NORTHWEST INDEPENDENT WRITERS ASSOCIATION
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  • BOOKS
    • BOOKS BY GENRE
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    • Children
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    • New Adult Fiction
    • Action & Adventure
    • Contemporary
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    • Historic Fiction
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    • LGBTQ
    • Literary Fiction
    • Mysteries
    • Cozy Mysteries
    • Paranormal
    • Poetry
    • Romance
    • Sci-Fi
    • Suspense Thrillers
    • Non-Fiction >
      • Non-Fiction Biographies & Memoirs
      • Non-Fiction Food & Drink
      • Non-Fiction Historical
      • Non-Fiction Special Interests
    • SEARCH BY AUTHOR >
      • A >
        • April Aasheim
        • J.M.M. Adams
        • Heather Ames
        • Judith Ashley
        • Stephen Atkins
      • B >
        • Pam Bainbridge-Cowan
        • Barry L. Becker
        • Michael Bershay
        • Kerry Blaisdell
        • Lynn Bohart
        • D Dean Boom
        • Anna Brentwood
        • Andy R. Bunch
      • C >
        • Lyndal Cairns
        • Baer Charlton
        • L B Cheryl
        • Mike Chinakos
        • Kate Cody
        • William J Cook
        • Adam Copeland
        • Kelly Coston
        • Pamela Cowan
      • D >
        • Steve DaVala
        • Disa Dawn
        • Sheila Deeth
        • Raven J. Demers
        • Tiffany Dickinson
        • Liam R. W. Doyle
      • E - F - G >
        • Adam Eason
        • Jonathan Eaton
        • Jonathan Michael Erickson
        • Barritt Firth
        • Cay Fletcher
        • Johanna Flynn
        • James L. Gillaspy
        • Dr Anthony Binford Glavey
        • Thomas Gondolfi
        • J C Graves
        • Joel Curtis Graves
      • H >
        • Stephen Hagelin
        • Suzanne Hagelin
        • Heidi Hansen
        • Audra Harley
        • Anne Hendren
        • Angela Highland
        • M. P. Hopcroft
        • M. W. Horses
        • A. M. Huff
        • Mollie Hunt
      • I - J - K >
        • Frances Lu-Pai Ippolito
        • Maquel A. Jacob
        • Paty Jager
        • Maggie Jaimeson
        • Connie J. Jasperson
        • F. L. Journey
        • Kimila Kay
        • Joann Keder
        • Sheri J. Kennedy
        • Judy Kiehart
        • James W. Kitson
        • Angela Korra'ti
      • L >
        • Michael R. Lane
        • Tom Larsen
        • Ellie Derrick Lewis
        • Cyn Ley
        • Larry Lindberg
        • Eric Little
        • Pat Luther
        • Maggie Lynch
      • M >
        • Tonya Macalino
        • James D Macon
        • David Martyn
        • tom r. mcconnell
        • Nikki McCormack
        • James M. McCracken
        • Donald McEwing
        • Agathon McGeachy
        • Roslyn McFarland
        • K Z Miller
        • Rory Miller
        • Jeff Monday
        • Sonja S Mongar
        • Barbara J Moritsch
        • Linda B Myers
      • N - O - P >
        • Shelly M Neinast
        • R. W. Nichelson
        • Neil Orint
        • Ann Ornie
        • Tammy Owen
        • Jocelynn Pearl
        • Julie Pershing
        • Nicole Phoenix
        • Courtney Pierce
        • L. Wade Powers
        • E M Prazeman
      • Q - R >
        • Kennedy J. Quinn
        • Cordelia Rains
        • JMD Reid
        • Shawna Reppert
        • Joyce Reynolds-Ward
        • Ellen King Rice
        • P. K. Ross
        • R Roderick Rowe
      • S - T - U >
        • Andretta Schellinger
        • Steven C Schneider
        • B. J. Scott
        • James Scott
        • Lea Diane Harwood Sevey
        • R. G. Shannon
        • Ann Simas
        • Susie Slanina
        • D. L. Solum
        • Thomas Stimson
        • Brian Tashima
        • Charles Thomas
        • Patrick Timm
        • Contessa Timmerman
      • V- W- X - Y - Z >
        • Catherin Violante
        • Cody Voeller
        • Samantha Waltz
        • Brad Wheeler
        • Steve Zell
        • Gregory E. Zschomler
      • IN MEMORIAM
  • NEWS & EVENTS
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  • MEMBERS ONLY
    • Annual Anthology >
      • 2022 Anthology: GUESTS
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      • Anthologies - Member Discount
    • ANTHOLOGY BOOK SALE!
    • Add My Book
    • Events >
      • 2022 EVENTS & SIGN UPS >
        • 2022 Jans Sidewalk Saturdays
        • 05 Troutdale Arts Festival
        • 06 Portland Pride
        • 07 Robin Hood Festival
        • 07 Canby Art Festival
        • 08 EugPride
        • 08 OC Festival of the Arts
        • 11 - Portland Holiday Market
      • Storage Inventory
      • Annual Events - Events Director
      • Event Checklist
      • Suggest An Event
    • Publishing Check List
    • Renew My Membership
    • Review A Book
    • Update My Author Page
    • Update My Member Info
  • MEMBER TOOLS
    • Advertise Your Book
    • Cover Designers
    • Editing & Formatting
    • Grammar
    • Indie Friendly Bookstores
    • Printers
    • Publishing
    • Add A Member Tool
    • Legacy Planning
    • News Bits
    • ZOOM Videos >
      • Book Covers with Roslyn McFarland
      • Editing With Joyce Reynolds-Ward
      • Self Editing & Proofreading with Cyn Ley
      • Writing Resources with Joyce Reynolds-Ward
Who's Who
Our small but amazing team:
Picture
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.
Picture
Mike Chinakos
Co-Founder

