Clarion West Writing Workshop

June 18 - July 27 2001

I am participating in a six-week speculative fiction writing workshop called Clarion West.

For those who don't know, speculative fiction includes everything outside the bounds of what's currently known as possible in everyday life. It includes: science fiction, horror, fantasy and other fiction based on speculation.

Clarion (now known as Clarion East) began in 1967 and currently operates every summer in East Lansing, Michigan with a similar, but not identical program as Clarion West. Clarion West was established, and is maintained by, west coast writers who wanted a Clarion workshop closer to home.

Clarion's major goal is to foster and train the future writers of science and speculative fiction. As such, Clarion gathers a stellar line up of instructors to guide 17 emerging writers in six weekly sessions in Seattle, Washington.

This year's instructors (in order) are/were Octavia Butler, Brad Denton, Nalo Hopkinson, Connie Willis, Ellen Datlow, and Jack Womack.

Hope the reports are of interest.

Kiini Ibura Salaam