“I’m always happiest when I’m killing things.” That’s how Bob Brown captioned the accompanying photo when he gave it to me. I don’t think this self-appraisal of his was completely accurate. At least, it wasn’t just killing things—fish, to be specific—that made him happy. Bob adored fishing, yes, and he went on at least two…
Grant to Be Earmarked for Evolving Workshop Culture to Inspire Equity, Empowerment, and Innovation in Writing Workshops. Seattle, WA June 3, 2021 — The Amazon Literary Partnership today announced that Clarion West received a grant to support its program and operations. Clarion West is among the list of 80 Amazon Literary Partnership Grant Recipients for…
May was a busy month! We kicked it off with our first virtual gala, Clarion West Nerdlesque: Our Next Evolution Revealed. With your support, we blew our fundraising goals out of the water. On May 16 and 17, we held the final two panels of our Beyond Afrofuturism: Black Editors and Publishers in Speculative Fiction…
Seattle—Clarion West has been approved for a $10,000 Grants for Arts Projects award to support salaries and administrative costs for expanding online adult and youth writing workshops. This project will bring together the rich history of Clarion West intensive writing workshops with the need to provide low cost and accessible online programming for emerging writers…
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…
“Inclusion is a form of diversification but it can also be violent. Inviting voices into spaces not built for them or that undermine their messages, lived experiences, and expertise can often work against the well-intentioned goals of inclusion.” Dr. Max Liboiron, Civic Laboratory, August 12, 2019 Summary and Introduction The Clarion West Writers Workshop has been…
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 is with incalculable joy that we present the Clarion West Six-Week Summer Workshop Class of 2021. This summer, fifteen writers will study with Andy Duncan, Eileen Gunn, Tina Connolly, Caroline Yoachim, Nalo Hopkinson, Sheree Renée Thomas, and Ted Chiang. Following the postponement of the 2020 workshop due to Covid-19, we are delighted to once…