It’s summertime, and in my world that means one thing—it’s SF season! Clarion West is gearing up for the workshop, the new students are traveling to Seattle, and it’s almost time for the round of summer social events to begin.
And the Clarion West Write-a-thon is about to start! I am once again writing for the Write-a-thon, and hoping to get more sponsorships this year than I did last year. (Disclaimer: I am an employee of Clarion West, but I do all fundraising activities on my own time as a volunteer.) This year, I have a goal of finishing three chapters of my new book, currently named Rise of Grace.
My sponsors will get weekly updates and snippets of what I’m writing, and at the end will receive a PDF/ebook of a novelette that I wrote with Storm Wilder a few years ago. Also, three lucky sponsors will get one of two anthologies that my work is in—a print version of Women Destroy Science Fiction, and a print version of Ravens in the Library, a charity anthology.
Clarion West is a big part of my life and has had a huge role in the successes I’ve had as a writer. Not only is the workshop an intense and life-changing experience, but the community around it welcomes and nurtures talent. Clarion West sets up writers not just to write, but to succeed.
If you’re reading this and love what I do, I’m asking you to sponsor me. It doesn’t have to be much–$10, $25, anything helps—and even a small donation shows that you like what I do and want me to keep on doing it.
Even if you don’t sponsor me, we have other fantastic writers participating, like Elizabeth Bear (author of many fine novels, including the recent Steles of the Sky), Cassandra Rose Clarke (author of The Mad Scientist’s Daughter), Stephanie Burgis (author of the Kat, Incorrigible series), and Nalo Hopkinson (author of the recent Sister Mine as well as many other novels). Pick a name you’ve heard of, or pick a writer with an interesting goal or with a fun writing excerpt.
And if you’re a writer, there are six days left to register if you’d like to come along on this ride! Challenge yourself to write for six weeks alongside the workshop. You don’t need to be affiliated with Clarion West in order to write with the Write-a-thon—all are welcome!
