The search is still on for the perfect event space for Write to Publish 2015. Brandon and I have visited several locations—rain and all.

Last week, I visited the Independent Publishing Resource Center (IPRC), located across the Willamette River in Southeast Portland. Tiffany Shelton, a newly appointed member of the Write to Publish team, came along with me. Although both of us had heard about the IPRC, neither of us had visited the center before. The main room resembles a medium-sized warehouse, with garage-like doors open to let in the fresh air and sun (on a good day). There are several letterpress machines, each a different size, laid out on work tables—and a much larger press that the center is currently repairing. We enthusiastically sifted through the piles of ornate plates and wood blocks donated to and purchased by the IPRC over the years, imagining all of the crafts and projects we could complete with their help (letterpress graduation invites anyone?).

The center also has a perfect binding machine and other crafting tools, like button makers. They even have several Mac computers available to those interested in learning how to use publishing software like Adobe InDesign. While we had a fun time touring the center with Polly, the Development & Community Resource Coordinator, the space did not have enough rooms for us to break out into panels and workshops during the conference. However, Polly was very interested in the IPRC having a role in the conference, possibly on a panel or tabling at the event.

Brandon and I also met with both the marketing and social media manager at Ooligan to discuss putting together a short Write to Publish promotional video (or possibly even several videos). At next week’s Executive Meeting, we hope to find others in the program interested in being a part of this video project. In truth, so many of us get caught up with words—we love books. That’s why we decided to join this program. Websites, social media, newsletters, and, heck, even this blog post are great ways to get the news out there, but it’s important to get creative and try new things in order to spread the word about this event if we hope to reach the largest audience possible.

Until next week!