We are delighted to welcome ten writers this year’s 2026 Novel Writing Workshop. These writers will be working to complete a novel draft under the guidance of novelist and teacher Dr. Karen Lord (CW instructor ‘18 & ‘23) The Novel Writing Workshop Class of 2025 Heather Aruffo (Fairbanks, AL, USA) Deanna Johnston (Massachusetts, USA) Doug…
April 15, 1957 – January 5, 2026 Every summer from 2011 through 2024, uninterrupted except for the COVID-19 Pandemic, Lile Gowen hosted a party in celebration of a Clarion West instructor during the Six-Week Workshop. More than just a party, Lile always catered with delicious food and drinks, and an opportunity to see Seattle from…
This post has been updated as of 1.16.26. The 2025 Washington State Legislature passed Senate Bill (ESSB) 5814, which added new business activities to the definition of retail sales. As a result, businesses and nonprofits will be required to begin collecting sales tax on live presentations, including online and in-person classes, seminars and workshops, starting…
November 10, 1975 – September 23, 2025 It is with a heavy heart that we share the passing of our friend and colleague, Jon Lasser, on Tuesday, September 23. He was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2019, and most recently was hospitalized due to breathing difficulties, subsequently moving to home hospice and then inpatient hospice….
Novel Writing Workshop Our sincerest thanks to the amazing Samit Basu for kicking off our first Novel Writing Workshop and working with our first class of novelers! Clarion West will be opening applications for our second nine-month virtual workshop in October! The workshop will run from March – November 2026. Our second Novel Writing Workshop will…
Funded! We’re pleased to announce that the 2025 Greg Bear Memorial Instructorship has been funded for another year! With support from Astrid Bear, Jeff and Bonney Lemkin, Karen Anderson, Joe and Gay Haldeman, Curtis Frye, and an anonymous donor, we’ve completed the fund! We can’t thank you enough for supporting the workshop and our incredible…
Hagen Insurance Partners has sponsored Steamy in Seattle each year that we’ve held it! I reached out to Cindy Hagen, the owner, to see why she’s supporting Clarion West. Marnee Chua: Tell us all about Hagen Insurance Partners, who do you work with? Cindy Hagen: I’m an independent insurance agent specializing in health insurance for…
Meet Sejuti Bala Each year, Clarion West works with a new artist to create an image that is used across the Write-a-thon, on our website, and for the Summer of Science Fiction & Fantasy reading series poster. The poster illustration is custom designed by the artist with their personal interpretation of speculative fiction. In 2025,…
We are delighted to welcome a new group of writers to the Clarion West family! Clarion West will be running virtually this summer, and we’ll be managing time travel over at least eight time zones for a group of 15 joining us from Sri Lanka, Germany, Nigeria, Canada, Mexico, Saudi Arabia (by way of Pakistan),…
In December, Clarion West announced the search for our new Development Director thanks to a three-year grant from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust. Our board and staff are pleased to announce that we’ve hired L.D. Lewis for the position! L. D. Lewis (she/her) is an editor and Shirley Jackson award-nominated author. Many folks in our…
Writing can be a lonely pursuit. Clarion West provides community and world-class instruction to early-career writers of science-fiction, fantasy, and horror; and we need your help now more than ever. DONATE TODAY! Any amount is valuable; and a recurring monthly gift provides us with stability in what promises to be an interesting future.