Odyssey Writing Workshop 2010
Susan
If you write science fiction, fantasy, or horror, you might be
interested in the Odyssey Writing Workshop. The 2010 workshop will be
held from June 7th to July 16th at Saint Anselm College in Manchester,
New Hampshire. Odyssey provides a great opportunity to improve your
skills and receive feedback from editors and authors. More
information can be found in the press release below, or on the
workshop website www.odysseyworkshop.org. The director, Jeanne
Cavelos, is always happy to answer questions and discuss the
workshop. You can email her at jcav...@sff.net.
Cheers,
Susan Sielinski
Odyssey Administrator
susansi...@yahoo.com
www.odysseyworkshop.org
Publicity Release
November 2009
ODYSSEY WRITING WORKSHOP
ANNOUNCES ITS 15th SUMMER SESSION
About Odyssey
Since its inception in 1996, Odyssey has become one of the most
respected workshops in the science fiction, fantasy, and horror
writing community. Odyssey is for developing writers whose work is
approaching publication quality and for published writers who want to
improve their work. The six-week workshop combines an intensive
learning and writing experience with in-depth feedback on student
manuscripts. Top authors, editors, and agents have served as guest
lecturers, including George R. R. Martin, Harlan Ellison, Jane Yolen,
Terry Brooks, Robert J. Sawyer, Ben Bova, Nancy Kress, Elizabeth Hand,
Jeff VanderMeer, Donald Maass, Sheila Williams, Shawna McCarthy,
Carrie Vaughn, and Dan Simmons. Fifty-three percent of Odyssey
graduates go on to professional publication.
The program is held every summer on Saint Anselm College's beautiful
campus in Manchester, NH. Saint Anselm is one of the finest liberal
arts colleges in the country, dedicated to excellence in education,
and its campus provides a peaceful setting and state-of-the-art
facilities for Odyssey students. College credit is available upon
request.
Jeanne Cavelos, Odyssey's director, founder, and primary instructor,
is a best-selling author and a former senior editor at Bantam
Doubleday Dell Publishing, where she won the World Fantasy Award for
her work. Being a writer/editor makes Cavelos uniquely suited to
provide students with constructive and professional critiques of their
work. "I give the same unflinchingly honest, concrete, detailed
feedback that I provided as a senior editor," Cavelos said. Her
typewritten critiques average over 1,000 words, and her handwritten
line edits on manuscripts are extensive. In addition, she guides
students through the six weeks, gaining in-depth knowledge of their
work, providing detailed assessments of their strengths and weaknesses
in private meetings, and helping them target their weaknesses one by
one.
Odyssey class time is split between workshopping sessions and
lectures. An advanced, comprehensive curriculum covers the elements
of fiction writing in depth. Students learn the tools and techniques
necessary to strengthen their writing.
The workshop runs from June 7 to July 16, 2010. Class meets for four
hours in the morning, five days a week. Students spend about eight
hours more per day writing and critiquing each other's work.
Prospective students, aged eighteen and up, apply from all over the
world. The early admission application deadline is JANUARY 30, and
the regular admission deadline is APRIL 8. Tuition is $1900, and
housing is $775 for a double room and $1550 for a single.
Meet Our 2010 Writer-in-Residence
Odyssey's 2010 writer-in-residence, Laura Anne Gilman, is a former
Executive Editor at NAL/Penguin USA and the author of several fantasy
series. The sixth book in her urban fantasy Retrievers Series, Blood
from Stone, came out in May 2009. The second book of the The Vineart
War trilogy, Weight of Stone, will be available in October of 2010.
Ms. Gilman has also written a young adult trilogy, Grail Quest;
paranormal romance novels under the name of Anne Leonard; and media
tie-in novels. She has co-edited a number of anthologies and
published over thirty works of short fiction, ranging in genre from
mainstream, to science fiction, to horror.
Other Guest Lecturers
Odyssey is pleased to welcome its 2010 guest lecturers: Bram Stoker
Award-winner Michael A. Arnzen; World Fantasy Award-winner Elizabeth
Hand; Gregory Frost, bestselling author and Swarthmore College Fiction
Writing Workshop Director; Alexander Jablokov, author of six science
fiction novels; and David G. Hartwell, Senior Editor at Tor/Forge
Books, winner of several Hugo awards, a World Fantasy award, and
editor of four Nebula-winning novels.
Odyssey Graduates
If you're reading science fiction, fantasy, and horror, you're reading
the work of Odyssey graduates. If you've read recent issues of some
of the top fiction magazines in the field--Realms of Fantasy,
Asimov's, Analog, Weird Tales, Intergalactic Medicine Show, and Space
& Time--you've read stories by Odyssey graduates Eric James Stone,
David Barr Kirtley, Erin Hoffman, Clayton Kroh, Larry Hodges, Scott H.
Andrews, Matthew S. Rotundo, Carrie Vaughn, Carl Frederick, and World
Fantasy Award-winner Theodora Goss.
If you've been to the bookstore lately, you've seen books by Odyssey
graduates, including New York Times bestseller Kitty Raises Hell by
Carrie Vaughn, published by Grand Central; Superpowers by David J.
Schwartz, published by Random House; Dragonseed by James Maxey,
published by Solaris Books; Foxfire by Barbara Campbell, published by
DAW; Brass Dragon Codex by R. D. Henham, published by Mirrorstone
Books; Written in Blood by Luisa Prieto, published by Allure Books;
Kings and Assassins by Lane Robins, published by Del Rey; Evil Ways:
A Morris and Chastain Investigation by Justin Gustainis, published by
Solaris Books; and Sins & Shadows by Lyn Benedict, published by Ace.
Comments from the Class of 2009
"I would recommend Odyssey to anyone who wants to write science
fiction, fantasy, or horror professionally. Your writing will make
quantum leaps in quality during a challenging six weeks. Jeanne is a
fantastic instructor and her experience as a writer and also as an
industry professional come through in every class and critique. The
guest lecturers and writer-in-residence add a fresh dimension and
perspectives not only on how to write science fiction, fantasy, and
horror, but also what it takes and what it means to be a professional
writer." --Travis Heermann, author of Heart of the Ronin
"I've never worked with an instructor who was so dedicated to my
personal learning. Odyssey is an extraordinary experience because
Jeanne puts so much of her love of writers, the craft, and the genres
into it." --Peter Simonson
Other Odyssey Resources and Services
The Odyssey Web site, www.odysseyworkshop.org, offers many resources
for writers, including a critique service, free podcasts, writing and
publishing tips, and a weekly writing LiveJournal, as well as more
information about how to apply. Also available on the site is
information about the Odyssey's new online classes.
Those interested in applying to the workshop should visit the Web
site, phone (603) 673-6234, or e-mail jcav...@sff.net.