The Clarion West Writers Workshop was founded on the belief that writers from diverse backgrounds need an opportunity to be heard — and to experiment with new forms of storytelling. Clarion West has historically been successful in reaching women writers and LGBTQIA+ writers, and many of our graduates are actively publishing in the field. With…
After another overwhelming response to our call for applications, we have selected a class of fifteen students for Clarion West’s 2023 Six-Week Virtual Workshop. The selected class includes students in Ghana, the U.K. by way of Pakistan, Brazil, the Bahamas, Mexico, and the United States. We can’t wait to get to know them better and…
Clarion West is searching for an artist to create artwork for our 2023 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 We want to commission a piece of art that inspires us and our writers to create…
We’ll be making a few in-person appearances this spring — below you can see where we’ll be when and how you can join in the fun! 1) Emerald City Comic Con (March 2-5, 2023) We’ll be hosting two writing workshops during ECCC. We’re also looking for volunteers to staff our table in the Writers Block…
It’s one thing to have a relationship with individuals. A friendship. A long-term admiration. A fan’s enthusiastic following. It’s another to have a relationship with an organization. What does it mean for an organization, an entire body of people, thoughts, and ideals, to miss a single person? I’m sitting down to write this tribute as…
Today, on the final day of Native American Heritage Month, we want to take a moment to acknowledge some of the Indigenous speculative authors that make up the genre. The voices of these authors, and of so many others that we may not have listed, are vital to our community. We encourage you to read…
Clarion West has a long history of partnering with universities and organizations in the Seattle area to house the Six-Week Workshop. As we’ve honed in on what our students need for their workshop experience and focused on affordability, equity, and accessibility, the number of potential partners has narrowed. Even before the pandemic, we couldn’t secure…
As we reach the end of National Hispanic Heritage Month, we want to take the opportunity to lift up authors from our community of Hispanic and/or Latinx/e descent across the genres of fantasy, science fiction, horror, and beyond. Our Recommended Reading is a good place to start, but by no means a comprehensive list! We…
Clarion West graduate and instructor Kathleen Alcalá (CW ’87) remembers Bruce Taylor, a fixture in the Clarion West community since the first workshop, held in Seattle in 1971. Bruce Taylor, who liked to be known as “Mr. Magic Realism,” was born May 28, 1947 in Seattle, Washington and passed away on August 31, 2022 at…
This year, we doubled up on scholars, as students accepted in 2020 and in 2022 were recognized for these awards. Octavia E. Butler Memorial Scholarship Recipients This summer, the Carl Brandon Society generously donated two full scholarships to Clarion West students. Naomi Day and Wen-yi Lee were each recipients of the Octavia E. Butler Memorial…