Chuckanut Writers Conference, 2017

Dear Writers: Here’s Amberly Baker of the Chuckanut Writers Conference to tell you what’s in the works for this year’s amazing event!

Welcome to Bellingham, Washington, an eccentric city nestled in the northern corner of the great Pacific Northwest. Bellingham is home to all kinds of people: With the bay to the West and Mount Baker to the East, it attracts all kinds of outdoor enthusiasts. With so many amazing independent restaurants and holes-in-the-wall, it is a food lover’s haven. It’s a college town, bringing in passionate, excited college students by the thousands. It is also home to a huge writing community, and the annual Chuckanut Writers Conference.

Kelly Magee

Kelly Magee will offer a class on Rewriting Fairy Tales.

The Chuckanut Writers Conference is an amazing opportunity, whether you’re local or visiting, whether you’ve published three novels or are writing on napkins in rare quiet moments. This year, it takes place on Friday and Saturday, June 23rd and 24th at Whatcom Community College, and offers a wide range of breakout sessions to help you find inspiration and continue to develop your craft. These sessions are taught by some of the finest writers the area has to offer—and it has a lot.

There are several great events included in this year’s conference. If you are looking to pitch your amazing new piece of writing, you can find Sean Fletcher and Andy Ross offering Pitch Sessions. Continue reading

Will We See You at the 2016 Chuckanut Writers Conference?

Dear Writers:

I’m delighted to once again be involved in the Chuckanut Writers Conference right here in Bellingham WA! And further pleased to introduce conference intern Helen Pendergast, who will tell you more about this year’s event. Write On!

 

What is the first thing you think of, when you hear rain? Is it the pitter-patter of your footsteps out in the morning air, letting your rambunctious retriever mix pull you into shallow puddles, or is it staring up at the magnificent pine trees littering the horizon line? These are just a few of the things that can inspire the writing and stories that you have to share with a community of writers in Bellingham. That is why the Chuckanut Writers Conference (http://chuckanutwritersconference.com/) is back again for another year!

Imagine eighteen incredible authors, industry experts, and agents (http://chuckanutwritersconference.com/speakers/) from all over the Pacific Northwest right at your fingertips, helping inspire your writing into action.

The conference will be held at Whatcom Community College in Bellingham, WA on June 24th and 25th. This experience benefits all writers of any stage in their craft, helping to develop each and every unique voice and story. Whether you are interested in knowing why sitting in coffee shops or on a park benches with a notebook glued to your lap is so satisfying— or you have published four bestselling novels already; there is still vital knowledge you will take away from this conference. Most people leave with new practical knowledge, ideas, contacts, lifelong friends … oh, and an incredible swag bag too!

In its sixth year, the conference is featuring unforgettable master classes that hone in on your craft just a little closer. This year our Thursday master classes include, “Ventriloquism on the Page” from Fairhaven author and lover of the big city, Sara Donati, “The Wilderness of Revision” from Elaina Ellis, poet and Associate Editor of Copper Canyon Press, and “Creative Non-fiction: Doing Somersaults on the High Ridge” from Robert Michael Pyle, a full-time biologist, writer, teacher and speaker.

These classes fill up fast, so be sure to register as soon as possible! (http://chuckanutwritersconference.com/register/)

Thursday holds our pre-conference events in the afternoon, followed by the Chuckanut Radio Hour (http://www.villagebooks.com/event/CRH-rejections-6/23/16) featuring a Seattle-based band– The Rejections (and Trailing Spouses) kicking off the conference with great music and conversation.

The conference continues with multiple breakout and plenary sessions from the esteemed faculty, check out the schedule (http://chuckanutwritersconference.com/program/) to see what you don’t want miss. There is a ton going on, so I wish you luck narrowing in on just a few! If you are finding that you have a few projects going on already, I suggest signing up for an agent pitch session (http://chuckanutwritersconference.com/agents/), to help keep your projects moving forward, and your ideas out of your own already cluttered head.

