I met Kelley at Clarion in 1988 (I’ve talked about this many, many times, such as here and here). Those six weeks changed my life. I’ve also taught Clarion West (as has Kelley). We’re still in touch with our students from those years. We’re still in touch with the teachers and fellow students of our ’88 class.
If you want to be a professional SF writer, there is no better path to follow than the one that begins at Clarion West.
Clarion West ’09 runs from June 21 to July 31. They are now accepting applications. If you want a career in sf, go see how to apply. Teachers this year are John Kessel, Elizabeth Bear, Karen Joy Fowler, Nalo Hopkinson, David G. Hartwell, and Rudy Rucker. That a truly interesting mix of old school and new.
This is one of those topics where I could write thousands of words and still only scratch the surface, so I’ll stop now. But if anyone has any questions–anything at all about Clarion–I’d be delighted to answer them. CW is nothing but a Good Thing.
Nicola Griffith 
I’ve been looking at this since you posted it. It’s a real tease. All six names are on my shelves: great novelist, great short-story writers, great editors, great geeks. I love Rucker’s computational explorations, Hartwell’s anthologies, I’ve read a couple of Bear’s novels and a few stories by Kessel and Hopkinson. Oh, but Karen Joy Fowler… Some of her beginnings are delicious: <>One day Lily decided to be someone else. Someone with a past. It was an affliction of hers, wanting this. The desire was seldom triggered by an actual incident or complaint, but seemed instead to be related to the act or prospect of lateral movement. She felt it every time a train passed.<> Those sentences are stuck in my memory. They come back every so often, when I’m riding the SkyTrain or aching to get out of the apartment. *sigh* I think I’ll have to pass this year, though. Not that they’d even admit me, with all those applications they get… But I have a way with these things. Luck. And I write really good begging letters. I don’t have any moral hangups over including pictures of my starving soul. They almost always work. And if they don’t, I’m very persistent and my camping skills are up to the challenge. But I have to work part-time at UBC this coming summer. And translate full-time at home. So I’m not even going to flirt with the idea anymore. Instead, I’m promising Clarion to myself as a graduation gift. Soon, but not 2009.
I am Clarion East 1974. I would not be where I am today if not for Clarion. I learned so much about writing and simply being a graduate has opened certain doors. David Hartwell is a friend and my editor at The New York Review of Science Fiction. A week with David is worth it, and then you have all those other great folks too. Go if you can!
karina, I actually think you’d get in if you applied. So, yes, apply for 2010. We’ll throw a party at our house. Hey, maybe one of us will even be a teacher that year…chadao, yes, Clarion opens doors. The world isn’t quite the same once you walk through them.
nicola, I’m going to take a screenshot of your comment and put it up on the “Things that Make Me Feel Special” wall. A party at your house? Sweet!If one of you were to teach at the Clarion I get to attend, I’d have to seriously consider the possibility I may have fallen off a stool and banged my head a long time ago and this life is all a dream.