Carl Brandon Society fundraiser for the Octavia Butler Scholarship

Nov 18, 2010 11:54

Only a few days left to enter! But of course you can donate at any time.

Win an eReader! And a whole lotta books on it!

The money is going to the Octavia Butler scholarships which help writers of color to attend the Clarion workshops.

Since Clarion is a 6-week commitment, most people with a desire to go and the ability to spend 6 weeks there do not also have an overabundance of the green stuff. I've found that a lot of people who attend Clarion are in a state of transition. Just finished school, about to start school, just lost a job, in the middle of changing careers, about to move across country (or to another country), about to get married, about to get divorced, about to have a baby. Though these transitions are good for letting you take 6 weeks for yourself and your writing career, any and all of these life changes incur their own expenses.

Too many people who would love to go to Clarion don't think they can because of the time and the money issue. So they don't even apply. This scholarship and the other Clarion scholarships let people know that.. hey, there's a chance it won't be as expensive as I think. Maybe I can do this.

And you never know if that one person might turn out to be an author you love to read 5 years down the line. And maybe they wouldn't have gotten there so soon without Clarion, or maybe they wouldn't have gotten there at all. (Not for lack of talent, but for want of opportunity and lack of support.)

And the awesome thing is? The scholarship won't just help one person. It'll probably help 2 this year, and many more down the road. Think of all those books you can help get written!

carl brandon society, clarion, fundraiser

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