Evolving Workshop Culture to Inspire Equity, Empowerment, and Innovation in Writing Workshops

“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…

FREE MONEY, FRIENDS

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

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…

Announcing the Clarion West Class of 2021

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…

Beyond Afrofuturism: Black Editors and Publishers in Speculative Fiction

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 

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….

|

Donor Spotlight: Susan C. Petrey Fund

by Evan J. Peterson (CW ’15) We love our donors. That may sound glib, but in 2020, support for the arts and social progress cannot be taken for granted. Clarion West nurtures writers of science fiction (and fantasy, horror, and other speculative genres) — we support the artists who imagine better futures and reimagine the present and past. Our…

Summer 2020 Review
|

Summer 2020 Review

by the Clarion West Workshop Team 2020 challenged all of us in ways we never expected. At Clarion West, this meant trying different approaches and making new connections. In April, One-Day Workshop administrator Tegan Moore (CW ’15) pivoted on a dime to pull together 43 free online classes. We followed this in May with another…