The Unbearable Solitude of Being an African Fangirl

Striking, illuminating, and poignant. The author, Chinelo Onwualu, is a young Nigerian author, graduate of the Clarion West Writers Workshop (more proof, if any were needed, that Clarion is the gold standard for speculative fiction writers). You can read one of her stories here on Ideomancer: ( Read more... )

Well, I did not get accepted to Clarion West. It was a very complimentary and encouraging rejection ("very competitive group...our readers were impressed with your work...please apply again..blah blah blah") which of course I immediately think, "Oh, that's what they tell everyone ( Read more... )

...to hear from Clarion, so meanwhile I distract myself with voting for the best sci-fi tv ever and videos like "Harry Potter in 99 (Musical) Seconds":

I applied to Clarion West. I'm scared now.

( Read more... )

Clarion West just announced their author/teacher lineup for 2013: Elizabeth Hand, Neil Gaiman, Joe Hill, Justina Robson, Ellen Datlow, and Samuel R. Delany. Four are among my favorite writers EVER, the fifth I'd never heard of but her blog cracks me up, and as for the sixth, well, y'all know who Joe Hill is, right? Heart-Shaped Box and all that. ( Read more... )

They say that if you make your resolutions widely public you're more likely to keep them. Behold my official 2012 Resolutions, posted here for all to see ( Read more... )

Somehow, I have no idea how (ah, the mysterious ways of the Web!) I stumbled onto three LJ'ers who are currently attending Clarion West. Now Clarion West is something I've thought about/dreamed about/desperately wanted/been terrified to apply to for several many years. It's part of why I joined the online writers group I belong to, to polish my ( Read more... )