OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Members of our Board meet every third Wednesday of the month at 5pm to plan programming, events, workshops, and literacy outreach efforts. Board Members serve two-year terms and are elected in accordance with our bylaws. We post Director vacancies here and in our monthly newsletter.

Founder and President
MARIANNE MONSON

Marianne is the author of twelve books for children and adults with an emphasis on women's history. Her book Frontier Grit, released in 2016, was nominated for an Amelia Bloomer award by the American Library Association. Marianne holds an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts and has taught writing at a number of colleges and universities. When she moved to Astoria with her two teenage children in 2017, she felt for the first time she was truly home.

Vice President and Director of the Board
DAYLE OLSON

Dayle (she/her) moved to the Lower Columbia a few years ago to be close to the river and to marry her longtime sweetheart. Her poem, Water Highway/SR 4 at Stella, was one of eight chosen statewide for inclusion in the Washington Poetic Routes project, sponsored by Humanities Washington. Dayle’s short stories were selected in juried competition two years in a row (2019, 2020) by Seaside Libraries for publication in their annual anthology, Write On! She established Poetry Wahkiakum, a Facebook page for area poets to share their work (anyone can join!).

Secretary
VACANT

Interested in joining the Writer's Guild Board of Directors? Reach out! We're searching for our next Secretary and hope to ring in the new year with a fresh face. A passion for reading, writing, and cultivating both is all that's required to join our volunteer-led Board of Directors. Inquire at info@thewritersguild.org

Treasurer
MEG REEN

Meg is a retired CPA who has a special fondness for creative people and especially for the Writer's Guild of Astoria. She has many years of experience helping nonprofits reach their goals. She is also an amateur musician and book lover.

Marketing Director
MICHAEL MURDOCH

Michael has spent the bulk of his professional career in marketing -- he is currently the Marketing Manger at Wauna Credit Union, a local financial cooperative. Born in Eugene, OR, Michael thrives on the outdoors. His passion for the written word fuels a creative drive, which has aligned him with the Guild. A fifth-generation Oregonian, he enjoys traveling, a good book, his maniacal cat, and time with family. 

Board Director
Eliot Thompson

Eliot’s lived in St. Louis, MO, LA, NYC, majored in English Lit, and worked for an educational program at Oxford University, UK. He now appreciates Astoria’s access to verdant landscapes, a cleaner coastline, and a significantly quieter daily grind. His play Refractions was staged in the 2009 NYC Fringe Theater Festival. Previous engagement in social media includes content oversight for Rise Community Development, a nonprofit in St. Louis. Currently, he’s embroiled in a silly detective novel with talking animals, and a short story series set in Norway. He misses his dog friend Bert.