2014 Santa Fe Science-Writing Workshop

Monday, May 5

3 p.m. Begin checking in at Inn of the Governors.

4:45 p.m. to 6 p.m. Registration packets will be available for pickup at a table in the lobby.

5:30 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. Reception (cash bar). (Participants only. Guests will be welcome at later events.)

6:15 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Dinner followed by introductions. Meet the students and instructors. (Participants only.)

Tuesday, May 6

6:30 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. Continental breakfast at hotel.

8:30 a.m. Meet in hotel lobby for a ride to the Santa Fe Institute. Drivers, including commuters and instructors, are asked to help with the carpooling.

9:15 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Welcome by Jerry Sabloff, president of SFI.

9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. "The Nuts and Bolts of Science Writing." By dissecting the current week's issue of Science Times, the instructors, joined by David Corcoran, the section's editor, show how the pros turn science's discoveries into compelling, accurate stories.

10:45 a.m. to 12 noon. Presentation by SFI scientist Jennifer Dunne.

12:15 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Picnic lunch on the grounds. Meet with your group for the first time and discuss the morning's presentation.

1:45 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Presentation by U.S. Forest Service scientist Don McKenzie.

(Students may use the talks as the basis for a writing assignment, which will be critiqued during the workshop sessions. See the FAQ for details.)

3:15 p.m. Return to hotel.

4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Meet in the hotel conference room for a short discussion about what we learned at SFI.

6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Public reading and book signing by the instructors at Collected Works bookstore.

7:35 p.m. Explore the Plaza; forage for dinner.

Wednesday, May 7

6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Breakfast at hotel.

9 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. "Behind the Scenes at the New York Times." David Corcoran describes how he and the staff go about finding, reporting, and presenting the week's science news, both on paper and online.

10:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m."Three Scientists Walk Into a Bar..." Science stories are not performance pieces in which the journalist is trying to impress the experts. Using his work in The Washington Post, National Geographic, and Smithsonian Magazine as examples, Joel Achenbach explains how science writing can be funny and entertaining even as it searches for timeless truths and the proverbial meaning of life.

12 noon to 1 p.m. Lunch at the hotel.

1:15 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. "Science Faction" George Johnson's most memorable journalism professor, the mystery writer Tony Hillerman, taught that great journalism can draw on some of the same techniques used in fiction -- with the caveat that everything must be scrupulously true.

2:45 to 5:15 p.m. Workshop session. Students will break into groups and meet with their assigned instructor.

5:30 p.m. Explore the Plaza; forage for dinner.

Thursday, May 8

6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Breakfast at the hotel.

9 a.m. to 10:15 a.m."Good ideas, Bad Ideas." Taking half a dozen of his own story ideas as examples, Guy Gugliotta talks about how science writers and editors decide on which stories to write and which to discard -- and how the process can go awry.

10:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m."Going it Alone." Michelle Nijhuis discusses how to build a career as a freelance science writer -- and how to stay sane, solvent, and creatively satisfied as a science writer of any kind.

12 noon to 1 p.m. Lunch at the hotel.

1:15 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.. Workshop session. Meet with your instructor.

3 p.m. Meet in hotel lobby for an optional field trip to Bandelier National Monument. Guests are welcome. Bring sunscreen, hat, water, and (depending on the forecast) rain gear. (If you prefer to stay in town, you can walk to the Plaza and nearby museums or explore Canyon Road and Santa Fe's historic Eastside.)

3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Explore the ruins at Bandelier.

6:30 p.m. Dinner at Tomasita's Restaurant in the Railyard. (Cash bar. Guests welcome.)

9:15 p.m. Return to hotel.

Friday May 9

6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Breakfast at hotel.

9 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. Meet for the final time with your group.

12 noon to 1 p.m. Lunch at the hotel.

1:15 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.Special presentation. David C. Cassidy, acclaimed author of biographies of Werner Heisenberg and Robert Oppenheimer and the playwright of "Farm Hall," talks about how to make historical events in science come to life on the page.

3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Instructors will be available to meet informally with students. Meanwhile relax and prepare for the week's big event.

5:30 p.m. Meet in hotel lobby for a ride to the barbecue. (Guests welcome.)

6 p.m. to whenever. Barbecue at Sandra Blakeslee's house. (The drinks are on us.)

Saturday, May 10

6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Breakfast at the hotel. Please check out before attending the final session. Luggage can be left at the front desk.

9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Sandra Blakeslee. "Dueling Authors." Sandy Blakeslee describes a recent project -- working with two neuroscientists on a book about magic -- and considers the benefits and pitfalls of journalist-scientist collaborations.

10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Closing discussion and farewell.