area, Christine Fletcher spent her days reading, drawing animals, and at the age of seven, dreamed of inventing veterinary medicine. Crushed that the profession was already in existence, she went on to become a veterinarian, and though the drawing fell by the wayside, she never stopped writing.

Though she claims she hadn't thought of becoming a writer, after reading a particularly badly written novel she came to the conclusion that she could do better. And apparently reviewers have thought so as well, with high praise for her first young adult novel, Tallulah Falls, from Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, School Library Journal, and many more. Tallulah Falls was named a 2007 Book for the Teen Age by the New York Public Library. For more information, visit her website.

Wendy French

Wendy French was raised in Vancouver, Canada, where she was certain her parents unwittingly cursed her writing career with a happy and stable childhood. In an effort to overcome her unfortunate beginnings, she sought artistic torment at the University of Victoria, but despair eluded her. Hoping for worse luck south of the border, she moved to Oregon, but happiness continued to stalk her, day and night. Finally, she conceded defeat, abandoned her quest for misery, and began writing humorous women's fiction. For more information about Wendy, visit her website). Her latest book is Full of It.

Martha Gies

Gies began publishing nonfiction in the mid-seventies and later studied fiction with Raymond Carver at two Centrum summer workshops. Her short stories and literary essays appear widely in literary quarterlies, including Zyzzyva, Orion and The Sun, and in several anthologies. In 2004, Oregon State University Press published Up All Night, her portrait of Portland told through the stories of 23 people who work graveyard shift. The recipient of grants and awards from PEN, Regional Arts & Culture Council and Oregon Literary Arts, Gies teaches at Lewis & Clark's Northwest Writing Institute. For more information about Martha, visit her blog.

F.I. Goldhaber

Award-winning, internationally published author F.I. Goldhaber has written professionally for more than twenty-five years. She spent six years as a reporter and editor at newspapers in three states and then worked as a business writer, editor, and marketing communications consultant for corporate, government, and not-for-profit entities. A graduate of the University of Washington, F.I. lives in western Oregon. She has served as a judge for the PNWA Literary Contest and the EPPIE Awards, has read to elementary-school children as a SMART volunteer, and was active in Lions Clubs International serving as an Eye Courier and as president of two clubs. (The above was taken from F.I.'s website).

Debra Gwartney

Debra Gwartney is on the nonfiction writing faculty at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon, and is co-editor, with Barry Lopez, of Home Ground: Language for an American Landscape, published in 2006 by Trinity University Press. Her short stories, personal narratives, essays, and articles have appeared in numerous journals, magazines, and newspapers. Debra is a former reporter for The Oregonian, was a nonfiction scholar at the Breadloaf Writers' Conference, and has received fellowships from Literary Arts, Hedgebrook Writer's Colony, the Wurlitzer Foundation, and the American Antiquarian Society. (The above information was taken from Debra's website).

Melissa Hart

Melissa Hart is the author of the memoir Gringa: A Contradictory Girlhood (Seal, 2009). She teaches journalism at the University of Oregon and memoir writing for U.C. Berkeley's online extension program. She's a contributing editor at The Writer Magazine, and her essays and articles have appeared in Orion, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Advocate, Hemispheres, & High Country News. Website: www.melissahart.com.

April Henry

She has published eight mysteries and thrillers, with three more under contract. Her books have gotten starred reviews, been on Booksense (twice!), translated into four languages, short-listed for the Oregon Book Award, and chosen as a Quick Pick by the American Library Association.

This spring saw the publication of Torched, a young adult thriller,
www.aprilhenrymysteries.com/

Pamela Hill Smith

At eighteen, Pamela sold a story her hometown newspaper and has been writing professionally ever since--first as a staff writer on an old-fashioned newspaper Society page and later as an advertising copywriter and publicist. She's written about everything from weddings, Girl Scout jamborees, and old ladies who carved statues out of gourds; to Mount Rushmore, Water Piks, and basketball shoes. She left the corporate world behind in the 1990s to teach and write for young adults. She's published three award-winning novels, and has directed writing programs at universities in Colorado, Oregon, and Washington. Her latest book is Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Writer's Life, a biography for adult readers. http://www.pamelasmithhill.com/

Cynthia Hewitt

Cynthia Hewitt has traveled throughout the states, writing as she goes. As a mom, she has written several articles on places to go with children as well as traveling with children. As a columnist, Ms. Hewitt has been writing a parenting column for over 12 years. She has also self-published several books for teachers and parents.

