The Clarion workshops are not three branches of the same workshop, but rather three independent workshops run on the same basic model. All of the workshops run for six weeks, but they each take place in a different location with a different set of instructors and a different application process. Though you may want to check out the specifics of each location before deciding which to apply for, all of the workshops welcome writers of speculative fiction (fantasy, science fiction, horror, slipstream, magical realism, etc.) who are serious about improving their craft.

History
Clarion was originally founded by Robin Scott Wilson in 1968 at Clarion State College in Pennsylvania. The workshop was based on the format of the Milford Science Fiction Writers’ Conference, a workshop for professional SF writers founded by Damon Knight and Kate Wilhelm. Clarion was hosted from 1972 to 2006 at Michigan State University in East Lansing, and has since moved to UC San Diego.

Clarion West, which was modeled on the original Clarion workshop, has been held each year in Seattle, Washington, since 1984 (with three previous workshops in 1971, 1972, and 1973). The first two Clarion South workshops in Brisbane, Australia, ran in 2004 and 2005, and the workshop has run once every two years since.

What’s It All About?
Each week of the six-week workshop is taught by a different professional author or editor. Some workshops include team-taught weeks, where two professionals share the teaching duties for a two-week period. Each instructor critiques student work and meets with students individually during their week. Students generally aim to write a new story each week, to be critiqued during the workshop. In this way, students continually receive feedback as they complete new work.

Students live and work together in dorms or other communal housing. (It is either required or strongly recommended that students live on campus.) They attend lectures and group critique sessions in the mornings (and sometimes into the afternoon, depending on the number of manuscripts to be workshopped.) Afternoons, evenings, and weekends are spent reading and critiquing fellow students’ work, writing new stories, completing class assignments, meeting with instructors for individual conferences, or attending one of the social events arranged for students. Typical social events include instructor readings, group outings, and weekend parties at the homes of local professionals and fans. The workshop staff and other local supporters are all dedicated to helping students get the most out of the experience.

The Clarion workshops are definitely “boot camps” for writers. The experience is intense, with multiple obligations to juggle while bonding with fellow students and hanging out with instructors and other local professionals. Sleep is often sacrificed in order to finish critiques or complete a new story, so rest up ahead of time, and remember to pace yourself. Though it’s not always easy, the experience can be life-changing.

After the Workshop
Much like Viable Paradise, the Clarion workshops are a once-in-a-lifetime experience unless you come back as part of the staff or an instructor. Applying to the other two workshops once you’ve attended one is generally discouraged. However, students keep in contact with their classmates via mailing lists, online forums, and gatherings at conventions. The community of Clarion, Clarion West, and Clarion South alumni continues to grow, and people from different years of different workshops often bond over the experience. Alumni often meet up at conventions and other events.

Below is a summary of the critical information for all three workshops, as well as links for further reading, to help you find out which workshop might be best for you.

Clarion

• Dates: June 28 through August 8, 2009
• Location: Campus of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD)
• Application Period: Apply January 2 – March 1, 2009. Students will be notified of acceptance by March 20.
• Scholarships are available.
• 2009 Instructors: Holly Black, Larissa Lai, Robert Crais, Kim Stanley Robinson, Elizabeth Hand, and Paul Park
• Read more about Clarion.
• Read more about the 2009 workshop.
• Note: Clarion focuses on short stories only.

Clarion West

• Dates: June 21 through July 31, 2009
• Location: Seattle, Washington
• Application Period: Applications must be received (not postmarked) no later than March 1, 2009 (11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on March 1 if submitting via e-mail). Applications received by February 1, 2009 will receive a $100 tuition reduction. Students will be notified of acceptance by mid-March.
• Scholarships are available.
• 2009 Instructors: John Kessel, Elizabeth Bear, Karen Joy Fowler, Nalo Hopkinson, David G. Hartwell, and Rudy Rucker
• Read more about Clarion West.
• Read more about the 2009 workshop.
• The workshop focuses on short fiction, but students can workshop novel chapters as well.
• The workshop is limited to 18 students.

Clarion South

• Dates: January 4th through February 14th, 2009
• Location: Brisbane, Australia
• Applications: The 2009 workshop is currently in the thick of things. Unlike Clarion and Clarion West, Clarion South runs every two years, so the next workshop will be in January/February of 2011. Look for the application process to start up again in 2010.
• Financial aid is available.
• 2009 Instructors: Sean Williams, Marianne de Pierres, Margo Lanagan, Jack Dann, Kelly Link, and Gavin J. Grant
• Read more about Clarion South
• Student testimonials
• The workshop is limited to 17 students.