Clarion Workshop

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Clarion is a six-week workshop for new and aspiring science fiction and fantasy writers. It was founded by Robin Scott Wilson at Clarion State College in Pennsylvania. Damon Knight and Kate Wilhelm were among the first teachers at the workshop. The first was held in 1968.Originally an outgrowth of Knight and Wilhelm's Milford Writers' Conference, held at their home in Milford, Pennsylvania, USA, the workshop was later held every summer at Michigan State University until a 2007 move to University of California, San Diego.

Clarion is a residential workshop, limited to a small group of students. Each of the six weeks is taught by a different professional writer or editor. It is primarily focused on short fiction. However, there are discussions about novel-writing as most of the instructors are successful novelists.

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[edit] Clarion at San Diego

Clarionites at Play (photograph by Keyan Bowes)
Clarionites at Play (photograph by Keyan Bowes)

Clarion moved - effective 2007 - to the University of California, San Diego. The Clarion Foundation is responsible for the move, which has proved very successful. The La Jolla location is within walking distance of the coast and has pleasant summer weather.

The first San Diego session concluded on August 3, 2007. Over 80 students applied for the 19 available positions. The instructors for this "Clarion Revival" session were Gregory Frost, Jeff VanderMeer and Ann VanderMeer, Karen Joy Fowler, Cory Doctorow, Ellen Kushner and Delia Sherman. Clarionites also had discussions with Kim Stanley Robinson, Nancy Holder, David Brin and Vernor Vinge. The nine women and ten men ranged in age from 16 to 53, writing everything from hard science fiction through high fantasy, slipstream, and magical realism. Students came from all over the US and Canada, and one participant was from England. Several have had short stories published; others are currently writing novels; and one already had a book contract.

The 2008 session (29th June - Aug 9, 2008) had an application deadline of of 1 March 2008. The instructors are Kelly Link, James Patrick Kelly, Mary Anne Mohanraj, Neil Gaiman, Nalo Hopkinson and Geoff Ryman.

[edit] Offshoots

  • Clarion West is held annually in Seattle. It began in 1984 and is generally held at a college in Seattle. Attendance is limited to eighteen students. Clarion West is a non-profit literary organization.

[edit] Some Clarion instructors

[edit] Some Clarion West instructors

[edit] Clarion graduates

[edit] Further reading

[edit] External links

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Major Speculative fiction writing workshops
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