Randall Jahnson

Randall Jahnson has been a professional screenwriter for more than 23 years. Among his credits are The Doors, The Mask of Zorro, episodes of Tales from the Crypt, and the Western video game, Gun. He now lives in Oregon.

Leigh Anne Jasheway-Bryant

Leigh Anne Jasheway-Bryant is a humor writer and speaker who lives in Eugene, Oregon with her husband, her giant wiener dogs and the voices in her head. She is the author of fifteen published books, including Life is Funny: A Riveting Tale of Comedy, Hairdressing, and Texas Politics, I'm Not Getting Older (I'm Getting Better at Denial), Bedtime Stories for Cats, and Bedtime Stories for Dogs. She has a new humor gift book, Not Guilty by Reason of Menopause, due out with Ten Speed Press in September. For eight years, she was a humor and inspiration columnist for Family Circle Magazine, and has written for more than a dozen other national magazines. Her first play -- a comedy about friendship, betrayal, and reincarnation was produced last year, and her musical, Yes Mamm!, is scheduled for production. Her website is www.accidentalcomic.com.

Bill Johnson

Bill is author of A Story is a Promise & Deep Characterization, a writing workbook that explores how to create dramatic, engaging stories. He is a skilled story analyst and teacher and has taught writing workshops around the United States. He currently reviews screenplays and novels. He is also the backbone of Willamette Writers, serving as Office Manager and on the Conference Committee in charge of registration. His web site is at www.storyispromise.com

Christina Katz

Christina Katz is one of Willamette Writers' Conference success stories. In 2005, with the encouragement and support of several writer friends, Christina pitched the concept of a book for parents who want to write to Writers Digest Acquisitions Editor, Jane Friedman. Though the busy mother of a young daughter, she found time to write her first book Writer Mama, How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids, which was published in 2007. And the rest, as they say, is history. Since then, Christina has built a career by teaching and coaching busy writers. She created and published two online writing e-zines Writers on the Rise and The Writer Mama, which are read by thousands of readers. She also finds time to blog daily about the writing life. www.christinakatz.com

Jill Kelly, PhD

Jill Kelly, PhD, is a Portland-based freelance editor who has helped scores of writers of fiction, memoir, and nonfiction move their work into print and web. A former college professor of writing and grammar, she coaches groups and individuals through all related processes: writing, rewriting, self-editing, and publishing. Her memoir, “Sober Truths: The Making of an Honest Woman,” was a finalist for a 2008 Oregon Book Award in creative nonfiction. Her first novel, “Witnessing the Creation,” is in the final editing stages.

Lauren Kessler

Lauren Kessler, Director of the Literary Nonfiction graduate program at the University of Oregon since 1996, is author of eleven books. These include Washington Post bestseller Clever Girl: Elizabeth Bentley, The Spy Who Ushered in the McCarthy Era, Los Angeles Times bestseller The Happy Bottom Riding Club, Full Court Press, and After All These Years. Two of her books were Oregon Book Awards finalists winning the award with Stubborn Twig: Three Generations in the Life of a Japanese American Family. Stubborn Twig has been chosen by Oregon Library Association's "Oregon Reads" as the book for all Oregon to read in honor of the states 2009 sesquicentennial. http://laurenkessler.com/

Jane Kirkpatrick

Jane Kirkpatrick is the award-winning author of two non-fiction and 13 historical novels including her latest, A Tendering in the Storm, Book Two in the Change and Cherish Series. Willamette Writers named her the Distinguished Northwest Writer of 2005, an honor earned by such writers as Ken Kesey and Ursula Le Guin. Her first novel won the Western Heritage Wrangler Award and her 2005 novel, Land of Sheltered Promise was one of two finalists for Western Writers of America's Best Novel of the West. http://www.jkbooks.com/

Clark Kohanek

A native of the Northwest, Clark Kohanek is a freelance illustrator, storyboard artist and commercial director. Weiden and Kennedy, Anonymous Content, Dark Horse and Universal Studios are only a few of the ad agencies, studios and production companies Clark has worked with over the last 10 years. Clark is also the co-creator and co-author of the comic book The Wound with Dr. Ryan Coon Psy.D. The experimental comic series was recently presented to the 2006 American Psychological Association National Convention, as an alternative narrative therapy for troubled teens. In 2005 Clarks horror/comedy The Undertakers was a Nicholl Fellowship Quarter Finalist. Clark currently lives in Los Angeles.

