Soapstone is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. All donations are fully tax-deductible.

Director: Ruth Gundle

President: Judith Barrington

Board Members: Patricia Bollin, Ann Dudley, Janice Gould, Noel Hanlon, Nancy LaPaglia, Maureen Michelson, Katy Riker, Elizabeth Woody, Kathleen Worley

Founding President: Ursula K. Le Guin


The people and the organization:

Soapstone is unique among writing retreats in that it is truly a grassroots organization. Donors and volunteers came together to create it and new supporters continually step forward to help sustain it.

Judith Barrington and Ruth Gundle dreamed up the project in 1990 (and were honored with the Stuart H. Holbrook Award from Literary Arts for this and other work). Ursula K. Le Guin served as the first president. Judith Barrington was the volunteer director from 1992 until 1995. Ruth Gundle has been Soapstone’s part-time director since 1995.

Soapstone, Inc. became a nonprofit organization in 1992 and purchased the property in 1993. After five years of fundraising and construction we held a festive opening celebration in the summer of 1998 for over a hundred well-wishers. The first residents arrived that fall.

In 2006 Willamette Writers honored Soapstone with their Humanitarian Award.

Soapstone performs a key service for the Northwest Oregon and Southwest Washington writing community by sending out email community announcements of events, readings, workshops, grant opportunities, lectures and other writing-related news to over 1000 people weekly.

Former board members:

Judith Arcana, Leslie Bevan, Mary Clare, Eva Gold, Elissa Goldberg, Shirley Kishiyama, Ursula K. Le Guin, Mimi Maduro, Madeline Moore, Sharon Morgan, Joanne Mulcahy, Monza Naff, Gloria Olds, Phyllis Oster, Gerry Pearson, Sandy Polishuk, Holly Pruett, Lee Schore, Rebecca Shine, Evelyn C. White

Credits: Illustration on homepage by Angelina Marino; photographs of Soapstone by Martha Andrews, Judith Barrington, and Sage Cohen; website design by Marcia Barrentine.