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The Rambo Academy Wayward Short Story Wormhole – New Mexico 2024

Key Information

Applications are now closed

Decision made by: July 31, 2024 - All applicants will be notified

Wormhole Workshop Dates: November 4-12, 2024

Add wormhole dates to calendar

Location: Painted Pony Ranch in Rodeo, New Mexico, USA - more info

Cost: Starting at $3,050 - more info

Overview

The Rambo Academy for Wayward Writers is pleased to announce the second annual Wayward Wormhole, this time in New Mexico. Join us for the short story workshop to study with Arley Sorg and Minister Faust.

This workshop comprises six hours of craft classes, moderated critique circles for each short story, plus a one-on-one discussion with each instructor.

We are looking for writers who are struggling to make a semi-pro or pro sale(s) and are looking for support and feedback that can move them forward.

Who it's for

If you’ve been submitting stories and are ready to share your work with peers and professionals in the Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror fields, you’re ready for the Wormhole. This level of feedback will acknowledge your strengths, identify weaknesses, and show you ways to capitalize on your unique style in ways you may not have considered. Be open to feedback, new techniques, and even failure.

Any writer of speculative fiction, published or unpublished, looking to leap forward in their writing career is a good fit for The Wayward Wormhole.

For insurance purposes, the minimum age is 21. There is no maximum, although this is an intensive workshop with demanding classes and work schedule.
There are no minimum educational requirements.
You must be able to speak and write in English.
Attendees from outside the USA, you must have a valid passport.
Students outside the United States are welcome to apply but are responsible for obtaining the appropriate visas.
This site is an accessible space.
ALL students and instructors must show proof of COVID vaccination to attend the onsite workshop.

The Wayward Wormhole believes readers are always looking for the next great story with a great voice, making writers like you important to us. If this is your goal, please apply!

Location

This workshop will take place at the Painted Pony Ranch in Rodeo, New Mexico, USA.

Address: 257 Painted Pony Road, Rodeo, NM 88056, United States
Phone: +1 703-281-9559

More information and photos can be found here.

Pricing

Queen beds—Two persons per room / Four spaces @ $ 3,495.00 per person
Single beds–-Two persons per room / Four spaces @ $ 3,295.00 per person
Single beds—Four persons per room / Four spaces @$ 3,050.00 per person

Fees include: Accommodations at the Painted Pony, and all meals/snacks eaten onsite.

Not included: Travel to and from the ranch, meals purchased outside the ranch, taxes.

NOTE: the ranch is located 2.5 hours from the Tucson AZ airport

Options from the airport to The Painted Pony include:

Rental Vehicle
Bus or Train (3 hrs) & Taxi (1 hr) plus transfer time from Tucson to Rodeo

Looking to share costs for any of the options above? Connect with other students on the Wormhole Discord channel at Chez Rambo! Transportation from Rodeo is available before 9 pm or after 8 am on Saturday, Nov. 2^nd and Sunday, Nov. 3^rd, and the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 13^th.

Partial scholarships are available. If you need financial help to attend, please fill out the scholarship application field (it’s part of the application form) with up to 200 words to explain your situation, and we will do our best to help those who qualify.

Schedule

The SHORT STORY WORKSHOP runs from November 4 to 12, 2024.

Students arrive Sunday, Nov. 3^rd and have the morning of Nov. 4^th to settle in and explore the facility and its 750 acres.

The workshop runs from 1:00 p.m. Nov. 4 – 12.
Students depart the morning of November 13, 2024.

Nov. 4 through 8 – Students will be broken into two groups of seven (7).

Each group will receive:

three hours of craft classes
a short story critique from cohorts and the instructor during the moderated critique circles where the author also has an opportunity to speak
a one-on-one discussion with their assigned instructor

Students are expected to complete a new short story for workshopping in the next section.

Nov. 9 through 12, the instructors will switch groups.

