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We are now taking workshop proposals for our October 2026 Creative Writing Festival! To view the open call or for submission guidelines, check out our October Festival webpage.
Thank you for joining us for our 2025 Creative Writing Festival!
Thank you to those who joined us for the Astoria Creative Writing Festival: The Power of People, featuring Keynote speaker Oregon Poet Laureate Ellen Waterston. We were thrilled to offer additional workshops by regional authors Laura Stanfill, Scott Korb, Bob Balmer, Cliff Taylor, and Lara Messersmith-Glavin. Our weekend was full of craft workshops, author readings, and inspiration-fueled time to write with our community alongside the beautiful Columbia River.
2024 October Conference Highlight
Karl Marlantes, a renowned author and decorated Vietnam War veteran, recently headlined the Astoria Writers Guild October Creative Writing Festival. Marlantes, known for his critically acclaimed novels such as Matterhorn and Deep River, captivated the audience with a keynote reading, workshop, and an engaging conversation.
During his presentation, he shared insights into his writing process, the historical and cultural contexts of his works, and the profound themes of class, race, labor, and capitalism that permeate his storytelling. He sat down in conversation with Guild founder, Marianne Monson, for an in-depth conversation about his writing process and work. We’re indebted to KMUN for the recording.
The Writers Guild of Astoria is thrilled to announce an appreciation event for our members and volunteers, past and present, featuring a reading and Q&A with best-selling authors Meg and Andrew Shaffer, at Astoria Visual Arts on Thursday, August 13, 2026, at 6:30 PM. Light refreshments served. Book sales provided by Beach Books. This is a free event for all current Guild members and all Guild volunteers, past and present. Community members who are interested in attending can register online as a member of The Writers Guild at www.thewritersguild.org
Meg Shaffer is the USA Today bestselling author of The Wishing Game, which was a Goodreads Choice Awards finalist, a Book-of-the-Month finalist for Book of the Year, a #1 Barnes & Noble bestseller, and a Reader’s Digest Best Book of the Year. She holds an MFA in TV and Screenwriting from Stephens College. Her second novel, the instant national bestseller The Lost Story, is available now from Ballantine. Shaffer lives in Kentucky with her husband and two cats. The cats are not writers.
Andrew Shaffer is the New York Times bestselling author of Hope Never Dies: An Obama Biden Mystery, Secret Santa: A Horror for the Holidays Novel, and over twenty other books in multiple genres for both adults and children, including mystery, humor, and poetry. Shaffer attended the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and studied comedy writing at The Second City, Chicago’s famed improv school. An Iowa native, he lives in Louisville, Kentucky, with his wife, novelist Meg Shaffer.
Location: AVA Gallery, 595 Commercial St., Astoria, OR 97103
Time: 6:30-8:00 PM
Cost: Free for Guild members and volunteers