The Lopez Writers Guild was formed in the year 2000 by Lorna Reese, Alie Smaalders, Laurie Parker, and Leta Currie-Marshall. Dedicated to encouraging and refining the work of poets, playwrights, fiction and non-fiction writers who live in or who have ever visited the San Juan Islands, the LWG produces several “Writers Read” events a year, as well as workshops on subjects of interest to writers.

In a world dominated by the voices of the cultural elite, the writers of Lopez Island have the unusual distinction of living in relative isolation, in an environment free from the bombardment of pre-fabricated thoughts and opinions designed to shape views, and as a corollary, purchases. For better or for worse, whatever Lopez Islanders come up with on their own tends to be original.

For that reason, the LWG created SHARK REEF, a literary publication designed as an outlet for local writers, whose perspectives are not often represented in the mainstream, but whose voices are strong, exclusive of media trends, and nuanced with a kind of truth that comes with first hand experience.