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

membership@niwawriters.com
events@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.
Picture
Joyce Reynolds-Ward
​
Secretary

Joyce has been a member of NIWA since 2014. In 2020 she began serving as Secretary for NIWA.
Picture
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. 
Picture
Pamela Cowan
​
Communications Director & Anthology Editor

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.
Picture
Tom McConnell
Social Media Director &
​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.

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 2021
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
    • JOIN US
  • BOOKS
    • BOOKS BY GENRE
    • Anthologies
    • Children
    • Teens / Young Adult
    • New Adult Fiction
    • Action & Adventure
    • Contemporary
    • Erotica
    • Fantasy
    • Historic Fiction
    • Horror
    • LGBTQ
    • Literary Fiction
    • Mysteries
    • Cozy Mysteries
    • Paranormal
    • Poetry
    • Romance
    • Sci-Fi
    • Suspense Thrillers
    • Non-Fiction >
      • Non-Fiction Biographies & Memoirs
      • Non-Fiction Food & Drink
      • Non-Fiction Historical
      • Non-Fiction Special Interests
    • SEARCH BY AUTHOR >
      • A >
        • April Aasheim
        • J.M.M. Adams
        • Heather Ames
        • Judith Ashley
        • Stephen Atkins
      • B >
        • Pam Bainbridge-Cowan
        • Barry L. Becker
        • Michael Bershay
        • Kerry Blaisdell
        • Lynn Bohart
        • D Dean Boom
        • Anna Brentwood
        • Andy R. Bunch
      • C >
        • Lyndal Cairns
        • Baer Charlton
        • L B Cheryl
        • Mike Chinakos
        • Kate Cody
        • William J Cook
        • Adam Copeland
        • Kelly Coston
        • Pamela Cowan
      • D >
        • Steve DaVala
        • Disa Dawn
        • Sheila Deeth
        • Raven J. Demers
        • Tiffany Dickinson
        • Liam R. W. Doyle
      • E - F - G >
        • Adam Eason
        • Jonathan Eaton
        • Jonathan Michael Erickson
        • Barritt Firth
        • Cay Fletcher
        • Johanna Flynn
        • James L. Gillaspy
        • Dr Anthony Binford Glavey
        • Thomas Gondolfi
        • J C Graves
        • Joel Curtis Graves
      • H >
        • Stephen Hagelin
        • Suzanne Hagelin
        • Heidi Hansen
        • Audra Harley
        • Anne Hendren
        • Angela Highland
        • M. P. Hopcroft
        • M. W. Horses
        • A. M. Huff
        • Mollie Hunt
      • I - J - K >
        • Frances Lu-Pai Ippolito
        • Maquel A. Jacob
        • Paty Jager
        • Maggie Jaimeson
        • Connie J. Jasperson
        • F. L. Journey
        • Kimila Kay
        • Joann Keder
        • Sheri J. Kennedy
        • Judy Kiehart
        • James W. Kitson
        • Angela Korra'ti
      • L >
        • Michael R. Lane
