Category: blog

Interview at Seattle Wrote

SeattleWrote I’m delighted to have this interview about the long game of writing and the generosity economy at Seattle Wrote.

“A lot of people helped me, and my work is better for it. It’s a gift artists can and should give to each other…”

Many thanks to journalist and Seattle Wrote founder Norelle Done for a great conversation, and for the terrific collection of interviews with Seattle authors she has garnered (check out Louise Marley and Matt Ruff for starters).

Enjoy your day.

Biking for MS in Australia

Nicola and I think all our readers are splendid people. We’ve had the chance to connect with so many good-hearted folks through our work — it’s one of the gifts that writing brings us.

Now one of our splendid readers is bringing another gift. On October 20, Kevin Scarr will ride his bike 50 kilometers to raise money for MS research in Western Australia. Kevin is dedicating his ride, and the money he raises, to Nicola and me. See that smeary place right here on this post? That’s me getting misty.

Will you please consider sponsoring Kevin’s ride? We’d be honored and grateful for your support of him and of MS research.

And if you’re in Western Australia, please consider joining the team for the ride. Kevin is a great person who promises to do handstands on the bike and sing songs and wear a funny hat…. okay, no, he actually didn’t promise that at all. But it will be fun, nonetheless, to hang out with splendid people and talk about books and life and how much it matters when we help each other.

Kevin, thank you. Anything that helps people with MS somewhere in the world ultimately helps all people with MS and people who love them.

Westercon schedule

I’m looking forward enormously to Westercon next week. It’s an honor and a jazz to be a joint Writer Guest of Honor with Nicola, especially following the exuberant week we’ve had with our 25th anniversary and the lovely timing of the Supreme Court. I look forward to celebrating in the company of readers, writers, artists, editors, Clarion ’88 compadres, publishers, costumers, dancers, musicians, friends and friends-not-yet-met.

If you’re attending the con, I hope you’ll join me at one of my events. Here’s the schedule:

UPDATED TO ADD: I forgot to include my own reading! It’s on Friday morning.

Thursday 7/4
4:30 pm panel, Becoming a Professional Writer or Artist
Our panelists will discuss how to make the transition to life as a professional. Bring your questions and go home with answers.

5:45 pm Joint reading with Nicola
Hear how it’s supposed to sound as Nicola Griffith and Kelley Eskridge, Guests of Honor, will read selections.
We’re still deciding between a couple of different readings, but this will definitely be a “joint reading” experience as opposed to two people reading different things in the same space.

8:30 pm Opening Ceremonies/Meet the Guests/Fireworks
Join our Guests of Honor and other participants for an opening reception. Stay for the fireworks from Cal Expo.

Friday, 7/5
11:30 am reading
Guest of Honor Kelley Eskridge will read some of her favorite selections from her work.

5:30 pm panel, Gender Identity in Public Places
Recent legislation across the country has brought the issue of gender identity in public schools, locker rooms, and restrooms to the forefront. The American Psychiatric Association’s newly released DSM-V now emphasizes “gender incongruence” and has deleted other terms. As the nation debates how to determine gender, our panelists will discuss the issues surrounding gender identity.

6:45 pm panel, Marketing for Writers and Artists
There are many websites and self-help books claiming to help you market your works. Do they work? Do they hurt? If your work is being published by a “big house” do you need to do any of this yourself? Our panelists all have experience in navigating these rough waters and will explain what to expect.

Saturday, 7/6
12:30 pm panel, Publishing Options: Traditional vs On-Demand and Self-Publishing
The days of needing your own printing press are long gone. With modern publishing methods you can print one copy or 1 million. Our panelists will discuss the benefits and drawback of the various publishing options.

1:45 pm staged joint interview with Nicola, conducted by Fan Guest of Honor Warren Frey
Join our writer Guests of Honor, Nicola Griffith and Kelley Eskridge, to hear about how they met, how they write and all sorts of tidbits.
Staged means “on stage in front of live people,” not “rehearsed” (grin). Just so you know.

5:30 pm panel, Matrons and Crones
Protagonist or antagonist, matrons and crones are important, yet oft overlooked, characters in literature and media. Our panelists discuss the role and power of the older woman in both fiction and fandom.

Sunday, 7/7
10:00 am panel, The Clarion and Clarion West Experience
For over forty years the Clarion Writing Program has been nurturing new writers through workshops and mentorship opportunities. The Clarion West program is about to celebrate its 30th anniversary. Join these Clarion/Clarion West alumni as they discuss their experiences in the program.
Moderated by me, and Nicola is on the panel. We have both taught Clarion West, and both attended Clarion, and I have been on the board of Clarion West for several years. There will be other alums on the panel and we will tell all!

3:00 pm Closing Ceremonies
Unfortunately, all good things come to an end. Join our Guests of Honor once more as we bring Westercon 66 to a close and hand off to the Westercon 67 team.

And you’ll find a complete schedule of Nicola’s events here.

Do please join us!

My 2013 Write-a-thon is about…

My 2013 Clarion West Write-a-thon is about other writers.

I have been very fortunate to have massive support every year I’ve participated in the Write-a-thon. So many wonderful people have sponsored me throughout the years, and in so doing have also helped support an organization I love. I am enormously grateful to you all for that, and for giving me so much motivation and encouragement to stretch.

That’s what I kept thinking about as I pondered the Write-a-thon this year: how amazing it feels when someone clicks the “Donate” button on one’s Write-a-thon page and offers money in support of a writing goal. And how much difference it really makes. There is so much fabulous work in the world now that happened in part because a writer participated in the Write-a-thon with the support of family, friends, readers, and strangers.

