Who we are.
Established in 1982 by a small coterie of renowned Oregon authors, Oregon Writers Colony is a home for Oregon based and/or Oregon appreciative writers committed to exploring the written word while promoting the craft of writing in all its forms. All writers are welcome, especially those with courage and a burning fire within. By gathering together, virtually or in person, we support one another, share information, listen, and learn. We challenge one another to aim for newer heights. We host a writing retreat house on the Oregon coast, organize a variety of educational opportunities for writers, and sponsor workshops, including our annual conference at Sylvia Beach Hotel. We promote new and emerging writers in addition to those who may already be established. Be fearless, join us.




What we believe.
We believe that stories are better when storytellers represent the diversity of our world. To that end, OWC is committed to creating writing practices and spaces where writers of different ethnicities, genders, cultures, class backgrounds, ages, abilities, belief systems, and sexual orientations will flourish and be nurtured, online and off.
We acknowledge that different writers start with differing opportunities, including access, or not, to financial resources, education, writing time, technology, connections within the recognized writing community, safety, and yes, even security.
We also know we have work to do to level that playing field.
We pledge to not veer away from that work, to seek out and practice new ways of engaging, to model inclusion within our organization, to continually expand our community of writers, and to hold our organization, and ourselves, as creative writing artists, accountable for our highest outcomes.
Our driving goal is to grow a diverse, representative community of writers committed to the understanding that words are a powerful tool, useful for bringing about equality for all.
Upcoming Events
Annual Spring Conference 2023
Sylvia Beach Hotel, Newport Oregon
June 23 – 25, 2023

WRITING THE TRICKY BITS
with Kate Gray & Laura Stanfill
Join us for the 2023 Oregon Writers Colony Annual Conference at the Sylvia Beach Hotel in Newport, Oregon. Author Kate Gray will present on two of the subtlest, trickiest bits of writing: scene and voice. You’ll get to write and explore techniques in these generative sessions. Then she and publisher Laura Stanfill will explore the author-publisher connection in a final session on Sunday. Laura will be available on Saturday for optional one-on-one consultations on pitches, marketing and other aspects of getting your words out into the world.
OWC News
OWC member Nyla McCarthy featured in Subjectiv. – Visual and Literary Arts of the Pacific Northwest
OWC board member, Nyla McCarthy's newest short story, Mustangs, is one of the featured pieces in the Fall 2022 edition of Subjectiv. Visual and Literary Arts of the Pacific Northwest. Enjoy. ...
Member Books
Jan Bear – Dreaming Wakes the Fool, Book 1
Jan Bear is the author of a new book, Dreaming Wakes the Fool, Book 1, a Fantasy fiction published by A World of Speculation Press. Cash-strapped college student Echo accepts a job that seems to solve all her problems. She doesn't know that her weird best friend,...
Member Events
Author Talk with Nancy Lane
Nancy Lane give an author talk by Zoom, sponsored by the Jackson County Library, at 3 p.m. June 27, 2021. Nancy Lane, author of Pretty Chrysanthemum and Other Stories, will present her story collection via Zoom at the Jackson County Library. Join Nancy on Sunday, June...
Books by Members
(please click on the book cover for more info)
Mission
Statement
