EAST LANSING, Mich. - Science fiction and fantasy writers from across the country will gather this month at Michigan State University for the 33rd annual Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshop.
For more than 25 years, the workshop has brought editors and authors in the science fiction and fantasy writers' realm to the MSU campus for a six-week period. The 2000 Clarion Workshop is being held this summer from June 11 to July 22 in Van Hoosen Hall.
Six nationally recognized science fiction and fantasy writers will conduct the workshop as writers-in-residence, working with 19 apprentice writers. Beth Meacham, executive editor of Tor Books, will join the writers as the guest editor.
"We have a remarkably strong lineup of writers and participants this year," said Lister Matheson, professor of English at MSU and director of the workshop for the past four years. "The writers are an excellent combination of long-established major figures, people in the midst of fine careers and exciting younger authors whose reputations are taking off.
"A common factor is that all of them are fine teachers of their craft. The participants are a diverse group, all united by their writing skills and all, we feel, well able to benefit from the Clarion workshop and experience."
The writers-in-residence this year are Suzy McKee Charnas, Sean Stewart, Tananarive Due, Samuel R. Delany, Gregory Frost and Maureen McHugh.
According to Matheson, the workshop continues to receive enough contributions from external sources and former Clarion participants to be able to give varying scholarships to all participants, based on need and quality of writing.
"Clarion is extremely grateful to organizations such as the Ann Arbor Science Fiction Association; Oregon Science Fiction Conventions Inc.; the New York Science Fiction Society; and to Ray Walsh, owner of Curious Books and The Archives Book Shop, for their annual scholarships. The workshop also relies on the strong continuing loyalty of Clarionites (alumni and friends of Clarion), who contribute generously to various scholarship funds, including the Damon Knight-Kate Wilhelm Endowed Scholarship," Matheson said.
Nineteen competitively selected apprentice writers from across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom have been selected to participate in this year's workshop. Their academic/professional backgrounds include art and design, biology, computer science, economics, English, history, industrial relations, journalism, mathematics, political science and theatre.
In addition to the workshops, nine free public readings and book signing sessions will be held at The Archives Book Shop at 517 W. Grand River in East Lansing and Schuler Books at 2075 W. Grand River in Okemos.
The schedule is as follows:
- Thursday, June 15 - Suzy McKee Charnas, The Archives Book Shop, 7 p.m.
- Thursday, June 22 - Sean Stewart, The Archives Book Shop, 7 p.m.
- Tuesday, June 27 - Tananarive Due, Schuler Books, 7:30 p.m.
- Thursday, June 29 - Tananarive Due, The Archives Book Shop, 7 p.m.
- Thursday, July 6 - Samuel R. Delany, The Archives Book Shop, 7 p.m.
- Tuesday, July 11 - Maureen McHugh and Gregory Frost, Schuler Books, 7:30 p.m.
- Thursday, July 13 - Gregory Frost, The Archives Book Shop, 7 p.m.
- Thursday, July 20 - Maureen McHugh, The Archives Book Shop, 7 p.m.
The Clarion Workshop was founded by Robin Scott Wilson in 1968 at Clarion State College (now Clarion University) in Pennsylvania. Wilson built his system partly on tradition of mutual criticism in use at the Milford Science Fiction Writers' Conference.
Damon Knight and Kate Wilhelm, legendary writers of science fiction and mystery and both directors of the Milford Conference, taught together at Clarion for 27 years and still take a close interest in its doings. The Clarion Workshop was first hosted by Michigan State University in 1972.
Many of its graduates have published since leaving Clarion, including Ed Bryant, Octavia E. Butler, George Alec Effinger, James Patrick Kelly, Vonda McIntyre, Kim Stanley Robinson, Martha Soukup and Bruce Sterling.
For more information about the Clarion Workshop, contact Lister Matheson, College of Arts and Letters, at (517) 355-9598.
2000 Clarion Writers' Biographies
Suzy McKee Charnas was born and educated in New York City, attending Barnard College and New York University. She taught at the New Lincoln School in New York until Flower Fifth Avenue Hospital hired her away as a curriculum consultant for its high school drug abuse treatment program. In 1969, she moved to New Mexico where she began writing fiction full time. Her first novel, "Walk to the End of the World," was a John W. Campbell Award finalist. Her most recent book, "The Conqueror's Child," is her 11th novel. Her science fiction and fantasy books and stories have won her the Hugo, Nebula and the Mythpoeic Society's Award for young-adult fantasy. Charnas recently turned her novella "Unicom Tapestry" into a play, which appeared off-Broadway in October 1999. She will be at MSU June 11-16.
