Clarion Sci-Fi Auction

trickofperspective writes "To defray the cost of this year's session, following budget cuts at host school Michigan State University, the famed Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshop is holding an online auction of items donated by past alums. Bidding opens January 28th on items such as a signed limited edition of Neil Gaiman's American Gods, a signed, homeade galley of Cory Doctorow's upcoming Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town, and more."

Comments

Auctions for a cause...

[ZiZ]

I always think it's kind of neat when these sorts of auctions happen, because people tend to bid things up that they could otherwise get for free or cheap (such as something signed by Neil Gaiman - he's a pretty personable guy, and is happy to sign things in person or by special arrangement mailed to certain bookstores that he frequents...and not just books (disclaimer: this site contains Not Safe For Work material, but aside from a few tiny ads way down at the bottom of the page, that particular page is safe)) because the money is going for a good cause. Like the Penny-Arcade Child's Play auction, for instance. (Of course, there are a bunch of first-editions and limited editions in this auction, so that might also be part of it. But I've never really understood the collector's mind.)

Or, perhaps I'm just being too optimistic, and people bid because they go insane at auctions.

Do the doners agree?

[rdwald]

What do the authors who donated the items think of the auction?

Re:Do the doners agree?

[AndroidCat]

Katherine Kurtz was at a convention that had financial troubles. She donated a character for auction. (That is, the person that won the auction could be a bit character in a future Deryni work.) The bidding ended up going sky-high with a team of two winning the bidding war.

Of course, Steve Stirling wrote in members of his writers group in early books, and then killed most of them--and all for free! :)

Re:Do the doners agree?

[Elvon Livengood]

Katherine Kurtz was at a convention that had financial troubles. She donated a character for auction. (That is, the person that won the auction could be a bit character in a future Deryni work.) The bidding ended up going sky-high with a team of two winning the bidding war.

Saw the same sort of thing once. Tom Dietz was working on his third or fourth book, The Gryphon King, and made the same kind of offer that Kurtz did. Hardly anyone at the auction had much in the way of funds, so when one fellow whipped out the crisp new $100 bill he'd gotten out of his paycheck the day before, everyone else quit. If you happen to have access to the book, look for the leader of the band Just Thrid - that's him. Oh, Tom was my neighbor at the time. My two roommates and I have cameo appearances as Large, Medium, and Small.

Money is always tight

[foolish]

Clarion funding has always been tight. This is a program for students in a specific genre of writing that is not generally taught/funded in most writing programs.

Writers never make a ton of money, with some notable exceptions. And most of those make thier "real money" off of other properties (film, etc). The same for being an instructor of writers, or a student in writing program. They don't have the same types of alumni that can leave an huge financial endowment, unlike the tech sector.

So they're trying to fund things the way they can, without gouging the students for the six weeks of instruction. Most of the authors have pointers to the auction on their respective sites, so I'm fairly sure most of the approve of the use of their donations.

Re:Old News

[trickofperspective]

I originally submitted this as a news item back when funding was initially cut, but the editors rejected it. Clearly the more recent promise of cool sci-fi swag for a good cause tipped the scale in the direction of the front page this time. Notice I didn't say, "...following recent budget cuts," or the like.

And... come on... I linked to the Clarion website in the story. You know how easy it is to find the information about their funding trouble there. I wasn't trying to fool anyone.

Let's just chalk this up under the heading: "Stuff that matters."

~Trick

Oooh. Low interest on Slashdot. . .

[Fantastic Lad]

Sci-Fi is so very dead.

I think it's because the science in our culture is no longer fiction, all the choices have been made, and the scope of possible futures is narrowing rapidly as we zero-in on our final destination.

Sci-Fi did a great job when it really mattered, and to be fair, it still does in the areas which count. --Look at the subjects which have been holding recent fascination in such titles like The Matrix, Firefly, Stargate, Enterprise, Star Wars. There are some very current and interrelated themes running through each of these titles which indicate what the global consciousness is focused on at the moment.
An X-Files sequel? Gee, no shit.

-FL

Re:Oooh. Low interest on Slashdot. . .

[Yokaze]

> The Matrix, Firefly, Stargate, Enterprise, Star Wars.

Pop Sci-Fi with hardly any revealing insights. Mostly, that is why it they are selling it, its not challenging, no one will be offended, no risk.

> I think it's because the science in our culture is no longer fiction, all the choices have been made, and the scope of possible futures is narrowing rapidly as we zero-in on our final destination.

Okay, then please tell me.

How will genetic engineering affect our lives, or nanotechnology? How will the Global Climate Change affect us and our societies? Will China become the next superpower, or will shee break due to socioeconomical difference between the country and the cities? What will happen to the aging industrial societies? Will the globalism destroy cultural indiviuality or will it create transnational subcultures?

And more importantly, which questions did fail I to ask?