Clarion '09 Application time!

Clarion 2009's application period is January 2 - March 1, so time to get cracking, you guys! They seem to be planning to accept as they go, so getcher best short stories of 2500-6000 words polished and submitted, and I hope to see you here next summer -- and I'll be volunteering to be an errand monkey for the '09ers, so if you feel like ordering a mod around, here's your chance

Seriously though, Clarion really was one of the best experiences of my life. It was a blast, I madewonderful friends, and it seems to have gotten me to the point where I am actually selling things some. And this year's instructor lineup looks great again -- Holly Black, Larissa Lai, Robert Crais, Kim Stanley Robinson, Elizabeth Hand, and Paul Park.

ETA: Yes, it's expensive. But there are scholarships.

Er, incidentally, any questions about that?

maxmordon said:

Eh... What's Clarion?

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Click on the link
http://clarion.ucsd.edu

Tburger said:

I'd LOVE to attend Clarion, unfortunately I can't take time off my job, and my kids are all under the age of six (meaning my wife would kill me if I disappeared for six weeks).

I barely find the time to write as it is.

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Yeah, it's tough. People often don't get to Clarion without major sacrifice, and it's only worth it for some of them. In my class there was one mother with children under 6, there were three or four people who took the opportunity to move (house/state/country) and were not necessarily sure what was going to face them on the flip side, and there were at least a couple who had to quit their job and hope to find another on on the other end. People were broke, people were stressed, relationships were certainly stressed (mine least of all since it was where I live, and the class sort of adopted Mr. Shweta, but there was stress). We were a pretty no-drama year, but there are often Clarion relationships, Clarion brakups, Clarion divorces; there are Clarion marriages too but one hears about the others more.

It's not a light decision to make. But if there's ever a point where it becomes possible -- and if you're the sort of person who can deal with other people for 6 weeks straight -- well, I can't recommend it highly enough. If I am a writer, Clarion made me one

Phoebe H said:

And here's the link to Clarion West, which is held in Seattle from June 21 - July 31. Clarion West is accepting applications now, and has the same deadline of March 1.

Instructors are: John Kessel, Elizabeth Bear, Karen Joy Fowler, Nalo Hopkinson, David G Hartwell, and Rudy Rucker.

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Aw man, I so want to say Clariondiego is better, cause then I get to meet AWers, but Karen was one of my instructors and she's fabulous, and taught me so much even though I spent half the week fangirling at her. And Nalo taught Clarion '08 and I would love to spend a week learning from her, and Bear!

*sigh*
So people, apply to them both

Alan Yee said:

On the other hand, it IS expensive, and I frankly don't think I'd be able to stand living away from home for six weeks, even it isn't very far away.

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SPMiller said:

Yeah, the cost is killer for younguns like me. And when I do have the money to spare, I'll be weighed down by too many responsibilities to actually go.

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SCHOLARSHIPS PEOPLE. For reals they exist, from the few hundred bucks to the all expenses paid. And at least one of the Clarion '08ers had LJ donations make up several hundred dollars of his expenses. This is a community that believes in paying it forward. Srsly if you get in, and you want it enough, the money will find a way to exist. I would auction art for either of you younguns, if it comes to it

Alan, I actually did have to spend some time at home during the workshop -- wednesday nights, so I could go get an allergy shot thursday mornings. We managed. The folks are flexible at need.

Coping with people, that's harder -- you need to decide that yourself. These are however people who will understand that when you're staring at the wall at odd times, you are working. It's going back out into the real world that's hardest for a lot of us

NicoleMD said:

I'm thinking of applying for Clarion West because I'm more familiar with the instructors. I'd love to get the chance to peek into Rudy Rucker's brain. It's a rare person that can have me rolling on the floor laughing a page into the book.

Nicole

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Always a good plan. I applied for Clarion my year because I was a screaming fangirl of four of the six instructors going in.

However.
It doesn't really hurt to apply to both if you can afford to. Here's the deciding question: if you didn't get into Clarion West and did get into Clarion (or vice versa), would you go? If the answer's yes, do apply to both. You can always tell one "no" when they both come begging you to join

Kitty Pryde said:

for clarion/clarion west alums, umm, how do you keep from being a swooning fangirl around some of these awesome authors? if i met kim stanley robinson, i would scream and then faint on the ground like a fourteen year old elvis fan.

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You wouldn't do it for long. We only saw Stan Robinson for the first day but he's rather a dear

I spent several days being a fainting fangirl at Karen Joy Fowler. Pretty sure some of my classmates did something of the sort for Cory Doctorow. It happens. But I think the real answer is that when these people are treating you like a junior colleague and taking your writing seriously, how can you not respond as a writer?

one time i sent rudy rucker an email, and when he emailed me back (and mentioned it on his blog!) i was so thrilled could barely string together a coherent sentence all day...yes i really am this much of a dork.

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So am I! But the context really is everything, in my experience. You're at Clarion. You're not in the real world.

It's... hard to explain

You could come here, like my classmate from Harrow did, and be amazed that the sea's warm enough to swim in