The legendary Clarion Writers Workshop at Michigan State University is being cut off by the university administration. Clarion is the long-running science fiction writers' "boot camp," that has graduated such writers as Bruce Sterling, James Patrick Kelly, Nalo Hopkinson, Kelly Link, Ted Chiang, Martha Soukup, Scott Edelman and, well, me.
This is pretty disheartening. Clarion has spawned sister workshops in Seattle and Australia, and has served as the proving ground for hundreds of writers over more than 30 years.
On the other hand, this is an incredible opportunity for some university to snatch up one of the most culturally signficant academic writing programs in the world. The Clarion team are soliciting ideas (see below) — I really hope that someone can come up with a smart answer to this conundrum.
Dr. Lister Matheson has received word from the Interim President and Provost that Michigan State University will be unable to support the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshop. He has asked that this message be passed on to our friends. Suggestions and comments can be sent to Interim President and Provost, Dr. Lou Anna K. Simon at laksimon@msu.edu, and the Dean of the College of Arts and Letters, Dr. Wendy K. Wilkins at wwilkins@msu.edu. Please copy any messages to clarion@msu.edu.
(Thanks, Mary!)
