For 2008, the Center for the Study of Science Fiction will again offer the Science Fiction & Fantasy Novel Writers Workshop. Award-winning author Kij Johnson has been teaching this workshop since 2003. The novel workshop fills up fast! If you're interested in applying, please let us know by 3/24, and we can let you know about openings.
The Campbell Conference plans to bring the winners of the Campbell and Sturgeon Awards to the campus as special guests, as well as Frederik Pohl and his wife, Elizabeth Anne Hull, a former president of SFRA and a Campbell juror. Several special SF-writer guests and more are also scheduled for the special Campbell Conference this year.
Housing information is available below. Participants will have time for writing, for recreation, for socializing, and for individual conferences.
The SF Novel Writing Workshop of 2005
Standing: Chuck Marsters, Larry Taylor,
Erick King,
Leonid Korogodski.
Sitting: Maria Zannini, Robert Hamm, Kij Johnson, Lane Robins.
Photo by ?
2008 Novel Writers Workshop Offered June 29-July 13
This summer, in conjunction with the Center for the Study of Science Fiction and James Gunn's SF Writer's Workshop, Kij Johnson is teaching a two-week intensive workshop on writing novels.
In 2008, the Science Fiction & Fantasy Novel Writers Workshop will meet from June 30 to July 11. Most attendees come to the dorm a day early and stay through the entire Conference (which takes place during the weekend between the two weeks), so plan to plan to arrive on June 29 and remain through July 13.
The Workshop is intended for novelists who have just begun to sell or who need that final bit of insight or skill to become a published novelist. Workshoppers submit several chapters and an outline for a novel - in other words, the materials you would include in a submission packet to a publisher. The novel doesn't have to be complete. It may be better if it's not, because a goal of this workshop is to give you enough new information that you would end up rewriting what you have, anyway.
Workshopping is in two segments. We workshop the novel segment in traditional round-robin workshop style, with the emphasis on writing and characterization. We also do what I call, for want of a better term, novel-bashing: Starting with an outline, we deconstruct and reconstruct the plot, looking for holes or flaws and for ways to deepen the novel's structure and storyline. Then, taking these notes, workshoppers revise either the outline or the chapters and resubmit the material to the workshop.
We may also select a published SF/F novel, read it before the workshop, and analyze it for insights into successful novel plotting. We are likely to turn to Sock Monkey Action Theatre™ as a blocking tool.
The goals of this workshop are to generate the best possible chapters and an outline for a writer's submission packet; to learn what will be necessary to complete or revise the novel with an eye toward publication; and to have fun in one of the prettiest and most likable towns in the
Midwest build bonds with other members of the writing community.
The Writer's Workshop and the Novel Writer's Workshop are held at the University of Kansas in Lawrence. Many attendees stay in the dorms, which are inexpensive and fun. The novel workshop and the short fiction workshop James Gunn leads happen over the same two-week period, and many of the non-workshop activities combine the two groups. While the novel workshop is limited to eight people, you will have the chance to spend time with other writers, and to meet and talk with James Gunn.
Kij Johnson leads the workshop, but she hopes to have other attending authors participate at least one day, as well. Chris McKitterick will also be present during the full two weeks for personal consultation and other activities. Feel free to take the novel-writing workshop at the same time as the regular Writers Workshop, but expect to do a lot more work!
The weekend following the novel and short-fiction workshops is the Campbell Conference, which takes place in town from July 11-13. The Campbell Conference is the traditional conclusion for the writer's workshops, and includes a banquet where the Center presents the Theodore Sturgeon Award for best short story of the year, and the John W. Campbell Award for best novel of the year.
Applicants for admission must contact Kij Johnson (kijjohnson@gmail.com) and Chris McKitterick (cmckit@ku.edu) by April 15 expressing interest in the workshop and briefly describing their project and goals. Include 5-10 sample pages of your writing (which can be but does not have to be from the novel that will be workshopped). If accepted, workshoppers will submit by May 15 a manuscript and novel outline of professional appearance and near-publishable quality.
Attendees should plan on arriving at the University of Kansas Sunday June 24, at which time they will be expected to pay for their dormitory stay and to pay their tuition.
The Workshop offers a three-hour session of manuscript critiquing each afternoon from 2:00pm to 5:00pm. The rest of the day is free for writing, study, consultation, and recreation. You will revise at least one chapter and the outline over the weekend. Participants often exchange full manuscripts during or after the Workshop, so bring the entire manuscript if you have one, and be prepared to share more if you find interested readers!
For anyone who hasn't been there, Lawrence is wonderful, a lively small city in the Kaw River valley, filled with art, events and activities. It's about an hour from Kansas City.