About Fishtrap

Organizational Profile ~ Sponsors & Foundations ~ Fishtrap History

WHAT? Readings, workshops, classes, conferences, Fellowships, residencies! Fishtrap is about "Writing and the West."

WHERE? In the northeast corner of Oregon, at the foot of the the Wallowa Mountains' Eagle Cap Wilderness and a stone's throw from Hells Canyon of the Snake River. Nez Perce Country. Summer Fishtrap is held at scenic Wallowa Lake. There's a writers' retreat on the Imnaha River. Lectures and classes at our house-- the Coffin House in the picture above-- in Enterprise. Where we are is part of who we are.

WHEN? Summer Fishtrap-- a gathering of writers-- every July, the Imnaha Writers' Retreat every April and October, a Lecture Series fall through spring, our Writer-in-Residence usually visits January through March, and The Big Read program will have folks all over Wallowa County reading "The Joy Luck Club" in January and February of 2012.

WHO? Anyone in love with words! In 24 years, Fishtrap has hosted over 200 published poets, novelists, journalists, song writers, and non-fiction writers as teachers and presenters. Although workshops are kept small, thousands of writers, teachers, students and booklovers from around the west have participated in Fishtrap events. Almost all of which are on a first come first served basis. That means published writers sit with beginning writers, 16 year olds with 80 year olds. The formula seems to work!

LEARN MORE? Check these web site pages. Give a call or email with specific questions. Enjoy, and come see us sometime soon!

Mission
Fishtrap’s mission statement, formulated many years ago and re-affirmed frequently, is “Fishtrap promotes clear thinking and good writing in and about the West,” sometimes abbreviated as “Writing and the West.”

Programs
Fishtrap began in 1988 at Wallowa Lake, Oregon, with a Summer Writers’ Gathering. Over 100 writers, editors, teachers, librarians, and readers spent a July weekend reading, listening, and discussing “Western Writing and Eastern Publishing.” Each summer since, people have gathered to listen and respond to outstanding Western writers address living and writing in the West. Summer workshops were added in 1989, and the Fellows program in 1990, both of which are tightly coupled to the Gathering. In 1991 the first Fishtrap Anthology was published. The Winter Fishtrap Gathering was launched in 1992, followed by the Imnaha Writers’ Retreat and the Writer-in-Residence programs in 1997.

Several programs that primarily serve residents of Wallowa County followed: the volunteerdriven Radio Storytelling program in 2000, both the Friday College program and Lectures & Readings in 2002, and The Big Read in 2006. At the same time, programs for the regional audience of writers continued to expand. The Children’s Lit Workshop started in 2004, Fishtrap’s writer-in-residence model was expanded in 2006 to serve four other eastern Oregon counties as the Eastern Oregon Writers-in-Residence program, a yearlong low-residency writing workshop program started in 2008, and the Outpost workshop and a nature writing residency saw their first incarnations in 2009.

Today, Fishtrap runs more than fifteen different programs which occur year-round. We estimate that in the course of our 22 year history, we have served more than 20,000 people and engaged more than 350 writers, academics, and literary professionals as faculty for our programs.

History and Organization
Fishtrap became a non-profit 501(c)3 corporation in August of 1992. The organization has a very active 11-member local Governing Board of Directors, and a 19-member Advisory Board made up of writers, publishers and literary activists from all over the country. The founding director, Rich Wandschneider, stepped down as Executive Director in 2008, but still volunteers as the Josephy Library director.

Fishtrap conducted its first capital campaign in 2001 to purchase the Gwen and Gladys Coffin house in Enterprise, which now serves as its headquarters.

For more on the history of Fishtrap, click here.

Board of Directors
Fishtrap’s very active governing board is composed of Wallowa County residents who have collectively contributed thousands of hours of volunteer time to make Fishtrap work, plus a wider Advisory Board that consults constantly and meets occasionally. As a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization, Fishtrap welcomes donations large and small to assist funding specific programs, meet matching grant requests, and provide scholarships for deserving individuals. Click here for current listing of Fishtrap's board and staff members.