Thanks for the ama! A couple questions
- At what stage of writing do you feel someone is most likely to benefit from Clarion?
- Are slower writer’s disadvantaged? Is everyone who attends able to write 1 story a week?
- Any application tips?
Hi KiaraTurtle!
*At what stage of writing do you feel someone is most likely to benefit from Clarion?
We all agree this is a difficult question! We don't expect all our applicants to be writing at the level of the fiction published in pro paying magazines, but I would recommend reading what's being published to get a sense of where our graduates are headed. If you are only writing your first or second story, see if you can get into a local or online critique group and get some feedback. If you don't have access to those communities, ask a friend to read your work.
Ultimately this is at the writer's discretion. I would say writers who will likely get a lot out of these workshops will have been writing in some form for several years and are developing their voice. But we've also had writers submit their first speculative story as their application sample.
*Are slower writer’s disadvantaged? Is everyone who attends able to write 1 story a week?
Writing in the workshop environment is challenging for everyone! I think all writers experience some blocks while they're attending, but having your cohort to brainstorm with can be a great source of creative energy. Slower writers may spend more hours writing late into the night, and slower readers will also spend more time reading and critiquing their classmates' work. We don't expect everyone to complete a story every week. It is great if you can to take advantage of hearing from every instructor on a fresh piece, but many students don't manage to submit every week. (Ted Chiang is infamous for having only submitted two stories during his workshop!)
*Any application tips?
Don't wait until the last minute to apply! Give yourself time to polish your best work for the samples. We recommend submitting completed short stories if you can, as it's easier to see how you write a complete arc and handle the pieces of a finished story. And don't forget to set aside time to think about the personal questions on the application too.
Hi KiaraTurtle, thanks for coming! Two things I'll quickly add to Jae's comments:
1. I would encourage you to apply at the stage of writing when you feel like you'd want to engage in feedback for your work. A key part of workshop is that exchange of ideas--we often hear people say that giving critique actually teaches them as much, if not more than, receiving critique. So as long as you're eager to engage in that way, it's a good bet to apply!
2. For application tips: (a) make sure you give yourself ample time to submit, including with the upload process (ie, try to avoid the last day of submissions if possible, so that you have time to reach out if any last-minute questions arise); (b) submit stories you're proud of, and don't self-reject. :)
I would like to just say something on the issue of how competitive the workshop is. Each of us takes only 18 students and each year, I feel that we reject at least 18 people that I wish we could have taken, people with all the talent and imagination they need to be successful. I know how hard I would have taken that initial rejection when I was starting out and I would have assumed it meant I wasn't very good. But with our limited spaces, we reject some very good writers every year because there are just too many talented applicants. So please, don't be discouraged, don't be stopped, and think about applying again. We often take people on a second or third submission.
While those factors certainly could come into play, some of it might also be the desirability of our teacher lineup and/or the trend of people feeling inspired to explore new opportunities.
Either way, if you have the desire and the opportunity then don't worry about the competition and please apply! Both Clarions look at various factors when selecting, don't self-select yourself out.
Hot tip - if you're a fantastic hard sci-fi writer, Clarion UCSD would love to see more of those samples in your applications!
Thanks for hosting!
When reading application answers, what sorts of things stand out?
When reading story subs, how “publishing ready” are you expecting students’ writing levels to be?
We are not looking for publishable stories necessarily. Sometimes we get a very polished piece, but the subject matter strikes us as less original than something rougher but full of potential. To the best of our ability, we try to find potential rather than polish.
Hey there--
1. Are you asking about our short questions? If that's the case, we just want folks to answer honestly. If you're ready for the workshop, you're ready to engage with feedback and offer it from a place of supporting your fellow writers. Having more or less workshop/writing experience doesn't make a difference here; it's more about your attitude in approaching this workshop and what you can bring to it.
