It’s awards season! In March, we were delighted to congratulate the finalists of the 2021 Nebula Awards. This month, it’s three cheers for the finalists of the 2021 Hugo Awards and FIYAHCON’s Ignyte Awards. We’re especially proud to announce that Clarion West is on the shortlist for the Ignyte Awards’ Ember Award for Unsung Contributions to Genre! We’re in…
It’s been a long month. A year of pandemic-normal has come and gone, and the racially motivated, white supremacist violence of the Atlanta shootings on March 17 is a stark reminder that those of us in the United States live in a country that loves very few of us. Clarion West stands in solidarity with the…
Clickbait can be a force for good, I swear. But seriously, this is a love letter to you, my fellow Black writers. To you, Indigenous writers and queer writers. To you, international writers and homeless writers and disabled writers and working class writers. To you, writers who identify as women and writers who identify as…
A Classmate Remembers Kathleen Ann Goonan Beverly Suarez-Beard Kathleen Ann Goonan (CW ’88) died on January 28, 2021, at the age of 68. She was the award-winning author of more than forty short stories and seven novels. Her first novel, Queen City Jazz (1994), a New York Times Notable Book, was short-listed for the British Science Fiction Association Award. Her…
It’s book birthday time! On February 9, we celebrated the release of the Pocket Workshop, a collection of more than two dozen essays by Clarion West instructors and alumni that delves into the art and craft of writing as a way of life. Order your copy from Hydra House today. Proceeds of the sales benefit Clarion…
Clarion West is pleased to present a series of conversations featuring today’s Black publishers and editors of anthologies and magazines, aimed at expanding our understanding of the ways in which editorial roles impact the worlds of speculative fiction. This series is presented in partnership with the Seattle Public Library and is supported by The Seattle…
Focus on Indigenous Futures This March, don’t miss two classes with a focus on writing Indigenous Futures. Speculative fiction gives us the opportunity to reflect on past, present, and future through writing and creating. Participants will imagine their way through Futurisms by interweaving their own cultures and life experiences into science fiction and game writing….
by Marnee Chua, Executive Director As we approach the end of this year, I am pleased to share that several individuals have joined the Clarion West Board of Directors in 2020. Their addition to the board will help us better position the organization to grow, build capacity, and achieve our plans to make our workshops more…
Since 1984, Clarion West has held workshops with the intention of providing a safe space for writers to imagine new worlds. A place to re-imagine the fundamental issues within our societies, technologies, politics, prejudices, and fears. Consider making a gift to Clarion West on #GivingTuesday during the global day of giving and support our year-end…
Clarion West condemns the ongoing injustice and violence against the Black community in America. Clarion West is not a political organization, yet there is no denying that fiction can be political, especially fiction created out of hope or despair or anger, or that envisions worlds that could have been or ones that are yet to…