Clarion West Alumni News for June 2018
Psst. Wanna hear some Alumni News? We’ve got some exciting news for flash fiction writers in this one, so make sure you read to the end if that sounds like you.
We’re smack in the middle of Week One of the Clarion West Six-Week Summer Workshop, where the diverse and talented Class of 2018 is being put through its paces by the inimitable Daniel Abraham. Stories are being drafted, friendships are being formed, and world-changing ideas are beginning to take root and grow.
If you’re missing your Clarion West experience, may we suggest taking a look at a little thing called the Write-a-thon? Work alongside the workshop, and every week we’ll mail you a special tidbit of news from the class so you can get a sense of how the workshop is going this year. Registrations are still open.Register for the Write-a-thon
We’re also running a Class Participation Challenge, where the Clarion West class with the most Write-a-thon participants will win $500in donations for Clarion West. The competition is heating up, with the current standings being:
The Classes of 2004, 2008, 2010, 2011, and 2016, with 4 signups each
The Classes of 2009 and 2014, with 5 signups each
The Class of 2017, with 11 signups
… and the Class of 2012, with 16(!) signups
We’ll be doing a final tally this Friday, June 22 (the end of Week One), so get your final registrations in and stay tuned for the results. Rumors also speak of additional class challenges being announced later in the Write-a-thon, so stay heartened…
Finally, if you’re still not convinced you want to do any writing this summer…
Alumni Call for Submissions: Flash Fiction
We’d like to announce a special, never-before-seen Clarion West call for submissions. We’re looking for speculative fiction flash fiction written by alumni for use in our publicity efforts, and we’re paying pro rates.What we’re looking for: We are open to speculative fiction (SF/F, horror, slipstream, etc) of no more than 500 words written by alumni of Clarion West. Both original work and reprints are accepted, but reprints must be clearly stated, including any work that has been made available online or in print elsewhere, including self-publishing. As these stories are for our broader community, their families, and the general public, we ask that you limit the use of violence, explicit language, and sexual content. To submit: • Please use Standard Manuscript Format, and make the attachment an RTF file.• Please use the following subject line for your submission: “Flash Fiction Submission: [Title]” where [Title] is the title of your story.• Please email your story to " target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> as an attachment. Cover letter:• Your name/class year
• The title of your story
• Length (word count) of your story
• Your social media handles
• Whether you wrote this story as part of the Write-a-thon
We pay 6 cents per word on acceptance. For original work, we ask for first serial rights. For both original and reprinted work we ask for non-exclusive, indefinite archival rights, though the author is welcome at any time to request a story be removed from our use after one year. Stories may be used for a variety of purposes, including but not limited to: mailings to supporters and current and future donors; as postcards sent to funders, supporters and/or donors; or distributed at events. Stories will never be resold. Authors will be notified of exactly when and how stories will be used 30 days before they are made available. If a printed form of the story is made (e.g. postcard) we will provide the contributor with 10 copies for personal use/distribution.
The deadline for submissions is July 28, 2018, the end of the Write-a-thon. Bonus points if you are signed up for the Write-a-thon. We may extend the deadline at our discretion.
Alumni News
Bruce Taylor (CW ’71) has a story collection coming out mid-summer from ReAnimus Press: The Infinite Tears of Pablo Azul and Other Lamentations of the Human Condition.
Lawrence Schimel (CW ’91) has won a 2018 Crystal Kite Award from the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, for his picture book Will You Read My Book With Me?, illustrated by Thiago Lopes. He has also recently published four new children’s books in Colombia: ¡Que Suerte Tengo! (“How Lucky I Am!”), illustrated by Juan Camilo Mayorga and published by Rey Naranjo; No Quiero Estar Aquí (“I Don’t Want to Be Here”) illustrated by Tania Recio and published by Enlace; ¡Menuda Imaginación! (“What an Imagination!”) and Buscar a la Bruja (“Looking for the Witch”), illustrated by Oscar Camacho and published by Panamericana. Finally, he has also released a translation of the novel La Bastarda by Trifonia Melibea Obono, published in English by Feminist Press.
Shiv Ramdas (CW ’16) has a story, “Balloon Man,” up at GigaNotoSaurus. This was his Week Four workshop story.
Shannon Fay (CW ’14), Tina Connolly (CW ’06), and Rich Larson (CW ’14) all have new stories up at Daily Science Fiction this month: “The Steady State,” “Rejuve,” and “Some Of These Stars Might Already Be Gone” respectively. Rich Larson also has a new story out at Tor.com, “Meat and Salt and Sparks.”
Congratulations to Stephanie Burgis (CW ’01), who is a finalist for the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children’s Literature for her novel, The Dragon With a Chocolate Heart.
Nibedita Sen (CW ’15), has a new story, “Leviathan Sings to Me in the Deep,” out in Nightmare.
Betsy Aoki (CW ’16), has a new poem out in Uncanny: “Okuri Inu, or the Sending-off Dog Demon.“
Congratulations to James Alan Gardner (CW ’89), whose novel, All Those Explosions Were Someone Else’s Fault, has been nominated for the Aurora Award for best Canadian SF/Fantasy novel.
The Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Fantastic Literature longlist for short story fiction includes Rebecca Campbell (CW ’15) with her Clarion West Week Two story “On Highway 18” and Rich Larson (CW ’14) with his story “Spiked.”
Abbey Mei Otis (CW ’10), has a story, “Rich People,” in the Summer Reading issue of Tin House.
James Robert Herndon (CW ’12) has a short story called “Eulogy for an Immortal” appearing in the new issue of Analog.
Congratulations, all! Send in your news for next month, and thank you for being part of the Clarion West community!