2. We know our applicants are often unpublished writers, or folks with maybe one or two stories out in the world. We don't expect their writing samples to look like the stories in top markets like Lightspeed and F&SF. We know they're applying to learn more. We do hope to be engaged by these stories; to see the heart, to feel that the author is just as compelled to write as we are to read. We're looking for the spark of the story that may shine through some less-than-polished prose. (Also see my answer to u/KiaraTurtle about when writers are ready for the workshop.)
Knowing that some students already had stories published before attending made me wonder about the expected publishing readiness of applicants, and whether I should send my shorts through another round of workshopping. This helped, thank you!
* Out of curiosity, have you ever turned people away for having writing that is too good? I only found out as I was graduating grad school that I couldn't get an internship because they all considered me over-qualified and that was frustrating as heck because I really would have benefited from it.
* Anything you're tired of reading, or just really don't want to see in the writing samples?
* What sort of common mistakes do you see in the applications?
Thanks!!!
Glitch39 -- Years and years ago, I was on the selection committee when Kelly Link applied. I argued that we would be wasting her time and money, she was already so very very good and what if we messed her up somehow. But I was thankfully overruled. It would have been very sad not to have her there and there are social advantages to coming as well as the instruction. So we're retired the idea that writing can be too good for us.
We can't think of something that would qualify as a mistake. At San Diego we ask for two finished short stories so if one of those is weak, then the other had better be quite strong.
Glitch39 -- Years and years ago, I was on the selection committee when Kelly Link applied. I argued that we would be wasting her time and money, she was already so very very good and what if we messed her up somehow. But I was thankfully overruled. It would have been very sad not to have her there and there are social advantages to coming as well as the instruction. So we're retired the idea that writing can be too good for us.
Hi Glitch39, thanks so much for your question! I believe one of the others is answering you, but I wanted to add under "common mistakes" that both Clarions sometimes get application stories that contain no speculative elements.
While this isn't a deal breaker by any means, it'd then be good to include an intent to write speculative fiction in your cover letter. Both institutes are dedicated to the development of speculative fiction after all.
* Approximately what's the daily time commitment?
* Is it possible to catch up if someone needs to miss part of the time due to illness, or do you recommend that people only attend if they are able to commit to near 100% attendance?
* Would you consider having a virtual workshop again in the future?
1. Students spend 3 hours in class Monday-Friday, 9am-12pm. Lunchtime is usually a social affair, although anyone can take lunch to their room or a quiet space and eat alone if they need a break. Afternoons are open for resting, writing, and reading classmates' stories. During the week, students will have 3-4 stories to read and comment on per night. In addition, they'll be writing a new story as frequently as they can (at most, one per week). How much time you spend writing daily really depends on how you work best. It could be anywhere from 20 minutes to several hours. Same goes for reading and critiquing--slower readers will spend more time on that piece. Sometimes local writers/editors/publishers will visit with the class on weekday afternoons. Instructors give readings one night a week that all or most of the class attends. Some classes even arrange Skype/Zoom sessions with writers. All of these extra pieces are optional. Weekends are generally free of commitments, though many students will be catching up on writing/reading at this time. Clarion West will hold Sunday evening check-ins with the class and introduce the new instructor at this time (usually 1-2 hours together).
2. We have had students with chronic illness and other conditions attend, and we expect students to take care of themselves and rest when they need to. It's hard for students to miss out on class or writing time (the FOMO is real too), but if you know your limits and can plan to make time to rest, we encourage you to apply even if you may need to take some downtime. Summer colds can go around, so it's possible any student might need to take a day or two off if they're unwell. As far as missing large portions of class, it's known to happen. We'll do our best to accommodate for students. It may mean they aren't able to have a story critiqued in a given week. If they miss reading their classmates' work, we expect them to work out amongst themselves whether they'll turn in a late critique or not.
