Whatcom Writers and Publishers

October 27th Meeting

Dear members and friends of Whatcom Writers and Publishers,

I am writing to you as the president of the group, and not as myself. There are issues primarily related to the COVID situation that we have to sort out.

WWP has a long and successful reputation as a purveyor of the expertise of our speakers, who provide information necessary to take a writing project from manuscript to published work and beyond. We have aimed to give great substance for the time spent at meetings. We provide, of course, opportunities for networking as well.

When the state closed restaurants, we lost our venue for meetings, Nicki's Bella Marina. We transitioned to having our speakers present on Zoom via the Village Books portal, and WWP owes Village Books a debt of gratitude for giving us space on their Events page prior to our meetings.

Toward the end of the WWP year, however, our Zoom audience dwindled. Jennifer Mueller sent out a poll to members, and while few responded, those who did were split 50/50 about returning to in-person meetings. Our circumstances for in-person meetings have changed for now, as Nicki's is not opening the upstairs meeting room until at least January for lack of staff.

The other big issue facing WWP is that several of the members doing work for the organization are facing other obligations that make media contact, the search for speakers, and other important tasks too much for them. In the past, Kiffer Brown held an annual meeting to recruit help to keep WWP going. We seem to be at that point again for the first time in perhaps four years.

I am looking at holding hybrid meetings, a combination of in-person meetings with a Zoom component for those who cannot attend in person. The first such meeting will be October 27, 5:30-8pm, at CASCADE PIZZA. We will have a room of our own, and a BARTENDER of our own. For this meeting only, WWP will provide two slices of pizza to attendees.

This meeting will not have a speaker, but rather will be a brainstorming session and a recruitment meeting. I will get together a list of what positions we need to fill, and I'll post it here prior to the meeting.

I have rented their private room for October 27, for November 17, when I hope Susan Conrad and Abbe Rolnick will speak, and December 22 (possibly 15) for a holiday gathering, possibly with a speaker.

Beyond that, what happens between October 27 and December 22 will decide the fate of WWP. This organization is decades old, and while there has never been a threat to its existence as harsh as COVID, I believe we can overcome the challenge. I believe it would be a tragedy for WWP to lose its momentum because of the protracted pandemic.

I hope to see you in person or on the screen next week.

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All my best,

Sean Dwyer

New to WWP

Welcome, Pacific Northwest Writers! 

We meet every second Wednesday from September to June in scenic Bellingham, WA. Supper starts at 5:30, and the speaker starts at 7:00. Happy hour prices at Nikki's Bella Marina (see map below) apply until 6, if you want a drink to relax while you chat and have dinner upstairs in the Skyline room. 

The 2020-2021 year Dues are suspended. Dues are 25 dollars a year or 40 for two years. We use the dues to pay for our speakers to come from around the region, and for an occasional table at local writer events. Our dues year runs from September to June, like our meetings, but will roll over if you pay late in the cycle. If you want to try us out first, feel free. Speakers in the past have included authors Cami Ostman and Robert Dugoni, and agent Donald Maass, covering topics such as social media, self-publishing, memoirs, mixed media, poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. It is our goal to offer something for everyone, no matter your place in the writing journey-- just starting or long-published. Old school or new. If you have an idea for a speaker or topic, let us know, but if it has been covered recently it might not be picked up.

Pay your dues 

25 for 1 year

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40 for 2 years

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40 for couples

To pay online, please provide name and email address on the form so we can keep track of you.

We have a paypal account if you would prefer to pay on line. You can also pay by check; just drop it off with the treasurer at a meeting.