About NWABP

The Northwest Association of Book Publishers is a nonprofit organization formed to educate and support independent publishers in the Pacific Northwest.

NWABP was founded in 1982 by a small group of women, headed by Paulette Jarvey of Hot Off The Press in Canby, Oregon, for the purpose of exchanging information and know-how in helping each other learn the intricacies of publishing their own work. In the years since, the organization has grown to become a leading regional resource for the small, independent publisher and individuals who desire to learn more about publishing and marketing books.

Our Membership

Our membership consists of three main categories. Our Publisher members have published at least one book. Although many of our Publisher members began with their own work, several have gone on to publish the work of others.

The Associate member is one who has an interest in publishing but has not yet published a book. Most of our Associate members are steering a project toward the goal of publication.

We have a number of Vendor members who offer a variety of services to the publishing trade. These services include editing, cover and interior design, printing, and marketing.

Our Meetings

Our membership meetings are held from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on the last Thursday of the month (except November if Thanksgiving fall on the last Thursday). We do not meet in December. Our meetings are at the Fairfield Inn and Suites in Lake Oswego. See the "Meeting Location & Time" page for details.

Meetings, which usually have 40-50 people, almost always follow the same format. We begin with brief announcements. We believe getting to know one another helps us share experiences that we all can learn from, so introductions are an important part of each meeting. But because we are constrained by time and the number of people in the room, individual introductions are limited to 20 seconds.

Following the introductions, we offer one Publisher member and one Vendor member each an opportunity to speak for five minutes on an aspect of their business. We call this the 5-Minute Spotlight.

Networking is one of the key features of our meetings. It's an opportunity to get helpful advice and carry out business. Our networking break is about 20 minutes of energetic conversation.

At noon, we reconvene and turn our attention to the main event, a featured speaker or presentation. See the "Meetings & Events" page for details.

Guests are always welcome, but we charge a $10 fee for nonmembers. Should you wish to join NWABP prior to the next meeting, the fee will be applied to your dues.