        • Tom Larsen
        • Ellie Derrick Lewis
        • Cyn Ley
        • Larry Lindberg
        • Eric Little
        • Pat Luther
        • Maggie Lynch
      • M >
        • Tonya Macalino
        • James D Macon
        • David Martyn
        • tom r. mcconnell
        • Nikki McCormack
        • James M. McCracken
        • Donald McEwing
        • Agathon McGeachy
        • Roslyn McFarland
        • K Z Miller
        • Rory Miller
        • Jeff Monday
        • Sonja S Mongar
        • Barbara J Moritsch
        • Linda B Myers
      • N - O - P >
        • Shelly M Neinast
        • R. W. Nichelson
        • Neil Orint
        • Ann Ornie
        • Tammy Owen
        • Jocelynn Pearl
        • Julie Pershing
        • Nicole Phoenix
        • Courtney Pierce
        • L. Wade Powers
        • E M Prazeman
      • Q - R >
        • Kennedy J. Quinn
        • Cordelia Rains
        • JMD Reid
        • Shawna Reppert
        • Joyce Reynolds-Ward
        • Ellen King Rice
        • P. K. Ross
        • R Roderick Rowe
      • S - T - U >
        • Andretta Schellinger
        • Steven C Schneider
        • B. J. Scott
        • James Scott
        • Lea Diane Harwood Sevey
        • R. G. Shannon
        • Ann Simas
        • Susie Slanina
        • D. L. Solum
        • Thomas Stimson
        • Brian Tashima
        • Charles Thomas
        • Patrick Timm
        • Contessa Timmerman
      • V- W- X - Y - Z >
        • Catherin Violante
        • Cody Voeller
        • Samantha Waltz
        • Brad Wheeler
        • Steve Zell
        • Gregory E. Zschomler
      • IN MEMORIAM
  • NEWS & EVENTS
    • News & Events
    • Spring 2022 Catalog
    • Newsletter Archive
  • MEMBERS ONLY
    • Annual Anthology >
      • 2022 Anthology: GUESTS
      • Anthology - Contributor Copy Request
      • Anthologies - Member Discount
    • ANTHOLOGY BOOK SALE!
    • Add My Book
    • Events >
      • 2022 EVENTS & SIGN UPS >
        • 2022 Jans Sidewalk Saturdays
        • 05 Troutdale Arts Festival
        • 06 Portland Pride
        • 07 Robin Hood Festival
        • 07 Canby Art Festival
        • 08 EugPride
        • 08 OC Festival of the Arts
        • 11 - Portland Holiday Market
      • Storage Inventory
      • Annual Events - Events Director
      • Event Checklist
      • Suggest An Event
    • Publishing Check List
    • Renew My Membership
    • Review A Book
    • Update My Author Page
    • Update My Member Info
  • MEMBER TOOLS
    • Advertise Your Book
    • Cover Designers
    • Editing & Formatting
    • Grammar
    • Indie Friendly Bookstores
    • Printers
    • Publishing
    • Add A Member Tool
    • Legacy Planning
    • News Bits
    • ZOOM Videos >
      • Book Covers with Roslyn McFarland
      • Editing With Joyce Reynolds-Ward
      • Self Editing & Proofreading with Cyn Ley
      • Writing Resources with Joyce Reynolds-Ward