Welcome to the 2009 CSSF Writers Workshops!
Hello, everyone -
Welcome to the Center for the Study of Science Fiction's Summer Workshops! This post should give you all the info you need to be ready for the Workshops; if you need anything more, let me know and I'll add more. I've posted here so you can easily find this info wherever you are, I can update it, and y'all can respond in a single place.
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Short Story Workshop: We're fast approaching June, so be sure to finish your stories soon and get them to us so your fellow workshoppers can begin reading!
Internet Access: Housing is making the LAN lines in the dorms active for summer classes, so everyone should be able to access teh intarwebs from their dorm rooms. You'll need to get a KU login (username and password - see below), but then you should be good to go. I have a LAN cable or two I can share with y'all, but if you have one it's a good idea to bring your own just in case. NOTE: These are
RJ45 cables, not a standard LAN cable. Also, if someone is adept at setting up a wireless hub to share with the others, that would enable laptop use across the floor. Just an idea!
To set up your LAN and get a logon, just call ResNet (785)812-0000 when you get to your room to have then activate your LAN and give you a login. Their hours:
Monday through Thursday 8am-8pm
Friday 8am-5pm
Saturday 10am-5pm
Sunday 12pm-5pm
Also, many cafés, bars, coffee shops, and bookstores in Lawrence have free wireless access.
Here is a pretty complete listing.
For those of you without a laptop, the Technical Writing program of the English Department can lend a sort of old but fully functional one to you. You'll need to sign a waiver that states you are responsible for any damages. Bring any special software you might need, and when you're done, please remove anything you've loaded onto them. Please don't download anything that could cause problems! Be sure to write to me in advance of your arrival so I can have one ready for you.
Novel Workshop: Kij and y'all should have your chapters and outlines now. More info from Kij:
If you're in Alpha, you've got an easy schedule: you'll meet 9-12 every day; but some of those days will be with the larger group, and some of them will be just Alpha 9-11 and then the larger group 11-12.
Sorry, Omega: more confusing. If you're Omega, we'll be meeting either 9-12 (when it's the larger group discussing something) OR 11-12 and 1-3 (if we're doing some group stuff and some group stuff).
Kij will post a schedule when we get there!
Workshop Web Pages: What follows is all kinds of information to help you prepare; you'll also find lots of useful info about travel, restaurants, and so on at the bottom of these pages:
Short SF Writer's Workshop page here (meets after lunch).
Novel Workshop page here (meets before lunch). By the way, bonus: Kij (
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kijjohnson) is staying in the dorm with y'all!
Phone: There should be an active phone jack in every room. Bring a phone if you want one, and let me know in advance so I can get a number for you. I will also supply one or two phones. Bring a cell phone!
Sheets: You'll need to bring your own long twin sets as well as towels, a pillow, and wash clothes. Also bring a a blanket if you get chilled at night; the rooms have their own thermostats, but it's a good idea just in case. Yeah, I know it's summer in Kansas, but just ask some previous years' participants about over-active AC…. I'll supply a few sets of sheets, blankets, and several pillows, but they're strictly first-grabbed, first used! Most years, one or more participants leave behind a set of these, so pretty soon we'll have enough for everyone.
Lunches: We aren't required to buy lunch meal plans this year, though the café is in our building or right nearby, so we usually lunch together at noon (right after the first part of the novel workshop, right before the short-fiction workshop). It's not terribly cheap, but it is an excellent and diverse all-you-can-eat style dorm cafeteria. I think it's tasty.
Dinners: In recent years, we've been doing an "around-the-world" restaurant tour of Lawrence. We have a million great eateries in town (see
this page for info about many of them), and the majority of the workshoppers get together every night for dinner with the rest of folks. If you prefer to eat more economically, plan to bring your own cooler and/or dorm fridge. Lawrence also has many supermarkets within a few minutes drive of the dorms - including a whole-foods place just a few blocks away - so you can stock up once you get here.
Dorm Check-in: Check in at the front desk of our dorm (I'll have the exact dorm by the end of this week), which will have your name and room reservation info... except for those who haven't yet sent us that info. Check-in begins at 2:00pm on the day you reserved. On the evening of Sunday, June 28, we'll have a get-together at 5:00pm in the lobby of our floor of the dorm (the same place where we meet for the Workhops), and we'll order pizza or sub-sandwiches and have soda and such on hand. Bring $5 for food and we'll call it good! I'll also invite some local SF writers to hang with us if you don’t mind.
