Clarion West Alumni News for April 2019
In Memory of Vonda N. McIntyre (1948–2019)
Friends, we have some sad news to share. As many of you have already heard, Clarion West’s founder, supporter, friend, and constant ally, Vonda N. McIntyre, passed away on Monday, April 1, 2019. She was 70 years old. Vonda left behind generations of Clarion West alumni and community members who were touched by her grace and wit. We will miss her deeply.
We at Clarion West are putting together a memorial for Vonda, inspired by the yarn sea creatures that she often crocheted for the Clarion West classes. Alumni, if you are the owner of one of her creatures and would like to participate, please send a photo of it to communications@clarionwest.org. (2048 x 2048 px resolution preferred.)
Stephanie Ann Smith and Jeanne Gomoll are also collecting memories from folks who loved Vonda. They are looking for stories, poems, artwork, recipes, photos, tributes… anything you’d like to contribute. Submissions will be edited, compiled, and made available both as a free electronic document and as a print-on-demand physical book. Please send them to Stephanie at ssmith@ufl.edu. Their deadline is May 11, 2019. You may also simply send them your contact information if you would like to be kept up to date on the publication.
Other public memorials for Vonda are in the works, and we will be sharing them as they are announced. As Cat Rambo noted in Vonda’s SFWA obituary: “Vonda was one of our best and brightest, and she had three times the heart of most of the people I know. … Be kind to each other today in her honor.”
Class of 2019
The Class of 2019 has been announced! We have another deeply talented class coming in this year, and we can’t wait to meet them this summer. Check out the class in our news post.
Visit Us at Norwescon 2019 and the SFWA Nebula Awards Conference
Clarion West will have a table all four days of Norwescon this year. If you’re attending, please stop by, say hello, and pick up a ribbon. We’re also running three writing workshops: these tend to fill up fast, so sign up in advance if you’re interested. We’ll be holding the Clarion West Norwescon social from 3pm–4:30pm on Saturday, April 20, in the Pro Suite.
If you’ll be at the Nebula Awards Conference in Los Angeles this year, keep an eye out for us too. We’ll be hosting an alumni social — hope to see you there!
One-Day Workshops
We have two more One-Day Workshops remaining this spring: Romantic Elements in Speculative Fiction with Jasmine Silvera, and Revision Bootcamp with Fonda Lee. Don’t miss them!
Save the Date: GiveBIG on May 8
A Seattle tradition, GiveBIG donations help ensure our general operating fund for our staff, workshop housing, and public events for the year. We hope you’ll remember us during GiveBIG on May 8.
Alumni and Community Member Surveys
As part of our mission to meet the needs of today’s writers, we are surveying our friends and alumni. If you haven’t already done so, please fill out our 2019 Alumni Survey (if you graduated from the Six-Week Summer Workshop) or our 2019 Community Survey.
Alumni News
Gregory Scheckler (CW ’18), Kij Johnson (CW ’87), Izzy Wasserstein (CW ’17), and Tina Connolly (CW ’06) have stories in an anthology called Then Again, alongside CW instructors Paul Park, John Crowley, and Elizabeth Hand. The anthology blends vintage photography, art, and stories.
S. Qiouyi Lu (CW ’16) recently had a short story, “At Your Dream’s Edge,” published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction (F&SF). Their short story “Mother Tongues,” written during Week 2 of Clarion West, has been listed on the Locus Recommended Reading List, and has been included in The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year: Volume Thirteen (edited by Jonathan Strahan), The New Voices of Science Fiction (edited by Hannu Rajaniemi and Jacob Weisman), and a third unannounced Year’s Best anthology.
Rob Furey (CW ’97) has a story, “Broken Lines of Salt and Flesh,” in Dark Rainbow: Anthology of Queer Erotic Horror. This is his first published horror story.
Jessica Reisman (CW ’95) is publishing a collection of her work, entitled The Arcana of Maps and Other Stories. The collection will be released by Fairwood Press this November.
Cynthia Ward (CW ’92) recently saw her story “Ancient Astronauts” published in Weirdbook Annual #2, and her crime/suspense novelette “Trouble in Mind” published in Black Cat Mystery Magazine. Her steampunk Jesus story, “On Stony Ground,” will be in the May/June 2019 issue of Analog. Her short story “Body Drift,” previously published in Analog, has been longlisted for the James Tiptree, Jr. Award.
Natalia Theodoridou (CW ’18) has a new story out in Clarkesworld this month: “The Last Eagle.”
Carolyn Ives Gilman (CW ’89), Adam Shannon (CW ’17), and several CW instructors are on the short list for the Sturgeon Award.
Tina Connolly (CW ’06), Daniel Abraham (CW ’98), and Vina Jie-Min Prasad (CW ’17) have been nominated for Hugo Awards.
Sheree Renée Thomas (CW ’99) will be a Guest of Honor at the 2019 World Fantasy Convention in Los Angeles this fall.
The New Suns anthology, edited by Nisi Shawl (CW ’92) and including stories by eight alumni — Indrapramit Das (CW ’12), Chinelo Onwualu (CW ’14), Anil Menon (CW ’04), Kathleen Alcala (CW ’87), Alex Jennings (CW ’03), Alberto Yáñez (CW ’11), E. Lily Yu (CW ’13), and Andrea Hairston (CW ’99) — is out.
Steve Miller (CW ’73) and his partner Sharon Lee have released their 87th joint work, a chapbook set in their Liaden Universe. The book is entitled Fortune’s Favors and was released April 15.
See you next month!