Cheri Lasota

Cheri is currently a member of Women In Portland Publishing (WiPP) and the NW Independent Editors Guild (NWIEG). She is an active member of Willamette Writers. She recently published her first e-book, Outlining: The Published Novelist's Secret for Success. This e-book was created to help fiction writers craft better stories by using planning techniques, such as freewriting, visualization, and timelines. http://stirlingediting.com/about/

Jennifer Lauck

Jennifer Lauck is the international best-selling author of three memoirs, Blackbird, Still Waters, and Show Me the Way. Blackbird, her first memoir, was on the New York Times Bestseller list. Her books have been translated into eighteen different languages and have been sold in more than twenty countries. Jennifer has studied writing for twenty years. During her career as a producer and reporter, she won several awards including two from the Society of Professional Journalists. http://www.jenniferlauck.com/

Elizabeth Lyon

Elizabeth Lyon is the author of The Sell Your Novel Tool Kit, A Writer's Guide to Fiction, A Writer's Guide to Non-fiction, National Directory of Editors & Writers, Non-fiction Book Proposals Anybody Can Write, and Manuscript Makeover, on how to revise fiction, in 2009 to be joined by a similar book on revising non-fiction. An independent book editor for two decades, Lyon enjoys the challenge and discovery that are a part of editing, each manuscript an original creation. Her work has helped nearly 50 writers to break into print through her editing service, Editing International. Her custom-made private workshops are available to writers' groups for hire. You are welcome to reach her through e-mail: elyon123@comcast.net or to visit her websites: www.elizabethlyon.com or www.4- edit.com.

Matt Love

Matt Love, Director of Writers on the Edge and publisher of Nestucca Spit Press is the author of parts 1 and 2 of the Beaver State Trilogy-"Grasping Wastrels vs. Beaches Forever Inc.: Covering the Fights for the Soul of the Oregon Coast"; and "The Far Out Story of Vortex I," a book that documents the "Biodegradable Festival of Life" held the summer of 1970 and attended by 100,000 people, the only state-sponsored rock festival in American history.

Phillip Margolin

Phillip Margolin has practiced criminal law for 25 years. All of his eleven novels have been bestsellers. Since 1996, he has been writing full-time. All of his novels have been New York Times bestsellers. Heartstone, his first novel, was nominated for an Edgar for best original paperback mystery of 1978 by the Mystery Writers of America. His second novel, The Last Innocent Man, was made into an HBO movie. Gone, But Not Forgotten has been sold to more than 25 foreign publishers and debuted as a miniseries in 2004. After Dark, The Burning Man, The Undertaker's Widow, Wild Justice, The Associate, Ties That Bind and Sleeping Beauty were also New York Times bestsellers and selections or main selections of the major book clubs.
Since 1996, he has been the President and Chairman of the Board of Chess for Success, a non-profit charity that uses chess to teach study skills to elementary and middle school children in Title I schools. (The above information was taken from Phil's website at http://www.philipmargolin.com).

Robert McDowell

Robert McDowell is the best selling author of Poetry as Spiritual Practice: Reading, Writing, and Using Coast Chapter Poetry in Your Daily Rituals, Aspirations, and Intentions. His poems, stories, essays and reviews have appeared in hundreds of magazines and anthologies here and abroad, including Best American Poetry, The New Criterion, and others. He has nine other published works as author, co-author, editor, or translator. He works from his home in Talent, Oregon. He will teach us about his internet campaign which vaulted his recent book to Bestseller status at Amazon.com.

For more information about Robert, visit his web site.

