You are invited to the Chuckanut Writers Conference occurring this weekend. There is an impressive variety of classes offered. Please see the links below for more information and cost. On Friday, I will be presented with an award. If you’re in town, please stop by. It is $10 at the door for the reading and award event on Friday evening.
EVENT: 2026 CWC Faculty Readings
& Village Books Literary Citizenship Awards (Friday only)
TIME: 7:00pm, Doors open at 6:30pm
PLACE: Hotel Leo, ballroom, 1224 Cornwall Ave
“Join us for an evening of readings with our visiting authors! Authors presenting at the Chuckanut Writers Conference will be reading from their work.”
Click on these links to learn more:
https://chuckanutwritersconference.com/
https://www.villagebooks.com/community/village-books-literary-citizenship-award
(Here is a copy of the speech I have been rehearsing. As an event planner, I love it when presenters keep to the schedule. I’ve been told I will have three minutes for a speech after receiving the award. I’ve timed this. It’s exactly three minutes. If I were really cool, I would have kept it at 2:30 minutes to include the time walking to the podium, pauses, etc. But you know what, I’m going to take those extra 30 seconds. I’m attempting to put in as much power-thanks into this speech as possible. Tell me what you think.)
I’m truly honored to receive the Literary Citizenship Award. To be recognized by Village Books is incredibly meaningful to me. For so many of us, Village Books has been far more than a bookstore. It’s been a place where writers find encouragement, readers discover new voices, and our community comes together. Thank you for creating this award and for all you do to support the literary life of our region.
What makes this honor especially humbling is the company it keeps. I’ve had the privilege of knowing several of the past recipients, and I’ve admired their generosity, their kindness, and the countless ways they show up for other writers and for this community. To be included among people I respect so deeply is something I will always treasure.
Writing often begins alone, but none of us builds a literary life alone. Every one of us has benefited from someone who took the time to encourage us, answer a question, share an opportunity, recommend our work, or simply believe in us when we needed it most. I know I certainly have.
I want to thank everyone involved with the Corridor poetry zine and the Salish Sea Poetry Festival. It has been such a gift to be part of a group that believes so wholeheartedly in lifting one another up. What I love most is that people genuinely celebrate each other’s successes. They share their knowledge generously, they offer support without hesitation, and they create a space where writers at every stage feel welcome. Being part of that community has enriched my life in ways I never expected, and I’m deeply grateful for every person who has walked alongside me.
The name of this award–Literary Citizenship–is something I find especially beautiful. It reminds us that our literary community is strongest when we choose collaboration over competition, generosity over gatekeeping, and encouragement over comparison. The stories and poems we write matter, but so do the ways we care for one another along the way.
Thank you, Village Books, for this extraordinary honor. Thank you to the many writers, readers, booksellers, and friends who have inspired and encouraged me over the years, and to everyone here tonight who helps make our literary community such a generous and welcoming place.
It is a privilege to stand among this year’s honorees and the remarkable recipients who came before us.
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
shannon p. laws 