The Clarion Writer's Workshop is generally considered to be the leading training ground for science fiction and fantasy writers. Not that I'm biased — I attended the program myself in 2013, where I honed my chops under the mentorship of established writers like Cory Doctorow, who attended the program himself when he was younger. Other alumni include Octavia Butler, Kim Stanley Robinson, Nnedi Okorafor, Carmen Maria Machado, Alyssa Wong, Grady Hendrix, and many, many more.
Despite its pedigree, Clarion is pretty scrappy program, run by teachers and board members who are mostly graduates of the program themselves, and driven by their passion for cutting edge speculative storytelling. In recent years, the program has run a "write-a-thon" fundraiser to help make ends meet. But this year, they're trying something different: an IndieGoGo campaign, welcoming donations but also offering a plethora of exciting rewards. These include signed copies of books and scripts by Clarion alumni, as well as opportunities to have your own writing reviewed by some award-winning authors, or to buy a "Tuckerization," that is, the naming of a character in a story.
As of this writing, the campaign is just over halfway to its $20,000 fundraising goal, with two weeks left to go. In case you're not inspired enough by the mere idea of supporting storytelling innovation in the realm of science fiction and fantasy, here are some of the standout rewards:
- A postcard from Neil Gaiman, written during his first time at Clarion
- Signed copy of Tamsyn Muir's award-winning novel, Gideon the Ninth
- Signed copy of Isabal Yap's award-winning short story collection Never Have I Ever (Yap was one of my classmates, and I reviewed the book for BoingBoing when it came out)
- A Tuckerization in the works of Hugo and Nebula Award finalist Marie Vibbert
- A rare, uncorrected proof of an unpublished Kim Stanley Robinson manuscript
- A story critique session by noted Afrofuturist fiction writer Maurice Broaddus
- An hour-long consultation with climate scientist Tom Wagner
- A rare signed copy of Ted Chiang's short story collection Stories of Yr Life
And here's a little more detail on the Clarion financial situation, as long as topics like the livelihood of professional writers are still in vogue:
This summer, our goal is to raise at least $20,000 in order to bridge the gap in funding for operational costs and for student scholarships.
The current tuition price of $5,150 is a significant sum of money that many early career writers simply can't afford. With the help of generous donations from Clarion alums and supporters we were able to provide over $30,000 of aid this year to our students in the form of full or partial scholarships, but next year we want to do even better.
It's so important that students from marginalized or traditionally underrepresented backgrounds have the same opportunities to enrich the SFF community with their voices, and that a lack of funds don't lead to the next great writers missing out on a life-changing learning experience.
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Additionally, you have the opportunity to donate to a specific scholarship, which are offered to Clarion students based on need and eligibility, or you can choose to fund your very own scholarship for a lucky Clarion 2024 student!
Clarion SF & Fantasy Writers Workshop '23 Campaign [IndieGoGo]