Plan to stay through July 12th, when the Center hosts the
Campbell Conference. That Sunday morning, we'll have time to listen to our guest authors (Campbell and Sturgeon winners) talk about writing. Haven't yet registered? Do it now! And if you were planning to leave early and registered saying so, feel free to change your registration to reflect staying through Sunday.
If we get the kind of dorm we've had the past few years, many rooms will have a kitchen area with cupboards, sink, and counter tops. There's space for a microwave, too, and I'll provide one. Beyond that, I'll have to report back to y'all after checking out the rooms later this week. I have several boxes of additional stuff that I store for y'all to use: coffee pot, toaster, ice chest, hangers, etc. plus I'll bring a great magazine rack full of SF and idea-generational magazines.
Entertainment: Lawrence, being a college town, is full-up with entertainment. You'll find live bands aplenty (
see this page for info), and much more. If people are interested, I'm happy to host movie nights at my place. I own dozens of SF movies and am happy to open my house to you. I'll even provide soda, beer, and such, and we can order delivery. Interested? Bring your favorite movies if you want to do this (a couple of years ago, Jean provided the complete, original Flash Gordon!). We also have a multiplex theater in town, plus an art-house theater (
theater listings here). It's a college town, so there are many bars of all types if that's your thing, plus multiple restaurants of every type, several bookstores (new and used), museums, bicycle paths, lakes, rivers…. Check out
Lawrence.com for listings of these attractions.
Printing: Is anyone bringing a printer? Would you mind sharing it with the others while you're here if, say, they provide a toner or ink cartridge? We have a good Office Depot that should carry what you need. I have an old one that was donated a few years ago, but I can't guarantee operation. There is a Kinko's downtown, and the dorm occasionally has a computer lab open (but don't rely on it).
Clothing: Dress is whatever you find comfy! Be aware that outside temps will likely be in the 90s most of the time, but might drop into the 60s at night or during thunderstorms. Sometimes, our dorm A/C has gone crazy and we've been cold, so bring a sweatshirt and long pants, just in case. If you're going to the Campbell Confernece Awards ceremony, many of the attendees use it as an opportunity to dress up. Up to you!
Workshop Readings: For the missing files, please submit your work ASAP - electronic files, please, preferably in Rich Text Format (.rtf) for ease of reading by multiple programs - so everyone in the Workshops has a chance to critique them before we get started. Be sure to read and mark up the work before you arrive so you can enjoy your stay and get some work done (and enjoy your time here) rather than having to stay up late crazily reading. James Gunn wrote
a fine essay on "How to Be a Good Critiquer and Still Remain Friends." I recommend it highly.
Campbell Conference: If you plan to partake of the full Campbell Conference and haven't yet registered, let me know ASAP. It will be really amazing this year and well worth it.
Here's the page with full info on the Conference, our special guests (to be updated very soon), and more. Often, at least a couple of the year's special guests stay in the dorm with us, so you'll have a chance to spend one-on-one time with some of our genre's finest authors and sometimes editors while you're here.
Getting Around: Kij is driving to Kansas, so there's at least one car that can carry 4-5 people in style. Who else will have a vehicle here? If you're driving, you might find the University of Kansas map useful:
http://www.ku.edu/visit/maps.shtmlAlso, if you haven't already worked out transport from the Kansas City airport to Lawrence, now's the time to do so. The shuttles most people use to get to and from the Kansas City International (MCI) airport to Lawrence are:
- KCI Airport Shuttle (also known as the "Roadrunner Shuttle"). Full information here (scroll to the bottom of the page for rates). Toll-free phone contact number: (800) 747-2524 or call your travel agent.
- Ground Transportation, Inc. (a local Lawrence business) 888-467-3729 or 785-838-4500. See a schedule here.
We have all manner of stores in Lawrence, so if you don’t have something that you'll need while here (including sheets, pillows, and so on), it's a short drive to go get it.
Some people like to send a box of stuff to me rather than carry things on an airplane. Sounds fine. Use
my KU English Department the dorm address:
(Your Name)
Intensive English Institute
1515 Engel Road
Lawrence, KS 66047
Anything else? Let us know!
I'm very much looking forward to meeting those of you I haven't yet met and seeing old friends again!
Best,
Chris
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