Thrifty writers, register for the Chuckanut Writers Conference in Bellingham, Wash. by May 22 to secure the $245 early bird registration fee, a $40 discount on full-price registration. The eighth annual conference will take place Friday and Saturday, June 22 and 23 at Whatcom Community College. This year’s faculty includes “Writing Down the Bones” author Natalie Goldberg and Washington State Poet Laureate Claudia Castro Luna. This intensive craft-focused, cross-genre symposium is designed to inspire writers of all experience levels through breakout sessions and panel discussions led by talented authors, meetings with respected literary agents, as well as author readings and book signings. Conference registration includes admission to a pre-conference special event, “An Evening with Natalie Goldberg,” on Thursday, June 21, at 7 p.m. in the Readings Gallery at Village Books in Fairhaven. To register and see the full line-up of faculty, including historian Paula Becker, memoirist Kate Carroll de Gutes, novelist Jonathan Evison, environmental writer Jourdan Imani Keith and poet Jane Wong, visit chuckanutwritersconference.com or call 360.383.3200. The conference is a joint venture between WCC’s Community & Continuing Education program and Village Books of Bellingham. About WCC: Whatcom Community College is a regionally and nationally accredited college with an accomplished faculty and staff who serve 11,000 students annually. The College works closely with industry to prepare graduates to excel in their fields and meet emerging business trends. On its campus in Bellingham, Wash., and through online courses, Whatcom offers a four-year bachelor of applied science, transfer and professional-technical degrees, as well as basic education, job skills training, and community education classes. For more information, visit whatcom.edu. About Village Books: Founded in 1980 by Chuck and Dee Robinson and as of 2017 under new ownership and stewardship of Paul Hanson, Kelly Evert, and Sarah Hutton, Village Books is a community-based, independent bookstore with two locations: the flagship store is located in the historic Fairhaven district of Bellingham, Washington and its second location is in the historic Waples Mercantile Building in Lynden, Washington. Since 1980 it has been Whatcom County’s “Community Bookshop for Browsing.” Village Books has received many awards, including multiple Mayor's Arts Awards, the Tourism Business of the Year by the members of the Convention and Visitors Bureau, and was recently named one of five finalists for the Publishers Weekly Bookstore of the Year. The store was also honored as the 2008 Outstanding Philanthropic Small Business in Washington State. Village Books’ mission is “building community, one book at a time,” which it does daily through a dedicated staff, by collaborating with numerous community organizations and through its Literature Live author event series, through which it hosts over 350 authors each year. Village Books is excited to co-present the Chuckanut Writers Conference and eager to help it prosper for many years to come.