Each group will receive:

three hours of craft classes
a short story critique from cohorts and the instructor during the moderated critique circles where the author also has an opportunity to speak
a one-on-one discussion with their assigned instructor

How to Apply

Applications for this Science-fiction/Fantasy/Horror Short Story Workshop

Prepare your best short story, paying attention to the format criteria below.
To ask for a partial scholarship, please prepare 200 words to explain your situation and how a scholarship could help.
Click the button below to complete a form, upload your story, include the scholarship request (if applicable), and pay $25.00 USD to cover the non-refundable application fee.

If you need help with the application/payment process, please contact us. Include which Wormhole you are applying for and your name in the body of the email.

NOTE: All submission fees go to support the Vonda N. McIntyre Scholarship Program

You’ll receive an email confirming receipt of your application and story.

SHORT STORY SPECIFICATION:

The 5000-word limit is firm. Do not exceed the limit.
Name your application file using the title of your story and the year:
Please do not show your name anywhere on the story sample.
Use font type Courier or Times Roman, 12 point, standard margins, double spaced.
Number your pages.
Use .rtf .doc or .docx format.

OTHER:

No screenplays, poetry, or middle grade/picture books.
Letters of recommendation will not influence our selection process.

There will be a $ 15.00 USD penalty to cover reader costs if you send the wrong file and wish to send another BEFORE the application closing deadline – after May 31^st11:59:59 EST is too late.

Your Instructors

Arley Sorg

Arley Sorg is an associate agent at kt literary. He is a two-time World Fantasy Award Finalist and a two-time Locus Award Finalist for his work as co-Editor-in-Chief at Fantasy Magazine. Arley is also a SFWA Solstice Award Recipient, a Space Cowboy Award Recipient, and a finalist for two Ignyte Awards.

Arley is senior editor at Locus, associate editor at both Lightspeed & Nightmare, a columnist for The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, and an interviewer for Clarkesworld. He has been a guest critiquer for the Odyssey Workshop, was the week five instructor for the 2023 Clarion West workshop, and is a Guest of Honour for the 2024 in-person Can*Con, among other teaching and speaking engagements.

Find Arley Sorg here:

Website

Minister Faust

According to The Routledge Companion to Literature and Science, “Since 1960s, Afrodiasporic authors including Samuel R. Delany, Octavia E. Butler, Nalo Hopkinson, and Minister Faust have become luminaries within the SF community.”

The critically-acclaimed author of The Alchemists of Kush and the Kindred Award-winning and Philip K. Dick runner-up Shrinking the Heroes, Minister Faust first won accolades for his debut The Coyote Kings of the Space-Age Bachelor Pad, shortlisted for the Locus Best First Novel and Philip K. Dick awards.

Minister Faust’s short stories have appeared in Cyber World, Edmonton on Location, Fiery Spirits, Griots: A Sword and Soul Anthology, Mothership: Tales from Afrofuturism and Beyond, and elsewhere. iO9, Adventure Rocketship, Canada 150: Stories of Reconciliation Connecting Us All, Engineer Magazine, The Globe & Mail, Greg Tate’s Coon Bidness, and more have published his articles.

Minister Faust’s Afritopianism draws from myriad ancient African civilisations, explores present realities, and imagines a future in which people struggle not only for justice, but for the stars.

With a combined 20,000 hours of teaching, workshop leadership, broadcasting, and speaking in front of organisations, conventions, conferences, TEDx Edmonton, and crowds in the tens of thousands, Minister Faust creates the ideal mixture of the humourous, wise, technical, and inspirational.

Website

"For anyone who finds Cat Rambo’s online classes helpful, the Wayward Wormhole is the Rambo Academy on steroids. The instructors were not only brilliant writers but also experienced teachers adept at leading seminar-level classes and providing one-on-one guidance. They shared a wealth of insights into the business side of being a fiction writer. For those wary of traditional critique circles, Wayward Wormhole relies on a far more useful approach to supply writers with feedback that is both helpful and kind. I came home with sparkling ideas for improving four short stories, three of which I wrote from start to finish during the workshop. Bonus: The Wayward Wormhole sent out tapes of the classroom lectures and discussions one can revisit afterwards."

~Rosemary Claire Smith

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