Santa Fe, New Mexico
The 2002 workshop will be held June 15 to 20. The instructors will be Sandra Blakeslee, Robin Marantz Henig, George Johnson, Rosie Mestel, medical writer for The Los Angeles Times, and Andrew Revkin, environmental writer for The New York Times. Please check back for updates.
Deborah Blum, a Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer and University of Wisconsin journalism professor, whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Discover, Psychology Today, Life, Discovery.com, and Mother Jones.
Shannon Brownlee, a former senior writer at U.S. News & World Report, whose writing credits include The Washington Post, The New Republic, The Atlantic Monthly, The New York Times, Wilson Quarterly, Time, Business Week, and Salon.
Philip Elmer-DeWitt, assistant managing editor in charge of science, medicine, and technology coverage for Time magazine and a former staff writer there.
The faculty will also include the workshop organizers, George Johnson, science writer for The New York Times and author of Strange Beauty: Murray Gell-Mann and the Revolution in 20th-Century Physics, and Sandra Blakeslee, science writer for The New York Times and coauthor, with V. S. Ramachandran, of Phantoms in the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mind.
In addition, Dr. Lawrence K. Altman, chief medical correspondent for The New York Times, will give a talk on the politics of embargoes and will be available to meet with students.
Please bookmark this page and check back regularly for updates.
The last five workshops each attracted about 40 students from all over the country (and a few from Europe). Some were working science writers who wanted to hone their skills and meet more of their colleagues. Some were writers from other fields hoping to make the switch to science writing. Some were public information specialists from universities and government laboratories. And some were scientists who wondered if they might like writing more than research.
Previous instructors have included K.C. Cole of The Los Angeles Times, Joe Palca of National Public Radio, Pulitzer-prize-winner John Noble Wilford of the The New York Times, Laurie Garrett, Pulitzer-prize-winning reporter for Newsday, Richard Harris, Peabody-Award-winning science reporter for National Public Radio, Dennis Overbye, deputy science editor for The New York Times and author of Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos, Rick Weiss, science writer for The Washington Post, Natalie Angier, science correspondent for The New York Times and winner of the Pulitzer prize, Jon Franklin, two-time Pulitzer prize winner and professor of creative writing at the University of Oregon, Michael Lemonick, science writer for Time magazine, Paul Hoffman, former editor-in-chief of Discover magazine, Cornelia Dean, science editor of The New York Times, and Timothy Ferris, author of The Whole Shebang: A State of the Universe(s) Report and Coming of Age in the Milky Way.
The cost will be about the same as last year. Tuition will increase slightly to $525. Last year's lodging rates are unchanged: Five nights at Plaza Resolana (double occupancy with breakfasts and lunches included) is $325. For a private room (a very limited number are available) the cost is $475. Those who do not stay at Plaza Resolana are charged a $100 commuter fee, which covers lunches, coffee, course materials, and other incidentals. In addition there will be a $25 per person activities fee to pay for a group dinner at Rancho de Chimayo and a barbecue on the final evening of the conference. (On the other nights, we'll all hit the restaurants and bars around the downtown Plaza and fend for ourselves.)
You are welcome to bring a spouse or friend, in which case you will pay the double-occupancy rate plus $50 a night for the extra person (breakfasts and lunches included).
In the past, some people have chosen to stay instead at local bed and breakfasts. Many are within a few minutes' walk of Plaza Resolana and the Plaza.
Please burrow into our Web site and see what we did in 2000, in 1999, in 1998, in 1997, and in 1996. You can also read comments from people who attended previous workshops. The event is being held under the auspices of Plaza Resolana, a nonprofit organization.
photos by Bill Wilburn
Return to George Johnson's Home Page.