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.
Previous Events
Founder’s Day Gathering
Colonyhouse, 882 N Miller Rd, Rockaway Beach, OR
Sunday, August 13, 2023, 11am – 4pm
Annual Spring Conference 2023
Sylvia Beach Hotel, Newport Oregon
June 23 – 25, 2023
OWC News
OWC congratulates member Nyla McCarthy for her 2022 Kay Snow Award for Non-Fiction
Please join the Timberline Review Launch Party on August 4th at 8:00 pm at Willamette Writer's Conference for author's book signing and celebratory fun. The awards ceremony will be streamed live...
Member Books
Phillip Church – The Hong Kong Gambit
Phillip Church is the author of a new book, "The Hong Kong Gambit", a International Crime Thriller published by Fulton Books. The Hong Kong Gambit is a fictional international crime thriller that will entertain its readers with a fast-paced plot-twisting story that...
Member Events
The Writing Journey: Goals, process, craft, featuring Nancy Lane
Nancy Lane will present a virtual workshop titled The Writing Journey: Goals, process, craft. The workshop happens at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 13, 2021, at 01:00 pm. The Writing Journey: Goals, process, craft happens at the Josephine Community Library, 200 NW C Street,,...
Books by Members
(please click on the book cover for more info)
Mission
Statement
