Clarion West or Clarion West Writers Workshop is a nonprofit literary organization that runs an acclaimed six-week residential workshop every summer, online classes and workshops, one-day and weekend workshops, a reading series every summer, and other events throughout the year.
The Six-Week Workshop is an intensive program for writers preparing for professional careers in speculative fiction, including science fiction, fantasy, and horror. It runs annually from late June through the end of July. The workshop is limited to 18 students per year. Each of the six weeks is instructed by a different professional writer or editor. The roster of guest instructors changes yearly. Founded in Seattle, Washington in 1971, the workshop has been held continuously since 1984. Clarion West is celebrating its 40th anniversary of continuous instruction in 2024.
Other workshops and year-round programs provide highly focused courses with varying length and intensity both online and in-person. Workshops and classes range from one-hour webinars to 4-6 hour intensives and weekend retreats.
The Clarion West board of directors currently includes Shweta Adhyam, Misha Stone, M. Huw Evans, M. L. Krishnan, Jon Lasser, Alexandra Manglis, Tod McCoy, Kris Millering, Zola Mumford, Dominica Phetteplace, Nisi Shawl, Elsa Sjunneson, and Yang-Yang Wang.
The 1971 Clarion West Writers Workshop was founded by Vonda N. McIntyre, a Clarion Workshop graduate and Nebula and Hugo Award-winning author, with the support of original Clarion founder Robin Scott Wilson. It was modeled after the original Clarion Workshop founded in 1968 at Clarion University of Pennsylvania (itself inspired by the Milford Writer's Workshop). The original Clarion Workshop was slated to close after holding final classes in 1970, and the effort was made to establish and continue Clarion workshops in other locations. The 1971 successor workshops that sprang from this effort were Clarion West Workshop founded in Seattle, and Clarion Workshop revived in New Orleans (later moved to Michigan in 1972, and San Diego in 2007). Clarion West operated until 1973, before a hiatus.[1]
In 1984, Clarion West graduate J.T. Stewart and Seattle writer, Marilyn J. Holt, reconvened the workshop with the support of founder Vonda N. McIntyre. Clarion West incorporated as a nonprofit organization with a board of directors in 1986 with the help of many dedicated Clarion West alumni. Currently, the workshop is administered by Jae Steinbacher and Amy Hirayama. Although the workshop is located in close proximity to the University of Washington, it is not associated with the university. It has operated continuously to the present day.[2]
The Six-Week Workshop offers time away from everyday distractions and encouragement to experiment and take artistic risks. The critique sessions are the heart of the workshop: students learn not only by receiving critiques but by reading others’ work and constructing their own critiques. Instructors work directly with attendees to present group critiques of newly written stories, participate in discussions about writing techniques or professional concerns, and hold individual or small-group conferences. Throughout the entire experience, the Clarion West Workshop staff is present to help guide participants and facilitate an inclusive environment.
Clarion West strives to create a workshop environment that models the following core values: Centering and Empowering the Author, Equity, Community, Collaboration, and Innovation and Creativity. Recent changes to their workshop models include staff and instructor training in workshop facilitation, community guidelines, and increased focus on creating a supportive, inspiring, connecting, and empowering environment.
The class lecture and critique runs weekdays from morning to early afternoon. The remainder of the day is typically divided between writing for the next week's story deadline, reading, and preparing critiques. The workload is intense, but breaks and socializing are typical at all hours. Weekends are free time to socialize, explore the local sights, and catch up on unfinished writing and reading.
Each student typically gets a weekly private conference with each instructor to ask questions and gain insight from that professional writer or editor.
Although the focus of the workshop is on speculative fiction, such as science fiction and fantasy, other genres, including horror, comedy, mystery, and literary writing (and mixtures thereof) regularly grace the workshop stories. The workshop focuses on writing and critiquing short stories, but many aspects of novel writing are also discussed in workshop.
The speculative fiction community around the Seattle area has built support for the workshop over the years, and many special events have become part of the Clarion West tradition.
There are a number of class traditions passed down from one class to the next in the manner of a secret society. Traditions that are publicly known include the yearly Clarion West class shirt (designed by the class and limited only to the classmates and instructors of that year),[3] and the practice of presenting unusual gifts to each of the instructors. Classes often come up with new traditions and items to pass on to the next year's class.
Space in the workshop is awarded to the top 18 applicants of all submissions received. The average number of applications is not disclosed and varies year to year.
The application window typically opens December 1 and runs through March 1 for the year attending. Students are usually selected and informed of acceptance by the end of March.<ref>Workshop Application Guidelines: https://www.clarionwest.org/programs/summerworkshop/>
Although Clarion West and Clarion are run independently, they follow the same workshop method and are considered sister schools. Since both workshops run concurrently, students are often encouraged to apply to both workshops to increase their chances of attending that year. Students accepted to both programs must choose their preferred workshop. Each of the schools has similar but distinct guidelines.
Students that graduate one of the Clarion workshops are considered alumni of all the Clarion programs, and may not re-apply for any other Clarion Workshop.
Other Clarion workshops that use the same workshop format, but are independently run include: