Bill Koch, the current president of the North Shore Writers Association (NSWA), is passionate about nurturing the literary community on Vancouver’s North Shore. With a background in psychology and a lifelong love of creative writing, Koch joined the organization in 2022 as it emerged from pandemic-era isolation. Today, NSWA is a thriving hub for writers of all levels, offering author talks, critique groups, writing contests, and school collaborations to foster literary growth.
Describe your charity/non-profit/volunteer work in a few sentences.
NSWA is an organization composed of writers of all ages and skill levels that works to enhance the literary community on Vancouver’s North Shore. We offer guest lectures and interviews by established authors (fiction, non-fiction, poetry) and manage the annual North Shore Writing Contest. We also facilitate new as well as experienced authors via critique groups, open mic sessions where authors can read aloud their work to an audience, and networking with other literary organizations. We publish an in-house newsletter in which members can publish as well as a small literary journal featuring works by our contest winners. We also collaborate with local schools, including high schools and Capilano University to nurture young writers.
What problem does it aim to solve?
We aim to facilitate not only literacy but also the fulfillment of many people’s desires for the opportunity to write about their experience (lived or imagined).
When did you start/join it?
I am a relatively new member, having only joined in 2022, but NSWA has been around for over thirty years.
What made you want to get involved?
As I approached retirement, I wanted support in my creative writing. I had a lengthy career in psychology, but had an interest in creative writing since high school and university. When I joined NSWA, the world was exiting the restrictions of COVID-19, and our membership was small as in-person meetings were few and far between. The world as we previously knew it had retreated. Since then, our membership has almost doubled to over 130 people, and our writing contest entries have similarly taken off.
How can our readers help?
You ask how your readers can help. Simply put, they can read. Literate, curious readers nurture writers as they convince us that what we write matters, whether it is cookbooks, memoirs, poetry, or psychological thrillers. NSWA is getting long pretty well at this time and meeting most of its goals with the assistance of our capable board of directors and our very important liaison with the North Shore Libraries (West Vancouver, North Vancouver City, and North Vancouver District).
Where can we follow you?
PAY IT FORWARD: What is an awesome local charity that you love?
NSWA encourages readers to support their local libraries. Personally, I enjoy the West Vancouver Memorial Library, of which I am a donor, and which —drum roll here—is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2025.