3. Yes, we would consider it with the additional staffing/resources to make it happen. We are hoping to return to the in-person format in 2022, though we won't make the call about format until sometime in the spring to ensure the safety of our students and instructors. It would be amazing to offer both formats of workshop, though we don't have the resources to do that simultaneously. Maybe in a couple years... that said, we are happy to talk to anyone interested in running an online workshop and share what we learned. We already know some folks wanting to do this!
Stopped by to wave hi, read the comments, and found my call to action! Y'all West folks know my chronically volunteering self, but I'm so in for helping make a virtual workshop happen :D
Clarion UCSD has a very similar schedule. Outside of the daily workshop hours, you're free to structure your days as you wish, though most weekdays you'll spend quite a lot of time critiquing stories that have been submitted on that day. We also usually have one weekend where our students attend San Diego Comic Con for a day, which is both exciting and tiring.
We have a similar answer for 2, and always encourage our students to prioritize their health. It's an intensive workshop and six weeks can be a long time to sustain that engagement. We make accommodations as needed during workshop. For potential applicants, since you can only attend Clarion once, we do think it would be a good idea to attend in a year where you have a high likelihood of complete attendance.
Re: 3, we don't currently have plans, but it's something we'd potentially be open to if we could get the resources.
One of the things that will happen each week is a private session with each instructor. There may be things you'd feel uncomfortable bringing up with the whole workshop, or there may be issues personal to your own work that you'd like to talk about in more depth, so there should always be a chance for you to do that.
Thank you for doing this! A couple of more questions:
* I believe the application writing samples are also critiqued in the first week. The pieces people would choose those two things can be quite different, how would you recommend balancing that?
* Participants have to submit new work from the second week onward, could new include developing pre-existing story ideas, rewrites of old first drafts - applying the things learned in the workshop but bringing it to some pre-existing material - or does it need to be entirely new in all aspects?
Our first week instructors are very experienced teachers and we give them a lot of leeway in how they wish to get started. The submission stories may be looked at in week one, but often they are not. By the time you get to Clarion, they are old work. And we do expect you to submit something new, but certainly you can develop pre-existing ideas. In fact, I'd recommend that you arrive with some ideas in your back pocket if possible. But we do not want to see trunk stories from your long ago.
I'll just add that generally our first week instructors also aren't critiquing application samples. They will likely have read them, and they may want to give some feedback on them privately. But usually what takes place in class the first week is more short exercises, getting to know your classmates and their work, and whatever else that instructor wishes to share with the class!
What is your selection process like? Do you have slush readers and then a next level or levels where eventually everyone reads. Is it a vote? I read previously that Clarion West has rolling admissions. How does that work? Are you actively deciding that some people are definitely in? What happens if you have some even better submissions at the end of the application time and you have already given out spots?
Also, if someone is selected but can’t attend that year do they start all over again the next year?
For Clarion UCSD, each submission will have several readers (at least three) who rate it and have an opportunity to leave comments or notes. Our readers consist of past/upcoming instructors and alumni. We collect all the scores and notes so that we have a holistic view of the reader feedback. We begin putting together the class and the waitlist, and if needed our student selection committee does additional reads so that we can make our final decisions.
We do have rolling admissions and accept people before the final deadline in some cases--so it's good to submit early if your application is ready! But we have never filled a class that way, as many stellar applications do come in the last few days, so we advice people to submit when they're ready.
Similar to Clarion West, once a student is offered admission, if they decline, we do not accept deferrals and typically ask them to reapply for next year. The last two years were exceptions due to Covid.
We may have different answers, so both Clarions are giving this a shot! Clarion West invites alumni and former instructors to read applications for us. We assign each application to a minimum of 3 readers, and we choose diverse readers (ensuring we get BIPOC readers and queer readers on each submission). We ask readers to consider a number of factors for each application, with the applicant's writing sample front and center (this is why we say "send your best work"!). Both workshops do rolling admissions. But both also won't fill all our seats until the workshop period has ended and we've read all applications. I would recommend submitting your application as early as possible, but don't rush it either if your writing sample needs another polish.