What’s great about this conference is that there are plenty of opportunities to mingle at our Friday night reception over food, approach faculty during book signings, get your voice heard between conversations with marketing experts and other attendees– but my favorite part? Continue reading

Chuckanut Writers Conference Was All That!

Dear Writers:

It was awesome!

Here’s some pics from the 2015 Chuckanut Writers Conference.

CWC Doors Open

The familiar doors of Syre Hall on Whatcom Community College’s gorgeous campus were the entryway to the fifth annual Chuckanut Writers Conference, featuring a fab lineup of authors, literary agents, and publishing experts: Betsy Amster, Philip Athans, Carol Cassella, Kerry Colburn, Anne Depue, Bryan Doyle, Steven Galloway, Elizabeth George, Samuel Green, Lee Gulyas, Denise Jolly, Stephanie Kallos, William Kenower, Elizabeth Kracht, Erik Larson, Robert Lashley, Kate Lebo, Brenda Miller, Elissa Washuta, Molly Wizenberg, and Jennifer Worick. Wow! Continue reading

Whatcom Community College

Chuckanut Writers Conference Is One Week Away!

Dear Writers:

The featured photo shows the beautiful outdoor plaza at Whatcom Community College in Bellingham, Washington, site of the fifth annual Chuckanut Writers Conference on Friday and Saturday, June 26-27. Here’s Hannah to tell you more!

I just checked the weather forecast for next weekend: high 70s and sunny. It’ll be the perfect weather for strolling from plenary to pitch sessions at the fifth annual Chuckanut Writers Conference—only a week away! Continue reading

Chuckanut Writers Conference Is Calling!

“When I hear writers talk about their turning points, they often mention conferences where they suddenly learned something valuable about craft or discipline. And it’s not always what they heard so much as how it felt to be surrounded by other determined writers for a couple days.”

—Jim Lynch

author of Border Songs and Truth Like the Sun

Continue reading

Pics from 2013 Chuckanut Writers Conference

Dear Writers: I was delighted to be back at the Chuckanut Writers Conference this year!

With Village Books Community Outreach Director Paul Hanson

At the 2013 Chuckanut Writers Conference in Bellingham WA with Village Books Community Outreach Director and fellow writer Paul Hanson.

Gary Luke, Waverly Fitzgerald, Garth Stein, and Thor Hanson at the author book signing

Sasquatch Books Publisher Gary Luke and authors Waverly Fitzgerald, Garth Stein, and Thor Hanson at the author book signing.

Naseem Rahka's plenary session speech about the Grand Canyon and the writerly life moved many people to tears.

Naseem Rahka’s plenary session speech about the Grand Canyon and the writerly life moved many people to tears.

Panel Host and former Conference Organizer Nan Macy (with a slightly known writer seen in the background).

Panel Host and former Conference Organizer Nan Macy (with a slightly known writer seen in the background).

As you well know, there’s something special and unique about each writing conference and this one, co-hosted by Village Books and Whatcom Community College delivers its own mix of brilliant faculty, pitching opportunities, and plenty of chances for writers to mingle, including participating in evening open mics on day two of the conference.

Chuck Robinson, co-owner of Village Books, and writer Garth Stein

Chuck Robinson, co-owner of Village Books, which co-sponsors the conference, and writer Garth Stein, this year’s keynote speaker.

Kiffer Brown of Chanticleer Reviews and Amanda June Hagarty staff the Whatcom Writers and Publishers table

Kiffer Brown of Chanticleer Reviews and Amanda June Hagarty staff the Whatcom Writers and Publishers table.

Suzanne Paola at the author book signing

Suzanne Paola, who spoke on writing the book proposal, talks to a writer at the author book signing.

Each of the three years of the conference, my role has been different: I was the Emcee the first time out, attended as a Faculty Member last year (read about my talk on storyboarding), and this year was invited back as a Special Guest Presenter to give a morning briefing on how to pitch (you can read the text of my talk in the post Pitching 101). It was truly heartwarming to have writers run up to me throughout both days to report that they’d “done what I said” and had a successful pitching experience. I felt like a proud mama! Continue reading