Jessica Morrell

Jessica Page Morrell is surrounded by writers. She is the author of The Writer's I Ching: Wisdom for the Creative Life published by Running Press, Voices from the Street published by Gray Sunshine, Between the Lines: Master The Subtle Elements Of Fiction Writing published by Writer's Digest Books, and Writing Out the Storm, Collectors Press. Additionally in July 2008 Bullies, Bastards & Bitches: How to Write the Bad Guys in Fiction was published by Writer's Digest Books; Dear Bad Writer, How to Avoid the Rejection Pile will be published in 2009 by Tarcher-Penguin.
Morrell teaches thousands of writers each year through a series of workshops in the Northwest, at writing conferences throughout the country and in Canada and Mexico, and teaches at Evergreen College in Olympia, Washington.

Scott Nadelson

Scott Nadelson is the author of two award-winning short story collections. "Saving Stanley: The Brickman Stories" (Hawthorne Books, 2004) won the Oregon Book Award for Short Fiction and the great Lakes New Writers Award. His second book, "The Cantor's Daughter: Stories" (2006) won the Samuel Goldberg Fiction Prize and the Reform Judaism Prize. Both are a collection of inter-related short stories about suburban New Jersey Jewish families caught in an inescapable mix of love and destruction in father-son and father-daughter relationships. A gifted storyteller, Nadelson peels away superfluous layers in beautifully crafted stories with complex and compelling characters.

Jerry Oltion

Jerry Oltion has 15 novels and over a hundred short stories published in the science fiction and fantasy field. He ran the renowned Wordos writers workshop for many years. Nowadays he divides his time between writing and amateur astronomy, recently inventing a new type of telescope. Jerry's novel Paradise Passed is available from Wheatland Press. http://www.sff.net/people/j.oltion/

Jennifer Omner

Jennifer Omner is a book designer and owner of ALL Publications, which she established in 1994. Her passion is helping writers become published authors. She is a member of the Northwest Association of Book Publishers, Publishers Association of the West (PubWest), Willamette Writers, and Women in Portland Publishing. Jennifer was a judge for the 2008 PubWest Book Design Awards. She studied Book Design and Production at Portland State University. Jennifer authors an e-newsletter of book and marketing tips, sign up for free at www.ALLPublications.com.

Rosanne Parry

Rosanne is the author of both a picture book (Daddys Home) and YA novel (Heart of a Shepherd) She lives in an old farmhouse in Portland, Oregon with her husband and four kids where she wrote her novel in her tree house.
www.rosanneparry.com/

Gibran Perrone

Gibran Perrone was a development executive at Shinbone Productions, working to acquire and develop material for writer/producers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver (The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, Eye For An Eye and upcoming Cesar). She also worked as a reader for New Line Cinema/Fine Line Features as well as in production on the movie Heartbreakers for producer Clayton Townsend (Knocked Up, The 40 Year Old Virgin, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, Funny People). Gibran is currently the Film Coordinator for the Willamette Writers Conference.

William Powers

William Powers has freelanced for the New York Times, Washington Post, International Herald Tribune, The Sun, and Slate, among other publications. He is author of two critically-acclaimed memoirs that blend first-person narrative with high global stakes: Blue Clay People: Seasons on Africa's Fragile Edge (Bloomsbury/Mcmillian, 2005) and Whispering in the Giant's Ear: A Frontline Chronicle from Bolivia's War on Globalization (Bloomsbury/ Mcmillian, 2006), featured on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross and in Newsweek and now in its second print run. His forthcoming book is The Soft World.

Irene Radford

Irene Radford has been writing stories ever since she figured out what a pencil was for. Combining a love for Medieval history and a fascination with paranormal, Irene concentrated on fantasy writing. Under her own name she is author of the prolific Dragon Nimbus series, and the Merlin's Descendants series, Daw Books. Under the name P.R. Frost, she writes for people who like their fantasy a little edgier. Hounding the Moon and Moon in the Mirror are two such exciting volumes, also from Daw.

