By Eileen Gunn Howard Waldrop (September 15, 1946–January 14, 2024) was a subgenre of fiction all by himself. In the 1990s, he was a stalwart Clarion West instructor—so stalwart, in fact, that the workshop selection process included a Waldrop Advisory: he shouldn’t be scheduled for the beginning weeks of the workshop, because he dazzled the…
By Nisi Shawl Mama said there’d be days like this. My friend Terry Bisson is dead and gone. He was an author and editor extraordinaire, able to whip out words in such an order, with such a tastiness, that we who read them could only gasp and gulp them down and ask for more. Well…
I’m so pleased to announce the following well-deserved staff promotions. Everything we do at Clarion West is supported by an amazing and collaborative team of writers who care deeply about our programs, the field of speculative fiction, and creating a supportive and caring community. Rashida J. Smith (CW ’05) will be taking on the role…
Submissions are under review. We are not accepting new submissions at this time. Clarion West is searching for an artist to create artwork for our 2024 summer programming! Please share this call with the artists you know that might be a great fit, and see below for details. What we’re looking for Every summer, we…
Clarion West is pleased to announce the release of Little Sisters and Other Stories. This collection presents a selection of short fiction by Clarion West founder and life-long supporter, Vonda N. McIntyre. With story notes by Una McCormack, this collection spans the whole of McIntyre’s career, showing the broad range of her interests and her…
Housing We are excited to announce that Clarion West’s Six-Week Workshop will return to its traditional home in Seattle’s University District next summer! We are hosting the workshop at the University of Washington, which will give our students plenty of opportunities to work in nearby coffee shops, visit the rest of Seattle easily by light…
This year we are creating a pool for application fees for the Six-Week Workshop, and if you are someone who usually donates application fees, we’re counting on you for support! We’ve seen a significant increase in applicants who cannot afford to pay for the application even at the early bird rate of $35. Last year…
Donors Astrid Bear and Jeffrey Lemkin have committed $2,500 to create the Greg Bear Memorial Instructorship and with the aid of the amazing Clarion West community, have raised the 2nd half to fully fund the instructorship at $5,000 for the 2024 Workshop! A huge round of thanks to donors Jeffrey Lemkin, Astrid Bear, Albert Folsom,…
The Six-Week Workshop moved back online this summer, with a cohort that embraced the flexibility of working from their homes and making global connections remotely. Our 15 students joined from Brazil, Ghana, the U.K., Mexico, the Bahamas, and the U.S., with a high concentration of East Coasters! Although the group was faced with the challenge…
Octavia E. Butler Memorial Scholarship Recipient This summer, the Carl Brandon Society selected Kiran Kaur Saini as its Octavia E. Butler Memorial Scholarship recipient. Since 2007, the Carl Brandon Society has donated this scholarship in Octavia’s name to writers of color attending Clarion and Clarion West. Octavia attended the Clarion Writers Workshop in Pennsylvania in…