OUR STORY
In medieval times, guilds were places for artisans and craftspeople to come together and support each other while honing their skills. Over time, these groups became quite powerful by harnessing the collective power of collaboration.
When our founder, Marianne Monson, moved to Astoria in 2017, she was struck by how many writers were drawn to the region but had few opportunities to connect with each other. In collaboration with like-minded writers and tremendous support from the community, she created the Guild to bring writers together and foster the literary arts.
Since receiving 501(c)(3) status, the Guild has embarked on a number of projects, including running creative writing clubs in local schools, hosting readings, holding writing workshops, hosting literary balls, offering writer-in-residency programs, and welcoming authors such as Kim Stafford, Francisco Aragón, and Jericho Brown into the community for talks and events. We celebrate the beauty and importance of language and believe a literate community is a thriving community. We hope you'll join us.
Our deepest thanks to all our community partners and past board members who have contributed their time and efforts to the success of the Guild.
OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Our Board members meet monthly to plan programming, events, workshops, and literacy outreach efforts. Board Members serve two-year terms and are elected under our bylaws. We post Director vacancies here and in our emailed newsletters. We extend a huge thank you to all past Board Members for their service!
Mission:
Our mission is to support the writing community of Astoria and the Lower Columbia, while fostering the unique literary arts in our region.
Values:
We are a guild of working writers who:
Love our craft and strive for excellence
Honor the past and build collaborations for the future
Approach our work with joy, courage, compassion, and empathy
Strive to help create a vibrant, inclusive arts community where kindred souls connect and dreams can happen
Reflect a river community, an estuary of people, writing and ideas
Connect readers and writers of all ages
Vision:
We envision a thriving network of writers, helping and supporting each other. A place where diverse people can learn and feel inspired by the wonder of words. Where they can feel seen and find opportunities to do the work they love and be celebrated for it.