Biography

Jim LeMonds grew up in Castle Rock, Washington, and graduated from Castle Rock High School. He earned a B. A. in Education from Western Washington University and an M. A. in Education from Lewis and Clark College.

He taught English in the Longview School District from 1972 through 2002. His teaching assignment included American Lit, Shakespeare, and Advanced Placement English. During his teaching career, he edited and assessed more than 1,000 student documents annually.

LeMonds helped create one of the first senior project programs on the West Coast and served as Senior Project Coordinator at R. A. Long for 15 years. In 1999, he received the Christa McAuliffe Award for outstanding performance from Washington Superintendent of Instruction Judith Billings.

In 1997, Mountain Press Publishing of Missoula, Montana, published South of Seattle, LeMonds’ essay collection about small town life. Robert Michael Pyle, author of Wintergreen, Walking the High Ridge, and The Thunder Tree, said of South of Seattle, “Jim LeMonds catches the fire and buzz of life in his yet-rural, part-wild corner of the West as well and as incisively as any writer I know.”

South of Seattle was followed in 2000 by Deadfall: Generations of Logging in the Pacific Northwest. Pulitzer Prize winner William Dietrich praised Deadfall as “a clear-eyed classic.” Brian Doyle, editor of Portland Magazine, called it “honest, erudite, passionate, poignant, meticulous, and written with enormous grace and love.”

Jim began doing freelance work in 2002 and started WriteTek Northwest shortly thereafter. Since that time, he has provided professional writing, editing, and marketing services to a wide range of clients. He has published hundreds of press releases, news stories, features, and columns; edited more than 20 books; and produced copy for dozens of radio spots and print ads. He has also managed numerous print, marketing, and website projects for his clients.

LeMonds enjoys reading, book collecting, beer tasting, and mountain biking.