I just dropped by the Clarion West homepage and discovered the instructor lineup for next year:

• Michael Bishop
• Maureen McHugh
• Nnedi Okorafor
• Graham Joyce
• Ellen Datlow
• Ian McDonald

Confession time.  I look at these names and scratch my head.  I am familiar with Ellen Datlow by name but not by work (not generally a horror reader).

However, I found the same difficulty about ten months ago looking at the list of names for both Clarions.  I had no idea how sheltered I was.  I discovered John Kessel and am now a fan (I had unwittingly read him before).  I discovered Rudy Rucker and enjoyed his stories.  I discovered Robert Crais (C-SD) and loved the Elvis Cole novel I listened to (and I don’t usually enjoy straight mysteries).  I discovered I had already read and enjoyed several stories by Karen Joy Fowler.  I also have books and/or stories standing by from Kim Stanley Robinson, Elizabeth Bear, and Elizabeth Hand.  The instructors were a who’s-who of speculative fiction and I was a poorly-read wannabe.

Now I feel like a wannabe again.  Michael Bishop has been publishing and winning awards since before I was born.  (I need to do some research to see if I’ve read anything of his before.)  Maureen McHugh has been popping out short stories since I was in middle school; Graham Joyce, winning British Fiction Awards since I was in high school.  Nnedi Okorafor seems to be an up-and-coming author with YA experience and cites Donald Maass as one of her agents.  Ian McDonald has a list of awards that could choke a…well, whatever eats awards.

So my ignorance says nothing of the quality of the instructors for next year.  I intend to get started reading right away.  I bet I can find a McDonald novel at the Book Cellar and I bet I have some of Bishop’s stuff lying around the house if I look hard enough.  Others will require deeper exploration.

I will likely apply to both Clarions again next year, especially if the C-SD lineup is as promising as this one.  I’m hoping to see some of this year’s CW names show up there, but I’ll wait and see.  It will probably be a bit of a wait to find out that list.  (Insider information always appreciated.)

I also hope to see some familiar names from here show up on the student lists.