One of the problems about being involved in a lot of things – Aurealis, Vision, Conjure, Clarion South – is that people ask you a lot of questions. Across the weekend I found myself answering questions about readings at Conjure, Clarion South applications, anthologies and award nights.

And there was that one guy who asked me where the toilets were. Twice.

One of the things I found myself discussing a couple of times was how we go about choosing tutors for Clarion South. I’ve posted about that before a few times on the Vision list and I thought it might be a good time to revisit it at greater length here, particularly in light of the discussions.

I figured my blog was a good a place as any to start explaining some of the thinking that goes into it. And I want to use this as a bit of testing ground – somewhere to throw out my thoughts, be questioned on them, challenged even, so I can refine what I’m saying here and put it on the Clarion South website. I’m interested in your opinion.

Like good writing, deciding Clarion South tutors is part art, part craft and part pure good luck. The trick to finding a good lineup is to get the mix right. We’re at pains to tell students they shouldn’t expect to like each of the six tutors the same. It would be very strange if they did. We’ve had feedback where students have said they hadn’t read much of the work of Author X but thought they’d learnt a lot from them during their teaching week.

It’s also important to understand that the tutors don’t have a set script to follow. There may be times when Tutor D gives a student advice that contradicts what Tutor C told them four days beforehand. This is a good thing. One of the most enjoyable experiences at Clarion South is watching this happen over the six weeks and seeing students realize that they have to decide for themselves which of the answers is right for their writing. Students don’t attend to become mindless drones who simply follow one set of rules. We actively seek tutors who present differing views.

Some of the things we take into account when trying to choose a lineup include:

• Do we have a good balance of tutors who can cover science fiction, fantasy and horror? This is generally the easiest base to cover, particularly in Australia where it’s often likely that any given writer will be publishing work across the genres. Even then however, you have to take into account things like is there an author who has published some slipstream and one who has written some hard science fiction.


• How much experience do the various writers have with writing short stories?


• Do we have authors who have experience at writing novels? Yes, Clarion South is a short story writing workshop but it doesn’t hurt to have an author or two who knows the novel-writing game. In both 2004 And 2005 we had tutors whose experience was primarily at longer lengths. Not only could they critique short stories but they were also able to offer insights into novel publishing, which a number of participants said was a big plus when they were surveyed after the workshop.


• Do we have an author or two who has experience writing young adult fiction? YA is a huge market, which many applicants are keen to know more about.


• Do we have a good balance of professional experiences? It’s good to have tutors who are at different stages of their professional careers. Students may not be able to realize how they can become a megastar author who sells 15 pro short stories and three novels every year but it’s much easier if you show them a few tutors who are closer to where they themselves are. I’m particularly looking forward to the day we can employ our first Clarion South graduate as a tutor.


• Do we have a good balance of personal experiences? This might seem strange at first but it can range from something as simple as ensuring we have tutors with a broad age range, to making sure we get one or two authors who can talk about how they manage to have their work published while living in a house full of children. Some of our most positive feedback has come from participants who have kids and want to know any tricks and tips the tutors have for getting writing done in a house full of kids. This could come in the form of active advice about how to balance work and family pressures or it may simply come from the tutor setting an example.


• Do we have a decent gender balance? This may seem strange to some people at first but getting a reasonable balance actually matters a lot to some of the participants, so we try to keep to a 2/4 or 3/3 split. Generally that’s not too hard to work into the overall considerations.


• Do we have a range of teaching styles? It’s just as important that we don’t fill the workshop with six tutors who are loud and in-your-face as it is that we don’t get six quiet and introspective sites. It’s about getting the mix right.

And even after we’ve answered all of the questions, things may come undone simply because of the unavailability of one or two authors. It can throw the mix out.

In the past, we’ve started by trying to nail down an editor – who in 2004, 2005 and 2007 has been/will be from overseas. I can see a time in the future however, where we might be able choose a local to fill this role.

Editors are particularly important to the Clarion experience. They generally tend to have a lot of industry knowledge and contacts. They read a lot. And, you know, they can actually buy some of the stuff they read every now and then. In both 2004 and 2005 the editors had picked up students’ work (some written at the workshop) for assorted projects. This is a tremendous and immediate boost to a writer’s career.

Most years, Clarion South has a budget that allows us to fly out two international guests and simple logistics often dictate that we try to nail these down first.

So what do we look for? We look for good writers, writers who are publishing work at the moment, writers who are selling to a variety of markets, writers who are interesting and who engage with their craft. Writers who are passionate. And six writers who, when looked at together, fit the mix.

Someone talked to me on the weekend about how much some of the 2004 and 2005 tutors valued being asked to teach at Clarion South. That’s a really important thing. I’m very glad tutors are proud they taught Clarion South. They did a superb job.

Obviously as convenors we’re cognizant of the fact that being picked to teach at Clarion South can boost an author’s income. And I imagine it can boost an author’s profile as well. But we don’t choose tutors simply to reward ‘good’ writers, or to give a boost to writers we like. The workshop is simply too important for that. Up to 17 participants pay around $2500 dollars and give up six weeks of their life to come to Clarion South. The workshop is about them. The tutors work for them.

There are simply far too many good genre authors in Australia than we’d ever be able to fit into the workshop as tutors, even over 10 years; so each year our focus needs to be on getting the mix right. I think we did a pretty good job in 2004 and 2005 but the final say on that is probably best left to the participants themselves; just as it will be for the students who come along to Clarion South in 2007.

Anyway, that’s the behind-the-scenes goings-on that get us from a blank page to a full roster of six Clarion South tutors. It’s a complex juggling act at times and if you’ve got any questions about which balls are up in the air and why, fire away.