A native Oregonian living in Oregon, Irene is a member of an endangered species. As a service brat, she lived in a number of cities throughout the country until returning to Oregon in time to graduate from Tigard High School. http://www.theflyingparty.com/radford/

Naseem Rakha

Naseem Rakha is the author of The Crying Tree, a novel about the death penalty and forgiveness set in southern Illinois and Oregon. Naseem is an award winning journalist whose stores have been heard on OPB and National Public Radio. She lives in Oregon's Willamette Valley.

James Rapson

James Rapson, M.S., LMFT, is a veteran therapist and teacher whose writing combines hard-won personal insight with clinical experience and scholarship. He is the co-author of Anxious to Please: 7 Revolutionary Practices for the Chronically Nice, which was released nationally by Sourcebooks, Inc. in 2006 (fourth printing) (Spanish and Greek translations). James and Craig English bring 27 years of experience to their dynamic workshops.

John Reed

John Reed is the author of two novels, Thirteen Mountain and The Kingfisher's Call. He edited the 2001 MOTA short story anthology Truth (Triple Tree Press, September, 2002 ) and has published numerous poems and shorter non-fiction works. He has recently completed an espionage thriller, The Inside Man, and edited Piece by Piece, a book-length collection of essays by Northwest women writers. He operates an editing and critique service for writers on the web. www.writerswelcome.com

Kat Richardson

Kat Richardson is the nationally bestselling author of the Greywalker paranormal detective novels. She has organized and taught workshops in Science Fiction and Fantasy writing for the Pacific Northwest Writers Association Summer Conference and developed SF/F tracks for local conventions as well. A former editor, she has worked in non-fiction fields from course development to trade magazines, and in fiction on a variety of projects including game development, short film and comics. She currently lives with her husband on a sailboat in Seattle and relaxes by riding her motorcycle, playing computer games, and writing still more books and short stories.

Bruce Holland Rogers

Bruce Holland Rogers has had over 100 short stories appear in a variety of magazines and anthologies, ranging from The North American Review to Womans World. He is the author of Word Work: Surviving and Thriving as a Writer, a book that addresses the psychological and practical challenges of a dedicated writing life. His short-short stories are available by email subscription at www.shortshortshort.com. He is currently a member of the permanent faculty at the Whidbey Writers Workshop MFA program, a low-residency program that stands alone and is not affiliated with a college or university.

Mary Rosenblum

Mary Rosenblum was first published in Asimov's Magazine in 1990 with For A Price, one of her Clarion West stories. (She attended that boot camp for writers in 1988). Since that first publication, she has published more than 60 short stories in SF, mystery, and mainstream fiction, as well as eight novels. Her newest novel, Horizons, was released in November 2006 from Tor Books and came out in paperback in November 2007. Water Rites a compendium of the novel Drylands as well as three prequel novelettes that first appeared in Asimov's were released from Fairwood Press in January 2007. You can find more information at her website: www.maryrosenblum.com

Liz Rusch

Liz Rusch has written for Portland Monthly, Mother Jones, and Guideposts for Teens among others. With award winning stories like A Day with No Crayons, Planet Hunter, and Generation Fix, Liz has shown that one can publish well with determination, perseverance and a smart marketing platform. She has demonstrated this technique while writing Will It Blow, a story about the eruption of Mt. St. Helens. She also published a personal essay in Portland Monthly titled Rebirth of a Volcano. Publishing articles based on, or loosely related to, the subject in your book can be a great way to test new ideas, demonstrate knowledge of a certain topic, and promote your writing. http://www.elizabethrusch.com/

Joanna Rose

Joanna is author of Little Miss Strange, available on Amazon.com.

Joanna Rose has taught with a variety of organizations including PSU's Haystack Summer Arts Program, the National Literary Council, Winter Fishtrap (1999), and COW and Writers in the Schools. She also teaches private workshops with the writing group known as the Dangerous Writers. Her 1997 novel, Little Miss Strange, won the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Fiction Prize, and was a finalist for the Oregon Book Award in fiction. Her short stories have been published in journals such as ZYZZYVA and STORY Magazine. She is a regular reviewer for The Oregonian, and has a new novel in the works. (Info copied from the Community of Writers website).