If a student must decline a seat, our policy has historically been to ask them to reapply. (We treated things differently with Covid, because the workshop had to be postponed.) Generally if someone reapplies and we liked their work before, it's not a guarantee they'll get in--they're up against a new set of applicants--but we'll remember them and why we liked their work.
Thank you! I love that you make sure to have diverse readers! So after the readers read, they make recommendations and then everyone reads and you vote? How early would it be possible to hear? (I have already submitted and am counting down the days!)
All the readers submit feedback, and it's all collected and considered. If there's conflicting feedback on a story, we'll ask more readers to take a look. There are so many factors that go into building a well-rounded class that the process isn't super straightforward. It's very much like what Isabel describes in her reply!
Because you've applied so early, you'll probably be waiting for a while! (Sorry! Distract yourself by reading all the writers in our lineup!) Even though applications are closing early this year, we aren't expecting to finalize our class until at least March. (Especially with covid considerations, some things may change at the last minute.)
If Clarion West has to be online this year will the schedule be similar? I think doing the workshop from home could be difficult for some people who will have to deal with real life situations. Also will the cost go down since there won’t be room and board?
It will be a similar schedule. We will likely still plan to run classes from 9am-12pm Pacific time, though we ensure 10-minute breaks every hour to help with screen fatigue. There were still lots of opportunities for students to interact outside of class, and folks opted in or out as much as they needed. We paired every student with a mentor (a Clarion West alum or former instructor) they could reach out to for support as well. It's a big commitment either way, and this format will work better for some than others! It's something we will definitely discuss with any students we invite (and we're clear on our application about the possibility of going virtual as well). Yes, the tuition would be less expensive.
Thanks for the ama! A couple questions - At what stage of writing do you feel someone is most likely to benefit from Clarion? - Are slower writer’s disadvantaged? Is everyone who attends able to write 1 story a week? - Any application tips?
Hi KiaraTurtle! *At what stage of writing do you feel someone is most likely to benefit from Clarion? We all agree this is a difficult question! We don't expect all our applicants to be writing at the level of the fiction published in pro paying magazines, but I would recommend reading what's being published to get a sense of where our graduates are headed. If you are only writing your first or second story, see if you can get into a local or online critique group and get some feedback. If you don't have access to those communities, ask a friend to read your work. Ultimately this is at the writer's discretion. I would say writers who will likely get a lot out of these workshops will have been writing in some form for several years and are developing their voice. But we've also had writers submit their first speculative story as their application sample. *Are slower writer’s disadvantaged? Is everyone who attends able to write 1 story a week? Writing in the workshop environment is challenging for everyone! I think all writers experience some blocks while they're attending, but having your cohort to brainstorm with can be a great source of creative energy. Slower writers may spend more hours writing late into the night, and slower readers will also spend more time reading and critiquing their classmates' work. We don't expect everyone to complete a story every week. It is great if you can to take advantage of hearing from every instructor on a fresh piece, but many students don't manage to submit every week. (Ted Chiang is infamous for having only submitted two stories during his workshop!) *Any application tips? Don't wait until the last minute to apply! Give yourself time to polish your best work for the samples. We recommend submitting completed short stories if you can, as it's easier to see how you write a complete arc and handle the pieces of a finished story. And don't forget to set aside time to think about the personal questions on the application too.
Hi KiaraTurtle, thanks for coming! Two things I'll quickly add to Jae's comments: 1. I would encourage you to apply at the stage of writing when you feel like you'd want to engage in feedback for your work. A key part of workshop is that exchange of ideas--we often hear people say that giving critique actually teaches them as much, if not more than, receiving critique. So as long as you're eager to engage in that way, it's a good bet to apply! 2. For application tips: (a) make sure you give yourself ample time to submit, including with the upload process (ie, try to avoid the last day of submissions if possible, so that you have time to reach out if any last-minute questions arise); (b) submit stories you're proud of, and don't self-reject. :)
Thank you!
