Wordos

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The Wordos is a writing workshop based in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Its members meet once a week to critique stories and discuss the art, craft, and business of writing. It is a long-running speculative fiction critique group, and has a high concentration of published authors. However, having prior publishing credits is not a prerequisite to joining. The group has produced winners of the Galaxy Press international Writers of the Future contest six years in a row. [1]

A writing circle is a group of like-minded writers needing support for their work, either through writing peer critiques, workshops or classes, or just encouragement. There are many different types of writing circles or writing groups based on location, style of writing, or format. Normally, the goal of a writing circle is to improve one's own craft by listening to the works and suggestions of others in the group. It also builds a sense of community, and allows new writers to become accustomed to sharing their work. Writing circles can be helpful inside and outside of the classroom.

Eugene, Oregon City in Oregon, United States

Eugene is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest. It is at the southern end of the verdant Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette Rivers, about 50 miles (80 km) east of the Oregon Coast.

United States Federal republic in North America

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country comprising 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe. With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the most populous city is New York City. Most of the country is located contiguously in North America between Canada and Mexico.

Contents

The group promotes itself as a means to help writers produce fiction of salable quality, and to continually improve their writing abilities. The workshop's primary focus is on short speculative fiction, but members have had fiction of other lengths and genres critiqued.

Fiction any story or setting that is derived from imagination, can be conveyed through any medium

Fiction broadly refers to any narrative consisting of imaginary people, events, or descriptions—in other words, a narrative not based strictly on history or fact. It also commonly refers, more narrowly, to written narratives in prose and often specifically novels. In film, it generally corresponds to narrative film in opposition to documentary.

Short story work of literature, usually written in narrative prose

A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a "single effect" or mood, however there are many exceptions to this.

History

Founded in 1987, "The Wordos" was originally called "The Eugene Professional Writers Workshops, Inc." The name was changed in 1995, to make it "shorter and friendlier." They kept the original name for business purposes, however. [2] The group meets weekly in a local bookstore. [1]

Notable members

The membership over time has included, young adult and fantasy novelist Nina Kiriki Hoffman, surrealist short story writer and novelist Ray Vukcevich, science fiction writers Kathy Oltion and Jerry Oltion, Bruce Holland Rogers, Patricia Briggs, fiction and non-fiction writer Leslie What, Jay Lake, Eric M. Witchey, Devon Monk and many others. Deborah Layne, a long-time member, is also the founder of Wheatland Press, the award-winning [3] publisher of the Polyphony anthology.

Young adult fiction (YA) is a category of fiction written for readers from 12 to 18 years of age. While the genre is targeted to teenagers, approximately half of YA readers are adults.

Nina Kiriki Hoffman American writer

Nina Kiriki Hoffman is an American fantasy, science fiction and horror writer.

Surrealism International cultural movement started in 1917

Surrealism is a cultural movement that started in 1917, and is best known for its visual artworks and writings. Artists painted unnerving, illogical scenes, sometimes with photographic precision, creating strange creatures from everyday objects, and developing painting techniques that allowed the unconscious to express itself. Its aim was, according to Breton, to "resolve the previously contradictory conditions of dream and reality into an absolute reality, a super-reality", or surreality.

Method

The Wordos follow the Clarion Workshop model of critiquing. A member reads a submitted story, writes comments on it, and then, on the evening of the workshop, speaks for one to three minutes offering those and other comments aloud. At the end of the evening the critiqued story is given back to the author. [2]

Clarion Workshop Science fiction and fantasy writing workshop

Clarion is a six-week workshop for aspiring science fiction and fantasy writers. Originally an outgrowth of Damon Knight and Kate Wilhelm's Milford Writers' Conference, held at their home in Milford, Pennsylvania, United States, it was founded in 1968 by Robin Scott Wilson at Clarion State College in Pennsylvania. Knight and Wilhelm were among the first teachers at the workshop.

Members also report on news over the previous week, including accepted stories, rejections, and re-write requests from publishers.

Awards

A member of the Wordos has won or placed in the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future contest consistently since 2001. There have also been several Nebula Award-winning workshop members and members who have been nominated for or won the Endeavour Award, World Fantasy Award, and Philip K. Dick Award. One member, Marshall Moseley, was a finalist in the Bravo television series "Project Greenlight".

L. Ron Hubbard American science fiction author and the founder of the Church of Scientology

Lafayette Ronald Hubbard was an American author of science fiction and fantasy stories, and the founder of the Church of Scientology. In 1950, Hubbard authored Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health and established a series of organizations to promote Dianetics. In 1952, Hubbard lost the rights to Dianetics in bankruptcy proceedings, and he subsequently founded Scientology. Thereafter Hubbard oversaw the growth of the Church of Scientology into a worldwide organization.