Penny C. Sansevieri

Penny C. Sansevieri, CEO and founder of Author Marketing Experts, Inc., is a best-selling author and internationally recognized book marketing and media relations expert. Her company is one of the leaders in the publishing industry and has developed some of the innovative Internet book marketing campaigns. She is the author of five books, including Red Hot Internet Publicity which has been called the "leading guide to everything Internet" AME is the first marketing and publicity firm to use Internet promotion through The Virtual Author Tour™, which strategically works with social networking sites, micro-blogs, blogs, and book videos to push an authors message into the virtual community and connect with sites related to the book's topic. In 2008 AME had nine books top the bestseller lists including New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal.

Lisa Schroeder

Lisa is the author of two young adult novels, I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME and FAR FROM YOU, both published by Simon Pulse. In 2010 Lisa has three new books coming out, a picture book, a mid-grade novel, and another YA.
www.lisaschroederbooks.com

Janelle M. Scott

Janelle M. Scott is a forensic scientist for the Oregon State Police. Her main duty is as a DNA analyst. She has given presentations on Forensic DNA analysis to a variety of audiences throughout Oregon, and has attended advanced training in DNA analysis at multiple national meetings. Before jumping into the world of forensics, she worked in a variety of laboratories including the Air Force Academy Biowarfare Laboratory and the Biology Department at Reed College. In between, she took a break from the bench and spent four years teaching high school students about the amazing world of science. She has a doctorate in Microbial Genetics from the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, and an undergraduate degree in microbiology from Oregon State University.

Ann Shorey

Ann Shorey works as a writer in Sutherlin, Oregon, where she lives with her husband, Richard. Adams Media published two of her submissions in their Cup of Comfort series, and one of her stories was included in the recently released Chicken Soup for the Grandmas Soul. She has had articles printed in The Willamette Writer, as well as various regional publications. Ann teaches classes on historical research and other fiction fundamentals at writer's conferences. http://www.annshorey.com/

David Michael Slater

David Michael Slater writes for children, teens, and adults. He is the author of numerous award-winning picture books, including Cheese Louise!, The Ring Bear, and Flour Girl. Seven new books will be published in 09. David's teen series, Sacred Books, launched in Oct. '08 with The Book of Nonsense, a finalist for the Association of Booksellers for Children's Best of 2008 list and Cybil Award nominee. Book two, The Infinite, is due in August, '09. David's first novel for adults, SELFLESS, was published in March, '09, and his first collection of short fiction is scheduled for later in the year. Finally, David has a film, Mocha Cola High, in development with Right Angle Pictures. David teaches middle school in Portland, Oregon, where he lives with his wife and son.

Mike Moscoe-Shepherd

Mike Shepherd sold his first novel as part of a three book contract - right out of the slush pile! He's published six books now, has two more turned in and a third under contract. His short stories have sold to Analog and other science fiction and fantasy markets. He was on the Nebula Award ballots in 2001 and 2003. http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/m/mike-moscoe/

Jennie Shortridge

Bestselling author Jennie Shortridge was born in Grand Forks, North Dakota and moved west to Colorado in 1969. After graduating from high school, she moved out on her own and tried various jobs, including plumber, cook, secretary and singing in bars with rock-and-roll bands, before settling into a marketing and advertising career that would last over 15 years.

In 2002, Jennie moved to Portland, Oregon. Her first novel, Riding with the Queen, was published by NAL, a division of Penguin Group, soon thereafter in 2003. After a subsequent move to Seattle in 2005, her second novel, Eating Heaven, was released. Her third novel is Love and Biology at the Center of the Universe (May 2008). A fourth novel is in progress. http://www.jennieshortridge.com/

Anne Warren Smith

Anne has been a creative writing instructor and conference workshop leader for twenty years. She is the author of novels for children and young adults, as well as author of personal essays for literary journals. Learn more at www.annewarrensmith.com.

Clemens Starck

Clemens Starck, an award-winning poet, has supported his literary and intellectual interests for forty years by working with his hands, mainly as a carpenter and construction foreman. He has published four volumes of poetry. He lives outside of Dallas, in the mid-Willamette Valley.

