TheLaunchPad Astronomy Workshop has been held three times now, each summer in Laramie, Wyoming. This project is the brainchild of Jim Verley and astronomer/SF writer Mike Brotherton. The goal of the workshop is to help expand the audience for science literate fiction and other popular endeavors. This year, we not only had science fiction writers in attendance, but also comedians and poets. Utlimately, I think it would be great to have some screenwriters for film and television attending as well. Especially considering how much we harp on Armageddon during the workshop.
The goal of the workshop is not to turn you into an Analog–style hard SF writer. The goal is to make sure you understand some of the basics of astronomy so that, even if you’re writing fantasy, you can get those details right. So that maybe you will *want* to write a story about the phases of the moon or about orbital mechanics in some way. Each year, several straight-fantasy authors attend and get just as much out of it as the nerds like me who already have a decent amount of astronomy science under our belts. I even had one major misconception of mine corrected. About the Earth’s axial tilt.
It’s a week of intense classwork, telescope viewing when the weather works, fun meals, a hike, and generally just getting to socialize with amazing people (many who happen to be writers). It will feel like, to quote Gord Sellar, a “pig has shit galaxies into your head.” Ultimately, it’s knowledge, and knowledge has a way of making you a better, richer writer.
When applications open up again next year, I will post about it here, and I expect all of you to flood Mike and Jim with applications. Heh heh.
