Wes Perrin

‘Wes Perrin is a native, mossback Oregonian, who, following graduation from Portland State

University, meandered into the advertising business. After logging some experience on the client side, he was hired by the Cole & Weber Advertising Agency in Portland. There he rose to the rank of VP, but left to start his own firm when C&W was acquired by New York’s Ogilvy & Mather. Borders Perrin & Norrander, the company he founded with two creative partners, soon began winning awards and clients. Eventually it became the second largest advertising agency in Oregon, topped only by Wieden & Kennedy which had the good fortune of landing the gargantuan Nike account. With the blessing of his partners, he bowed out at age 50 to pursue the bittersweet joys of writing and teaching. Not surprisingly, his first book was about lessons learned in the ad game: “Advertising Realities. A Practical Guide to Agency Management.” It was praised by professionals and became required reading in the communications courses of numerous universities. (The dean of the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism called it “stimulating,” and “provocative.”)

Following the publication of “Realities,” he wrote business articles for Communication Arts, Oregon Business, Direct and Communication World. He also enjoyed some success as a travel writer, penning pieces for Hawaii, Diversion, Tours & Resorts, The Oregonian and The Seattle Times.

His first foray into the world of fiction came in 2005 when he self-published “The Year of the French Exchange Student,” a quasi-memoir of high school life in the 50’s. The wacky plot centers around awkward teen-ager Perry Palmer’s tumultuous senior year at New Rose HS. As the tale unfolds Perry faces the challenges of Hellnight and Mad Friday, survives sports mishaps, and is smitten by the arrival of a curvy female student from France. To his dismay, however, he soon discovers that she has captured the the amorous attention of New Rose’s bumbling principal. It all comes to a riotous conclusion on graduation night. Readers wrote in to praise the book as “wonderful,” “really enjoyable,” “a joy to read,” and “a fun novel.” A classmate wrote, “I loved every chapter of it.

You transported me back to a golden time...future generations will only wonder in amazement at the quirky, high-jinx nature of our youth.” More recently, Perrin’s short stories have been published in Mature Years, 50 Something, Beginnings, Storyteller, Spitball (prose and poetry entirely about baseball), Cascade Reader, and three consecutive issue of Colorado’s Write On anthology.

Personal interests include fondness for wife Joanne, meat loaf, the Red Sox, thermal underwear,

J.D. Salinger, the Wallowa Mountains, golden retrievers and tennis doubles (“If only I could

get that first serve in.’)