Evan Stuart

Evan Stuart is the producer/director of the feature film Reality Check which has been featured in both the Cinequest film festival and the Longbaugh film festival. He is also the creative director of Fictitious Films, a production company specializing in Independent film and alternative methods of media distribution. As the former head of marketing at Tricoast Studios in Los Angeles, he cut film trailers and oversaw media campaigns for New Line, Artisan, Moonstone, New Image and Showtime Networks. He has taught screenwriting at The Art Institute of Portland, and the Northwest Academy.

Loretta Stinson

Loretta Stinson is the recipient of a 2008 Oregon Literary Arts Fellowship in Fiction. In 2007 she was winner of the national Doug Fir Fiction competition. Her short fiction has appeared in The Bear Deluxe and Ooligan Presss On-line Literary Magazine. Ms. Stinsons first novel, Little Green, is scheduled for publication by Hawthorne Books in spring, 2010. Ms. Stinson teaches writing and currently advises for the English Department at Portland State University. She received her Masters in Writing from PSU in 2007. When time permits, Loretta freelances as a developmental editor of novel length fiction.

Samantha DuCloux Waltz

An award-winning author, she sold her first story at age eleven to the local newspaper, followed by First Fiction and Fiction awards as a teen for American Girl, and a stint as a guest editor for Mademoiselle. Currently she has stories in many anthologies including a number of volumes of the Chicken Soup for the Soul and A Cup of Comfort series. She has also been published in The Christian Science Monitor and The Rambler. http://www.pathsofthought.com/

David Ward

A childrens author and assistant professor at Willamette University Oregon, David has four published novels (The Grassland Trilogy, and Archipelago, Scholastic Canada, Amulet Books NY), two picture books (The Hockey Tree, One Hockey Night, Scholastic Canada) and has two more books in press.
www.davidward.ca

Bob Welch

Bob Welch is the general columnist at "The Register-Guard" newspaper in Eugene, Oregon. He has been honored four times by the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. Articles of Welch's have appeared in such magazines as Readers Digest, Runner's World and Sports Illustrated and in numerous Chicken Soup for the Soul collections. His new book My Oregon is the first-ever collection of Register-Guard columns by Bob Welch and includes 109 of Bob's columns highlighting the people, places and passion of his native state. His book "American Nightingale: The Story of Frances Slanger, Forgotten Heroine of Normandy" was named as one of four finalists for the Oregon Book Award. A Pebble in the Water (2008) chronicles his search for the material needed for Nightingale. http://www.bobwelch.net/

Leslie What

Leslie What is the author of Olympic Games, a short fiction collection, and several pseudonymous books. Her articles and stories have appeared in Parabola, Sci Fiction, Lilith, The MacGufffin, Fiction Quarterly, Asimovs and anthologized in dozens of books. She won a Pushcart Prize nomination and a Nebula Award for short story. http://www.sff.net/people/linn/whatpage.html

Cynthia Whitcomb

Cynthia Whitcomb has sold over fifty scripts to movie studios and television networks. More than 25 have been produced as Television movies and miniseries. She has been nominated for the Writers Guild, Cable Ace and Emmy Awards. She is the author of The Writers Guide to Writing Your Screenplay and The Writers Guide to Selling Your Screenplay. She has taught screenwriting for many years, including 7 at UCLA Film School. She has been President of Willamette Writers since 1995. Visit her website.

Laura Whitcomb

Laura Whitcomb's first novel A Certain Slant of Light (Houghton Mifflin, 2005), was a Barnes & Noble "Discover Great New Writers" selection, an ALA Best Books for Young Adults pick, and was a finalist in six state teen book contests. The Fetch, her new YA novel, will be out in September. Her writing book, Your First Novel (Writers Digest Books, 2006) was co-authored by literary agent Ann Rittenberg. Laura has been a speaker at numerous bookstores, libraries, schools, and book groups in five states. http://www.laurawhitcomb.com

Eric Witchey

Eric M. Witchey has sold over 50 short stories and a novel into national and international markets. His stories have appeared in multiple genres under several names. His How-to articles have appeared in The Writer Magazine, Writer's Digest Magazine, and other print and on-line magazines. He has won awards and recognition from a number of organizations, including Writers of the Future, Writer's Digest, New Century Writers, and ralan.com. When not writing or teaching, he restores antique, model locomotives or tosses small bits of feather and pointy wire at laughing trout.