Writer's Conference

A few years ago I attended a local writer's conference on Whidbey Island, and I absolutely loved it. For three days I was surrounded by tons and tons of writers, and was able to sit in on classes and lectures, or just sit and write if I wanted to. (In fact, I skipped a few classes in order to write, because I was Inspired, and here's the result).

Anyways, ever since I was part of this, I've been receiving updates through emails and occasional mail. It hasn't been annoying at all, and I like to hear what's happening with the conference, run by the Whidbey Island Writers Association (WIWA) which is a program of Northwest Institute of Literary Arts (NILA).

Well, this year the Whidbey Island Writers Conference (held in February of each year), is asking for help of local writers in order to keep the program going. They sent out a letter to everyone on their lists, and I was rather entertained by their proposition. I'll go ahead and quote their letter:

"To bring the WIWC back in 2011, and to ensure its future health, we need to raise $90,000. The Elizabeth George Foundation, a great friend of the writing community, has offered to kick off our fund drive with a $15,000 matching grant. That means every dollar we donate equals two dollars until we match the grant! But we have to raise our half--$15,000--by July 1, 2010.

Let's think of this as writing a book and think of these dollars as words. We need 90,000 of them to finish the project, and we need the first 15,000 by July 1. That's only 60 pages! We can do it! We are writers! And those first 15,000 words will double to become 30,000--one third of the book!

Give a line - $10; a paragraph - $50; a half-page - $125; a page - $250; a chapter - $2,500..."

 I think this is the most original way to ask for donations (which are tax deductible; NILA is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization), and it inspired me to spread the word and send in my own contribution.

If you are interested, send checks (payable to WIWA-Conference)

Whidbey Island Writers Conference

P.O. Box 639

Freeland, WA  98249

You can also watch the contributions grow on their website.