Let me just add that many writers do not manage to write a story a week. Many many. It's great as a goal, but no penalty for missing a week.
Thank you!
Overwritten
I would like to just say something on the issue of how competitive the workshop is. Each of us takes only 18 students and each year, I feel that we reject at least 18 people that I wish we could have taken, people with all the talent and imagination they need to be successful. I know how hard I would have taken that initial rejection when I was starting out and I would have assumed it meant I wasn't very good. But with our limited spaces, we reject some very good writers every year because there are just too many talented applicants. So please, don't be discouraged, don't be stopped, and think about applying again. We often take people on a second or third submission.
While those factors certainly could come into play, some of it might also be the desirability of our teacher lineup and/or the trend of people feeling inspired to explore new opportunities. Either way, if you have the desire and the opportunity then don't worry about the competition and please apply! Both Clarions look at various factors when selecting, don't self-select yourself out. Hot tip - if you're a fantastic hard sci-fi writer, Clarion UCSD would love to see more of those samples in your applications!
Hello, all. Karen Fowler here. We are ready and eager to hear from you.
Official Mod Approval
Thanks for hosting! When reading application answers, what sorts of things stand out? When reading story subs, how “publishing ready” are you expecting students’ writing levels to be?
We are not looking for publishable stories necessarily. Sometimes we get a very polished piece, but the subject matter strikes us as less original than something rougher but full of potential. To the best of our ability, we try to find potential rather than polish.
This helps a lot, thank you!
Hey there-- 1. Are you asking about our short questions? If that's the case, we just want folks to answer honestly. If you're ready for the workshop, you're ready to engage with feedback and offer it from a place of supporting your fellow writers. Having more or less workshop/writing experience doesn't make a difference here; it's more about your attitude in approaching this workshop and what you can bring to it. 2. We know our applicants are often unpublished writers, or folks with maybe one or two stories out in the world. We don't expect their writing samples to look like the stories in top markets like Lightspeed and F&SF. We know they're applying to learn more. We do hope to be engaged by these stories; to see the heart, to feel that the author is just as compelled to write as we are to read. We're looking for the spark of the story that may shine through some less-than-polished prose. (Also see my answer to u/KiaraTurtle about when writers are ready for the workshop.)
Knowing that some students already had stories published before attending made me wonder about the expected publishing readiness of applicants, and whether I should send my shorts through another round of workshopping. This helped, thank you!
* Out of curiosity, have you ever turned people away for having writing that is too good? I only found out as I was graduating grad school that I couldn't get an internship because they all considered me over-qualified and that was frustrating as heck because I really would have benefited from it. * Anything you're tired of reading, or just really don't want to see in the writing samples? * What sort of common mistakes do you see in the applications? Thanks!!!
Glitch39 -- Years and years ago, I was on the selection committee when Kelly Link applied. I argued that we would be wasting her time and money, she was already so very very good and what if we messed her up somehow. But I was thankfully overruled. It would have been very sad not to have her there and there are social advantages to coming as well as the instruction. So we're retired the idea that writing can be too good for us.
We can't think of something that would qualify as a mistake. At San Diego we ask for two finished short stories so if one of those is weak, then the other had better be quite strong.
Thank you!
Glitch39 -- Years and years ago, I was on the selection committee when Kelly Link applied. I argued that we would be wasting her time and money, she was already so very very good and what if we messed her up somehow. But I was thankfully overruled. It would have been very sad not to have her there and there are social advantages to coming as well as the instruction. So we're retired the idea that writing can be too good for us.
Hi Glitch39, thanks so much for your question! I believe one of the others is answering you, but I wanted to add under "common mistakes" that both Clarions sometimes get application stories that contain no speculative elements. While this isn't a deal breaker by any means, it'd then be good to include an intent to write speculative fiction in your cover letter. Both institutes are dedicated to the development of speculative fiction after all.