Consider this: Julia Sidorova worked on her novel Age of Ice in the 2011 Write-a-thon. A Clarion West board member who was impressed with one of Julia’s stories sponsored her not because they were friends, but because “It was clear to me that Julia is a very talented writer.” Julia’s novel will be published next month.

Author E.C. Myers worked on his novel Fair Coin in a Write-a-thon. The book won the 2012 Andre Norton Award for YA Science Fiction and Fantasy.

Stephanie Burgis has worked on her Kat, Incorrigible series (three released so far) during the Write-a-thon over the years.

Cassie Alexander has worked on her Edie Spence novels during the Write-a-thon; again, three released so far.

Cat Rambo has written a boatload of short stories during previous Write-a-thons, and plans to write more this year.

Vylar Kaftan‘s Nebula-nominated story “I’m Alive, I Love You, I’ll See You in Reno” was first-drafted during a Write-a-thon.

These are just a handful of the bazillion examples of writers who put the pedal down during the Write-a-thon. I speak from firsthand experience: when you put money on the table in support of a writer’s goals, it makes a difference to the writer. And here’s another secret: there is no more powerful buzz than having a stranger do it. It holds the writer’s feet to the fire and encourages her to throw her heart into the sky in a way that feels a lot like magic.

I want as many writers as possible to know that magic. So this summer, although I will be doing my own writing — and am madly excited about it, oh my, so many things bubbling up! — I ask you this year to support me by picking another writer to support. Or two. Or as many as you like. It will be a gift to them, a gift to Clarion West, and a gift to me: a chance for me to spread some of the exhilaration and determination that you have all given me so many times.

There are, as of this post, nearly 250 writers signed up from all over the world. Check them out. Find a familiar name or a new one; an established writer or an emerging one. Give that person the gift of your support.

On my Write-a-thon page, you’ll find a dozen writers whose work I hope you’ll pay particular attention to. Tell them I sent you, and that you expect great things from them this summer:

     Karina Melendez
     Jill Seidenstein
     Alison Gresik
     Rochita Loenen-Ruiz
     Cassie Alexander
     Jocelyn Paige Kelly
     Michael R. Underwood
     Dominica Phetteplace
     Caren Gussoff
     Erik Owomoyela
     Neile Graham
     Les Howle

They are all passionate and committed, and any of them will benefit from your support. And who knows what marvelous poems, stories, translations, novels, screenplays, or essays will result from their summer? Who knows what kind of magic might happen?

My deepest thanks to all of you who choose to support the Write-a-thon. And my very best to all the brave, fierce writers who participate!

Writers, come soar with the Write-a-thon

Writers from all over the world are joining the Clarion West Write-a-thon. And if you’re a writer who wants to reach for a goal this summer with the support of an amazing community, I hope you’ll join too.

The Write-a-thon is a six-week writing commitment where you set the goals. What do you want to accomplish this summer? Writers use the Write-a-thon to make sure they sit down with their work every day; finish a story or novel; write an article or polish a thesis; outline a screenplay.

You sign up at the Clarion west website. Then you ask readers, friends and family to support you in reaching your goal by donating to Clarion West. It’s a win for everyone: you, the others in the Write-a-thon community, and all the writers who sometime in the future will attend the workshop.

I’ve done several Write-a-thons, and it’s an exhilarating experience. It holds your feet to the fire, and it blows your mind.

And we need you. We have more than 200 writers signed up, from (at last count) 14 countries. We’re reaching too: our goal is 300 participating writers. We’re accepting signups until June 22. And then the writing begins!

Won’t you join us? Whether you’re an emerging writer or an established professional, your participation matters to us. We want you to be part of our community, and write something wonderful, and help us ensure that the Clarion West workshop continues to provide one of the best workshop experiences in the world for writers like you.

Please help me spread the word. Tell all the writers you know: the Write-a-thon is coming!

The Outstanding Nicola Griffith

Nicola has won the Lambda Literary Foundation’s James Duggins Outstanding Mid-Career Novelist Prize. Because she is awesome and unique and a brilliant writer; a speaker of truth who tells beautiful, hard, joyful stories. It makes me deliriously happy that she has received this recognition.

25th-Annual-Lambda-Literary-Awards-300x123
And it means that we will be at the awards ceremony! And there will be a PARTY! So come, come, and raise a glass with us, and watch Nicola shine.

Enjoy your day.

Nicola and Kelley at Westercon

I’m thrilled that Nicola and I will be Writer Guests of Honor at Westercon 66 in Sacramento, CA from July 4 to 7. We will join Artist Guest of Honor Eric Shanower and Small Press Special Guest David Maxine, and Fan Guests of Honor Warren Frey, Steven Schapansky, and Chris Burgess (“The Three Who Rule“).

Westercon is the longest running general science fiction convention in the North American west. This means they know how to put on a convention. There will be fun! Programming of every variety. Nicola and I will talk, listen, discuss, meet folks, answer questions, park ourselves in the bar at various times, and generally hang out. There will be panels and interviews and presentations and readings, and a dance! (And I am happy to make a spectacle of myself on the dance floor because dignity is overrated. So really, it’s like extra value for your convention membership dollar.)

And perhaps we will persuade Nicola to bring her ukelele….

It’s our 25th anniversary of attending the Clarion Writers Workshop (and therefore, you know, falling in love etc.) and the 30th anniversary of the Clarion West Writers Workshop, of which I’m a board member. We’ll be celebrating these things and much more at the con. We hope to see old friends and make new ones. We love to meet people who love science fiction. And did I mention the fun? So please come to Sacramento and enjoy the weekend with us!