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Please support the fall fundraising campaign today & help the next generation of writers to create more amazing worlds for the readers that need them with scholarships and low-cost, accessible, and inclusive programs for writers.
You'll find books, experiences, and opportunities to talk to published authors — or you can make a direct donation to Clarion West.
Donations help cover programs and events, including all of the following:
- Instructors: All of our programs are taught by paid professionals in the field of speculative fiction. Altogether, Clarion West pays roughly $55,000 per year in instructor honorariums.
- Sliding scale tuition and application fees, reduced rates, free classes, and access seats: classes and workshops, travel, and time away can be a barrier to attending our programs. To reduce some of these barriers, we are committed to providing scholarships covering full and partial tuition to our residential workshops; discounts to reduce the cost of online classes; free events and programs for our community; and free seats in online classes for PGM/BIPOC writers. Clarion West covers an estimated $25,000 in fees for these programs.
- Reader honorariums: Clarion West pays a dedicated group of application readers an average of $5,000 each year to help manage the application process.
- ASL interpreters and live captioners: Clarion West spends approximately $270 per event or $2,700 for live captioning services for live events and $350 for ASL interpreters for live events.
- Clarion West pays $4,200 annually for class and on-demand platforms
- Six-Week Workshop venues, such as university dorms range between $45,000-$90,000 for in-person years like 2024
The Impact
So far this year, Clarion West has served 1,730 participants across all programs, including online sliding scale community classes and 56 scholarships for online and in-person participants.
Already this year, alumni have published over 50 stories and novels, received 9 prestigious industry awards, and published or been published in 5 anthologies and collections. These stories make a difference and help to inspire and engage a whole new generation of readers.
Clarion West works every day to spotlight and uplift underrepresented and marginalized authors. We do this by hiring world-class writers and instructors from as far as India, the Philippines, Brazil, Zimbabwe, and the UK, making their pedagogy accessible to audiences in Seattle and beyond. We offer free business classes for writers, free seats in every class for BIPOC students, plus additional financial need scholarships for all of our educational programs.
We strive to keep all of these programs financially affordable, ADA accessible, and culturally equitable, actively interrogating our own methods year-to-year so that we may continue to reduce obstacles to serving our target populations. By backing this campaign, you’re supporting this work!
ABOUT CLARION WEST
Clarion West is a nonprofit literary organization that runs an acclaimed six-week residential workshop every summer, online classes and workshops, one-day and weekend workshops, a reading series every summer, and other events throughout the year.
Our mission is to support emerging and underrepresented voices by providing writers with world-class instruction to empower their creation of wild and amazing worlds. Through conversation and public engagement, we bring those voices to an ever-expanding community.
We make an effort to keep its tuition as low as possible and provide scholarships to students in need of financial support for all of our programs. Currently, tuition covers less than half of our operating budget. Every little bit helps. Our programs help writers build community, find support, and gain confidence.
As Ann Leckie (CW '05) noted, "in the life of a writer, Clarion West makes a very big difference."
Other Ways You Can Help
Please share the crowdfunding announcements in your newsletter and/or on your social media platforms! You can start at any time and re-share as many times as you want through the end of the fundraiser.
