NORTHWEST INDEPENDENT WRITERS ASSOCIATION
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        • 11 Portland Holiday Market 2023
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      • Pinterest - 1-10-23
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      • Blurbs, Taglines, Pitches - 4-11-23
      • AI in Publishing - 5-9-23
Our mission: Assisting independent writers from the Pacific Northwest who are working to achieve professional standards in independent writing, publishing, and marketing.

​

Who's Who
Our small but amazing team:
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Adam Copeland
Co-Founder & Advisor

Adam co-founded NIWA in 2011 and has been a member since. During the early days he co-chaired the organization.  He remains an advisor to the Board.
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Mike Chinakos
Co-Founder

Mike co-founded NIWA in 2011 and has been a member since.
​
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Jamie McCracken
President & Webmaster
​president@niwawriters.com

webmaster@niwawriters.com

Jamie has been a member of NIWA since 2011. Since 2016 he has served in the President's seat in addition to his other duties as Events Director, Membership Director, and Webmaster. His is committed to the mission of NIWA and to expanding the organization and its brand.
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Joyce Reynolds-Ward
​
Secretary

& Newsletter Editor
Joyce has been a member of NIWA since 2014. In 2020 she began serving as Secretary for NIWA.
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Andretta Schellinger
​
Treasurer
treasurer@niwawriters.com
​Andretta has been a member of NIWA since 2019. In 2020 she volunteered to serve as NIWA's treasurer. She is very knowledgeable in accounting and dealing with Washington's and Oregon's state regulations. 
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Ann Ornie      
Membership Director
members@niwawriters.com
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Events Director
events@niwawriters.com
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​Tom McConnell
​Storage Librarian
storage@niwawriters.com​
​Tom has been a member of NIWA since 2014. In 2020 he volunteered to take over the Membership Director position, but with the pandemic, became NIWA's first Social Media director. In 2022, he graciously took on the role of NIWA's Storage Librarian.
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​
Pamela Cowan
 Anthology Editor
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​
Pam has been a member since 2011 and during the course of her membership has served on the board in various positions including Treasurer, Secretary, Graphic designer, and Communications Director.
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Joyce Reynolds-Ward &
​Mollie Hunt
Newsletter Editors
niwanewsletter@gmail.com
Joyce and Mollie have successful newsletters of their own and bring that experience to NIWA's new monthly newsletter.
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Rachel Robinson & 
​Cay Fletcher
​Social Media Editors
​socialmedia@niwawriters.com
Both Rachel and Cay have extensive knowledge of social media and are excited to use it to help NIWA.

Our History

​NIWA was founded on February 5, 2011 in Vancouver, Washington, the brainchild of independent authors Mike Chinakos and Adam Copeland. Seeking to network resources and work through the challenges unique to independent publishing, they united a far-flung membership under a banner of creativity, collective problem-solving, and a commitment to professionalism. But if you’re a book-lover, you want the real story. So here it is from NIWA’s co-founder, Mike Chinakos:

We had a dream.

Okay, maybe just an idea brought up over dinner and several pints of Pacific Northwest microbrew. As we watched the Steampunk, horror, fantasy, sci-fi and just plain odd costumes pass by our dinner table, I knew that we were in the right place for an idea and dream like NIWA.

The first day of Orycon 32 rocked. As usual, the people putting on the event were great. The con-goers were a blast to talk shop with. Thanks to the organizer of the vendors’ room, Lea, I had the chance to share a table with an author I had never met before. It could’ve been a disaster. Anything could’ve gone wrong. He was a fantasy author. My book was a horror story. We could’ve hated each other at first sight like two gladiators thrown into the arena, only the strongest leaving alive.

Okay, maybe that’s a bit too melodramatic, but you get the point. We had no idea what would happen when we shared a table at the convention to promote our books. As it turned out, Adam Copeland and I hit it off right away. I had brought help, and so had Adam. It didn’t take long for all of us to bond, realizing how lucky we were to meet each other. Call it Kismet, Karma, blind luck, whatever, but all of us got along so well that first day that we ended up sharing dinner in the venue’s restaurant to celebrate a good day of sales—and a fun time in general.

Earlier that day I had a thought rolling around in the back of my mind as I wandered around the vendors’ room talking to a few other independent authors. That night at the dinner table, we talked more in-depth about it. The idea was a simple one: What if we started a writer’s group to help local independent authors network resources? We could share everything from critiques and writing advice to marketing and the pros and cons of independent publishing.

That’s how the Northwest Independent Writers Association came into the world—kind of like a lot of other children, now that I think of all of the beer we drank. Just a lot quicker, without the screaming and all of the pain. After a few days of good sales, fun and hangovers, Adam and I parted ways, but we kept in contact with each other.

One thing I can say about the dynamic duo that we are is that we strongly complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Sure I fired off the random idea of NIWA after wandering around a bit, but Adam took the ball and ran like Walter Peyton with it. He kept us on task to gather other like-minded writers for an initial meeting. Booking a restaurant for all of us to meet in, we didn’t know that Adam had just punched the ball in for a touchdown. Just like when we first shared a table at the con together, we had no idea what to expect.

Thankfully, the fellow Founding Members of NIWA—Andy Bunch, Mark Kellar, Mary Saunders and Brad Wheeler—turned out to be a great group who believed in our vision of the newly created writer’s group. We all shared a certain sarcastic sense of humor, a love of writing, a need to bond with fellow authors and a sense of purpose that surprised us all. And did I mention the beer?

Since then, we’ve been joined by a fantastic cast of characters, all dedicated to writing, and all hardworking people I’m proud to call friends. I’m glad you’ve joined us here at NIWA.
PRIVACY POLICY

© COPYRIGHT 2023
Northwest Independent Writers Association.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Contact us at:
Mailing Address:   Northwest Independent Writers Association
                                            P.O. Box 1171
                                            Redmond, OR  97756

Email:  president@niwawriters.com
             webmaster@niwawriters.com

  • HOME
  • ABOUT US
    • ABOUT US
    • Become a Member
  • BOOKSTORE
  • Members Only
    • 2023 Anthology: HARBINGER >
      • 2023 Contributor Copy Request
      • Anthologies - Member Discount
    • EVENTS >
      • Event Ad Templates
      • Events Calendar
      • Event Roles and Responsibilities
      • EVENT SIGNUPS 2023 >
        • 06 GeekCraft 2023
        • 06 LaPine Rhubarb Festival '23
        • 06 Beaverton Pride 23
        • 07 Robin Hood Festival 2023
        • 07 Portland Pride 23
        • 07 Oak Grove Festival 2023
        • 07 Canby Arts 23
        • 08 OC Arts Festival '23
        • 08 Washougal Arts 2023
        • 08 Multnomah Days 2023
        • 08 Celtic Fantasy Faire 2023
        • 09 Oktoberfest '23
        • 09 Forest Grove Oktoberfest 23
        • 11 Portland Holiday Market 2023
        • 11 Geek the Halls
    • Add My Book
    • NSQ
    • Renew My Membership
    • Storage >
      • Storage Policy
      • Storage Inventory
    • SOCIAL MEDIA >
      • Member Photo Features
      • Social Media Announcements
    • ZOOM Videos >
      • Audiobooks 11-8-22
      • Book Covers
      • Editing
      • Self Editing & Proofreading
      • Writing Resources
      • Reviews and Why We Need Them
      • 2022 in Review
      • Pinterest - 1-10-23
      • Book Signings - 2-14-23
      • Genres - 3-14-23
      • Blurbs, Taglines, Pitches - 4-11-23
      • AI in Publishing - 5-9-23