Clarion South needs help

Clarion South is the newest CLarion workshop created based on the principles of the Clarion East and Clarion West workshops in the US. This one takes place in Australia and runs every two years. I've been a tutor there and found it to be as professionally run as Clarion West--it's certainly a worthy cause. I know it's a bad time for everyone and everyone probably has charity fatigue, but even a few dollars can help.

This from Kate Eltham:

You probably heard on the grapevine - and our most recent students
experienced it first hand - that we encountered a few challenges in
delivering the latest Clarion South workshop. Not only was our contract
with our original venue at Griffith University cancelled at short
notice, requiring us to find a new and more expensive home, but we had
not one but three (!) unexpected tutor cancellations.

We're proud of the way we handled these challenges to deliver another
successful workshop in 2009, but financially it wiped us clean. We'd
love your help and support to refill the coffers so that we can plan for
our future workshops and put Clarion South on a more stable financial
footing.

We're proud of each and every one of you for your commitment to your
writing and the achievements you've made since completing the workshop.
We hope that, if nothing else, you feel part of a larger community of
writers scattered throughout the world who make up the Clarion
fraternity. We're grateful for any small token of support you can
provide at this time.

There are a few ways you can help...

1. Donate to our Fundraising Appeal
Simply go to http://www.clarionsouth.org/donate.htm to make a PayPal
donation directly to Clarion South. We know it's not the best time be
launching an appeal, just after Christmas, during a global financial
meltdown, and during some very real human crises such as the Victorian
Bushfires. You have our heartfelt appreciation for even very small
donations, and if you are not in a position to give, that is perfectly
okay.

2. Spread the word
Even if you can't donate to the Appeal we would love your support to
spread the word about our fundraising drive. By the end of March we are
hoping to raise $4,000 for Clarion South. If you know any friends who
are sympathetic to the aims and activities of Clarion South, please let
them know - via Facebook, MySpace, your blog or any other means.

We'll have a Facebook group up shortly, but in the meantime, please feel
free to direct people to our website at http://www.clarionsouth.org

Thank you in advance for your love and support. We're incredibly
passionate about Clarion South and would like to see it thrive and
continue into the future.

If you have any questions at all, or can think of any other suggestions,
we'd love to hear from you. Feel free to call me direct on 0407 695 950
at any time, or email us at info@clarionsouth.org.

Best wishes,
Kate Eltham, Robert Hoge, Robert Dobson and Heather Gammage.
------------------------------------
Kate Eltham, Co-Director
Clarion South Writers Workshop
p: 0407 695 950
e: kate@clarionsouth.org

Clarion South is a project initiative of Fantastic Queensland Inc, a Brisbane creative industries cluster inspiring, developing and promoting cultural enterprise in speculative fiction.