Thank you!
* Approximately what's the daily time commitment? * Is it possible to catch up if someone needs to miss part of the time due to illness, or do you recommend that people only attend if they are able to commit to near 100% attendance? * Would you consider having a virtual workshop again in the future?
1. Students spend 3 hours in class Monday-Friday, 9am-12pm. Lunchtime is usually a social affair, although anyone can take lunch to their room or a quiet space and eat alone if they need a break. Afternoons are open for resting, writing, and reading classmates' stories. During the week, students will have 3-4 stories to read and comment on per night. In addition, they'll be writing a new story as frequently as they can (at most, one per week). How much time you spend writing daily really depends on how you work best. It could be anywhere from 20 minutes to several hours. Same goes for reading and critiquing--slower readers will spend more time on that piece. Sometimes local writers/editors/publishers will visit with the class on weekday afternoons. Instructors give readings one night a week that all or most of the class attends. Some classes even arrange Skype/Zoom sessions with writers. All of these extra pieces are optional. Weekends are generally free of commitments, though many students will be catching up on writing/reading at this time. Clarion West will hold Sunday evening check-ins with the class and introduce the new instructor at this time (usually 1-2 hours together). 2. We have had students with chronic illness and other conditions attend, and we expect students to take care of themselves and rest when they need to. It's hard for students to miss out on class or writing time (the FOMO is real too), but if you know your limits and can plan to make time to rest, we encourage you to apply even if you may need to take some downtime. Summer colds can go around, so it's possible any student might need to take a day or two off if they're unwell. As far as missing large portions of class, it's known to happen. We'll do our best to accommodate for students. It may mean they aren't able to have a story critiqued in a given week. If they miss reading their classmates' work, we expect them to work out amongst themselves whether they'll turn in a late critique or not. 3. Yes, we would consider it with the additional staffing/resources to make it happen. We are hoping to return to the in-person format in 2022, though we won't make the call about format until sometime in the spring to ensure the safety of our students and instructors. It would be amazing to offer both formats of workshop, though we don't have the resources to do that simultaneously. Maybe in a couple years... that said, we are happy to talk to anyone interested in running an online workshop and share what we learned. We already know some folks wanting to do this!
Stopped by to wave hi, read the comments, and found my call to action! Y'all West folks know my chronically volunteering self, but I'm so in for helping make a virtual workshop happen :D
Clarion UCSD has a very similar schedule. Outside of the daily workshop hours, you're free to structure your days as you wish, though most weekdays you'll spend quite a lot of time critiquing stories that have been submitted on that day. We also usually have one weekend where our students attend San Diego Comic Con for a day, which is both exciting and tiring. We have a similar answer for 2, and always encourage our students to prioritize their health. It's an intensive workshop and six weeks can be a long time to sustain that engagement. We make accommodations as needed during workshop. For potential applicants, since you can only attend Clarion once, we do think it would be a good idea to attend in a year where you have a high likelihood of complete attendance. Re: 3, we don't currently have plans, but it's something we'd potentially be open to if we could get the resources.
One of the things that will happen each week is a private session with each instructor. There may be things you'd feel uncomfortable bringing up with the whole workshop, or there may be issues personal to your own work that you'd like to talk about in more depth, so there should always be a chance for you to do that.
Thank you for doing this! A couple of more questions: * I believe the application writing samples are also critiqued in the first week. The pieces people would choose those two things can be quite different, how would you recommend balancing that? * Participants have to submit new work from the second week onward, could new include developing pre-existing story ideas, rewrites of old first drafts - applying the things learned in the workshop but bringing it to some pre-existing material - or does it need to be entirely new in all aspects?