Writers of the Future (WOTF) is a science fiction and fantasy story contest that was established by L. Ron Hubbard in the early 1980s. A sister contest, Illustrators of the Future, presents awards for science fiction art. Hubbard characterized the contest as a way of "giving back" to the field that had defined his professional writing life. The contest has no entry fee and is the highest-paying contest for amateur science-fiction and fantasy writers. Notable past winners of WOTF include Stephen Baxter, Karen Joy Fowler, James Alan Gardner, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Jay Lake, Michael H. Payne, Patrick Rothfuss, Robert Reed, Dean Wesley Smith, Sean Williams, Dave Wolverton, Nancy Farmer, and David Zindell. The winning stories are published in the yearly anthology L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of Future. The contest enjoys a favorable reputation in the science fiction community, although its connection with the Church of Scientology has caused some controversy.

Nebula Award literature prize for science fiction and fantasy works from the United States

The Nebula Awards annually recognize the best works of science fiction or fantasy published in the United States. The awards are organized and awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), a nonprofit association of professional science fiction and fantasy writers. They were first given in 1966 at a ceremony created for the awards, and are given in four categories for different lengths of literary works. A fifth category for film and television episode scripts was given 1974–78 and 2000–09, and a sixth category for game writing was begun in 2018. The rules governing the Nebula Awards have changed several times during the awards' history, most recently in 2010. The SFWA Nebula Conference, at which the awards are announced and presented, is held each spring in the United States. Locations vary from year to year.

Partial list of award-winning stories

The following is a partial list of award-winning stories written by members of the Wordos:

AuthorStory TitleAwardYear
Bruce Holland Rogers"Hollywood Considered as a Seal Point in the Sun"Muse Medallion for Short Story 1995
Lifeboat on a Burning Sea Nebula Award for Novelette [4] 1996
"Thirteen Ways to Water"Nebula Award for Short Story [5] 1998
"The Dead Boy at Your Window" Bram Stoker Superior Achievement Award for Short Horror1998
Pushcart Prize 1999
N/AIndividual Artist Fellowship from the Oregon Arts Commission 1999
"Bitter Pills" SF Age Readers' Poll; Best Short Story1999
"Don Ysidro"Winner, World Fantasy Award for Best Short Fiction 2004
Jerry OltionAbandon in PlaceNebula Award for Novella [6] 1997
The Astronaut from Wyoming (with Adam-Troy Castro) Analog Readers' Choice Award for Novella2000
Seiun Award for Best Foreign Language Short Story of the Year2007
Leslie What"The Cost of Doing Business"Nebula Award for Short Story [7] 1999
"Why I Wash the Dead"1st Place, Oregon Writers Colony Essay Contest2000
Eric M. WitcheyEcho New Century Writer Awards; 9th Place Novel 1999
"Dreams and Bones"2nd Place, Writers of the Future Contest [8] Q3, 2001
"Life and Death and Stealing Toads"1st Place, Ralan's Spectravaganza "Grabber" Contest [9] 2003
Leon J. West"Memoria Technica"2nd Place, Writers of the Future Contest [8] Q4, 2002
Jay Lake"Into the Gardens of Sweet Night"1st Place, Writers of the Future Contest [8] Q4, 2003
John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer [10] 2004
Ken Brady"Asleep in the Forest of the Tall Cats"Published Finalist, Writers of the Future Contest [8] 2004
Marshall Moseley"Wildcard"3rd Place [11] Project Greenlight 2004
Stephen R. Stanley"Mars Hath No Fury Like a Pixel Double-Crossed"1st Place, Writers of the Future Contest [8] Q3, 2005
Blake Hutchins"The Sword from the Sea"1st Place, Writers of the Future Contest [8] Q2, 2006
Damon Kaswell"Our Last Words"3rd Place, Writers of the Future Contest [1] Q2, 2007
John Burridge"Mask Glass Magic"3rd Place, Writers of the Future Contest [1] Q4, 2007
Stephen R. StanleyIllustratorWinner, Illustrators of the Future Contest [8] Q1, 2008
Grá Linnaea"Life In Steam"3rd Place, Writers of the Future ContestQ3, 2009
Jacob A. Boyd"Lost Pine"3rd Place, Writers of the Future ContestQ3, 2011

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 McCowan, Karen (March 21, 2007). "Eugene's bunch of Wordos continues to find success". The Register-Guard . Retrieved 2007-09-20.[ dead link ]
  2. 1 2 "The Wordos FAQ". The Wordos. Retrieved 2007-09-20.
  3. ↑ "2006 World Fantasy Awards Ballot". World Fantasy. Archived from the original on 2007-07-22. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
  4. ↑ "1996 SFWA Nebula Award(TM) Winners". SFWA. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
  5. ↑ "1998 SFWA Final Nebula Ballot". SFWA. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
  6. ↑ "1997 SFWA Nebula Winners". SFWA. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
  7. ↑ "SFWA Nebula Awards(R): 1999 Winners". SFWA. Archived from the original on 2007-07-09. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Winners and Awards". Writers of the Future. Archived from the original on 2007-09-09. Retrieved 2007-09-21.
  9. ↑ "Spectravaganza 2003". Ralan.com. Archived from the original on 21 August 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-22.
  10. ↑ "Author Biography and Bibliography". SciFi.com. Archived from the original on 2007-04-01. Retrieved 2007-09-21.
  11. ↑ "The Backstory: Blogs from the Inside". Project Greenlight. Archived from the original on 2007-10-10. Retrieved 2007-08-31.
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