Sean Stewart was born in Lubbock, Texas, but raised in Canada. He spent his childhood summers in Texas and his winter in northern Alberta. Stewart's work experience includes roofing, database management and playing Alfred the Christmas Elf in shopping mall promotions. He lives in Monterey, Calif., with his wife and two daughters. His works include "Passion Play," "Nobody's Son," "Resurrection Man," "Clouds End," "The Night Watch" and the 1999 World Fantasy Award nominee "Mockingbird." His latest novel, "Galveston," was released in April 2000. He will be at MSU June 18-23.
Tananarive Due is part of a generation of writers taking African-American fiction into new, unusual directions. Her novels "My Soul to Keep" and "The Between" are journeys into supernatural suspense, bringing a unique flavor and sensibility that keep readers awake at night. Both novels were finalists for the Horror Writers Association's Bram Stoker Awards. Due is a former feature writer and columnist for The Miami Herald. She has a B.S. in journalism from Northwestern University and an M.A. in English literature from the University of Leeds, England. Due has taught at the University of Miami and at the summer conferences at Cleveland State University. She lives in Longview, Wash., with her husband, science fiction novelist Steven Barnes. She will be at MSU June 25-30.
Samuel R. Delany is a longtime friend and regular instructor of the Clarion Workshop. A freelance writer since 1962, Delany is best known for his works "Babel-17," "Dahigren" and "Triton." Recently he has published several book-length collections of nonfiction memoirs and literary criticism including "The Motion of Light and WaterSex and Science Fiction in the East Village," "Silent Interviews on Language, Race, Sex, Science Fiction and Comics" and "Longer Views Extended Essays." He is a professor of English at the State University of New York at Buffalo. He also for many years was a professor of comparative literature at the University of Massachusetts. He also has been a visiting scholar at a number of universities, including Michigan State University Honors College Cole Visiting Professor in 1997. Delany is a multiple Nebula winner, a recipient of the Science Fiction Research Association's Pilgrim Award and the Bill Whitehead Award for Lifetime Achievement in Lesbian and Gay Publishing. He will be at MSU July 2-7.
Gregory Frost is a graduate of the University of Iowa, the Clarion Workshop and many Sycamore Hill Writers' Workshops. He is an actor who's low-budget horror and science fiction films include "The Laughing Dead" and "New Genesis Twilight of the Dogs." Frost is also the author of two epic fantasy novels "Tain" and "Remscela" and several short stories including "How Meersh the Bedeviler Lost His Toes," which was named as a finalist for the 1999 Theodore Sturgeon Awards. This is Frost's second year as a Clarion instructor. He will be at MSU July 9-22.
Maureen McHugh grew up in Ohio, moved to New York City, and then spent a year in Shijiazhaung, China. Her first novel, "China Mountain Zhang" was nominated for the Nebula and Hugo Awards; won the Tiptree Award; a Lambda; the Locus Poll Award for Best First Novel; was an Editor's Choice for The New York Times Book Review; and recently received the Spectrum Hall of Fame Award. She has also published "Half the Day is Night" and 20 pieces of short fiction. McHugh also won a Hugo for Best Short Story for "The Lincoln Train." Her latest novel, "Mission Child," was an Honorable Mention in Gary K. Wolfe's list of the year's top five books in Locus. She lives in Twinsburg, Ohio. McHugh will be at MSU July 9-22.
This year's apprentice writers are:
Jennifer Baumer - Reno, Nev.
Jeff Cross - Waterloo, Ontario
Stuart Dudley Dimond III - Round Rock, Texas
Arthur Dorrance - Danville, Pa.
Linda Dunn - Greenfield, Ind.
Chris Evans - Kitchener, Ontario
David Findlay - Toronto, Ontario
Paula Fleming - Minneapolis, Minn.
James Gilmer - Howell, Mich.
Gavin Grant - Brighton, Mass.
Derek James - Plano, Texas
Susannah Mandel - Framingham, Mass.
Joe Murphy - Fairbanks, Ark.
Mark Rudolph - New Albany, Ind.
Kelly Searsmith - Boone, N.C.
Trey Thoelke - Westmont, Ill.
Karen Traviss - Southsea, Hampshire, UK
Stacey Wenkel - Erie, Colo.
Adam Young - Albion, Mich.