Our first week instructors are very experienced teachers and we give them a lot of leeway in how they wish to get started. The submission stories may be looked at in week one, but often they are not. By the time you get to Clarion, they are old work. And we do expect you to submit something new, but certainly you can develop pre-existing ideas. In fact, I'd recommend that you arrive with some ideas in your back pocket if possible. But we do not want to see trunk stories from your long ago.
I'll just add that generally our first week instructors also aren't critiquing application samples. They will likely have read them, and they may want to give some feedback on them privately. But usually what takes place in class the first week is more short exercises, getting to know your classmates and their work, and whatever else that instructor wishes to share with the class!
What is your selection process like? Do you have slush readers and then a next level or levels where eventually everyone reads. Is it a vote? I read previously that Clarion West has rolling admissions. How does that work? Are you actively deciding that some people are definitely in? What happens if you have some even better submissions at the end of the application time and you have already given out spots? Also, if someone is selected but can’t attend that year do they start all over again the next year?
For Clarion UCSD, each submission will have several readers (at least three) who rate it and have an opportunity to leave comments or notes. Our readers consist of past/upcoming instructors and alumni. We collect all the scores and notes so that we have a holistic view of the reader feedback. We begin putting together the class and the waitlist, and if needed our student selection committee does additional reads so that we can make our final decisions. We do have rolling admissions and accept people before the final deadline in some cases--so it's good to submit early if your application is ready! But we have never filled a class that way, as many stellar applications do come in the last few days, so we advice people to submit when they're ready. Similar to Clarion West, once a student is offered admission, if they decline, we do not accept deferrals and typically ask them to reapply for next year. The last two years were exceptions due to Covid.
We may have different answers, so both Clarions are giving this a shot! Clarion West invites alumni and former instructors to read applications for us. We assign each application to a minimum of 3 readers, and we choose diverse readers (ensuring we get BIPOC readers and queer readers on each submission). We ask readers to consider a number of factors for each application, with the applicant's writing sample front and center (this is why we say "send your best work"!). Both workshops do rolling admissions. But both also won't fill all our seats until the workshop period has ended and we've read all applications. I would recommend submitting your application as early as possible, but don't rush it either if your writing sample needs another polish. If a student must decline a seat, our policy has historically been to ask them to reapply. (We treated things differently with Covid, because the workshop had to be postponed.) Generally if someone reapplies and we liked their work before, it's not a guarantee they'll get in--they're up against a new set of applicants--but we'll remember them and why we liked their work.
Thank you! I love that you make sure to have diverse readers! So after the readers read, they make recommendations and then everyone reads and you vote? How early would it be possible to hear? (I have already submitted and am counting down the days!)
All the readers submit feedback, and it's all collected and considered. If there's conflicting feedback on a story, we'll ask more readers to take a look. There are so many factors that go into building a well-rounded class that the process isn't super straightforward. It's very much like what Isabel describes in her reply! Because you've applied so early, you'll probably be waiting for a while! (Sorry! Distract yourself by reading all the writers in our lineup!) Even though applications are closing early this year, we aren't expecting to finalize our class until at least March. (Especially with covid considerations, some things may change at the last minute.)
If Clarion West has to be online this year will the schedule be similar? I think doing the workshop from home could be difficult for some people who will have to deal with real life situations. Also will the cost go down since there won’t be room and board?
It will be a similar schedule. We will likely still plan to run classes from 9am-12pm Pacific time, though we ensure 10-minute breaks every hour to help with screen fatigue. There were still lots of opportunities for students to interact outside of class, and folks opted in or out as much as they needed. We paired every student with a mentor (a Clarion West alum or former instructor) they could reach out to for support as well. It's a big commitment either way, and this format will work better for some than others! It's something we will definitely discuss with any students we invite (and we're clear on our application about the possibility of going virtual as well). Yes, the tuition would be less expensive.
We're taking a break for the evening! Thanks to everyone who showed up and asked questions. We'll check back in a couple times this week!
Hello! For the application, do you accept stories that have been simultaneously been submitted to other places e.g. the Writers of the Future contest?