Writing Today's Science
1996 Schedule
Information is now available for the 1998 workshop.
Saturday, June 15
3 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Registration at Plaza Resolana. Pick up room key and other information at front desk.5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Social hour at Plaza Resolana. Meet the students and instructors.
6:45 p.m. Explore the Plaza; forage for dinner.
Sunday, June 16
7:30 a.m. to 8:15 a.m.
8:30 a.m. Meet in front of Plaza Resolana for trip to Santa Fe Institute.
9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Students will hear talks by three scientists: Chris Fields of the National Center for Genome Resources ("Mythology of the Genome Project"), Doyne Farmer of the Prediction Company ("Chaos and the Financial Markets"), and John Ware of the Office of Archaeological Studies at the Museum of New Mexico ("The Collapse of the Anasazi"). The talks will be followed by question-and-answer sessions.
12:45 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. Box lunch on porch of Santa Fe Institute.
2 p.m. Return to Plaza Resolana
2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Students will meet with their instructors to discuss the morning's sessions and how to turn them into good stories. The writing assignments -- a good, strong lede and an outline -- will be critiqued in individual sessions beginning Wednesday morning.
Students will have the rest of the day to wander around the Plaza, eat dinner, and begin writing.
Monday, June 17
7:30 a.m. to 8:15 a.m.
8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. George Johnson. How to turn an obsession (or even a vague idea) into a book and persuade a publisher to unleash it on the world.
10:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. Cory Dean. Reporting environmental risks: how to decode the statistics and write a fair, accurate story without scaring the hell out of the public.
12 noon to 1:15 p.m. Lunch at Plaza Resolana.
1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Timothy Ferris. The life of a science writer, from covering cosmology and other mysteries for Rolling Stone (back when it was really worth reading) to writing for The New Yorker, producing best-selling books and documentaries along the way.
3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. George Johnson and Stuart Kauffman. Collaborating with a scientist on a book. A true saga told from two points of view, with lots of gory details.
6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Public reading by Timothy Ferris and George Johnson at Plaza Resolana. Ferris will read from his forthcoming book, "The Whole Shebang: A State-Of-The-Universe(s) Report." Johnson will read from "Fire in the Mind: Science, Faith, and the Search for Order."
Students will have the rest of the day to finish up stories and explore Santa Fe.
Tuesday, June 18
7:30 a.m. to 8:15 a.m.
8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Sandra Blakeslee. How to cover a large scientific conference, and a typical day in the life of a science writer for The New York Times.
10:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. Panel discussion. The battle between scientists and science writers. War stories from the front.
12 noon to 1:15 p.m. Lunch at Plaza Resolana.
1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Finish writing assignments and turn them in.
3 p.m.Meet in front of Plaza Resolana for trip to Tsankawi ruins.
4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Explore the ruins.
7:15 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Picnic dinner and talk by Timothy Ferris on the importance of science writers in fighting the encroaching dark age of new superstition.
8:45 p.m. Return to Plaza Resolana.
Wednesday, June 19
7:30 a.m. to 8:15 a.m.
8:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. Tom Johnson. The Internet and the World Wide Web -- new tools for science journalism.
12 noon to 1:15 p.m. Lunch at Plaza Resolana
1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Each student will have a 30-minute individual consultation with his or her instructor and a detailed critique of the writing assignment. Relax in the meantime and prepare for the evening's big event.
5:30 p.m.Meet in front of Plaza Resolana for a ride to the barbecue.
6 p.m. Barbecue at George Johnson's house.
8 p.m. Public lecture by Steven Pinker: "How the Human Mind Creates Language."
Thursday, June 20
7:30 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. Breakfast at Plaza Resolana. Please check out before attending final session. Luggage can be left at the front desk.
9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Cory Dean and Sandra Blakeslee. Why editors and reporters drive each other crazy -- and why they are absolutely necessary to each other's survival.