Whatcom Writers and Publishers

A supper club connecting

Whatcom writers and industry speakers

March 11th meeting

Publishing big, publishing small

Little did Gigi Berardi know when she signed on with North Atlantic Books that she would be backed by publishing giant Penguin Random House, getting her book more traction than she could have dreamed. Berardi will talk about how a small food memoir book evolved into a much larger project, the benefits of publishing small while publishing big—and the challenges for writers who want to do both.

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Gigi Berardi is a creative nonfiction, journalistic, and academic writer. She is currently working on historical fiction. A member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors since 1994 her public radio features (for KSKA, Anchorage, Alaska) have been recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists. She has written for the LA Times, LA Style, LA Weekly, LA Reader, and regularly for the Anchorage Daily News and The Olympian. Her refereed articles have appeared in numerous scientific journals such as BioScience, Ethnohistory, Human Ecology Review, Journal of Sustainable Agriculture, Human Organization, Society and Natural Resources, among others. In addition to teaching food and geography classes in the United States (Huxley College), Mexico, and Europe, she currently homesteads part-time 25 acres with her family in the San Juan Islands in Washington, where she milks sheep and makes cheese. She maintains a popular food blog (https://wp.wwu.edu/gigiberardi/). A Fulbright scholar, Berardi holds three graduate degrees, including a master’s in dance, which is the basis for her popular book, Finding Balance, and much of her other writing in dance (approximately 300 features and reviews—she writes as a contributing editor and writer for Dance Magazine).

Her FoodWISE book has been endorsed by over 30 food professionals and food thought-leaders and has been hailed by food writer Michael Pollan as "full of wisdom" and listed as one of “19 reads that inspire us and challenge us to be better activists, environmentalists, cooks, policymakers, protectors of the planet, farmers, supporters of pollinators and advocates for a better food system.” (Forbes.com)

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. 

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.