Neil Gaiman Accused Of Sexual Misconduct At Clarion Writers Workshop And Being Banned From Another Workshop With Students Ages 19 And Under

Neil Gaiman remains largely protected by the mainstream comic industry even though more details about a pattern of behavior lending credence to his initial sexual abuse accusers has come out. Now, whistleblowers are opening up about his reputation of abuse as a writing teacher at speculative fiction's intensive courses Clarion and Clarion West. With these allegations surfacing, Neil Gaiman canceled a recent public appearance. 

The troubles for Neil Gaiman started when a British podcast called Tortoise did an expose on the writer, with more than three hours of detail about sexual abuse allegations from two women, one who was a fan of Neil Gaiman who met him at a signing and claims she was manipulated into degrading acts, and another who acted as a babysitter/nanny for him and Amanda Palmer.

Fandom Pulse reported the details of the podcast in this article, which presents a harrowing account where there may be fourteen different women with stories of abuse. Tortoise claims they spoke to people around the situation, including Neil Gaiman, who famously claimed he only cuddled in a bathtub with the nanny. 

Bleeding Fool reported last week that Neil Gaiman canceled his first public event since the allegations arose, a speaking engagement set to take place Saturday where tickets cost $35 to see the author. Neil Gaiman has been completely silent on social media since these women's stories emerged. 

To add more bubbles to the bath, a publishing industry insider has spoken out about Neil Gaiman on X. Michael Matheson posted, "The pattern talked about in recent allegations is decades-long. Power imbalance frequently at the heart of what Neil does. At Clarion, there's the Gaiman Rule for instructors, named after Neil: 'Don't sleep with the students.'"

He continued noting something potentially worse for the author about his being kept away from young writing students at another course, "Neil is (I think unofficially?) barred from teaching at a particular workshop for young writers that caps out attendant age at 19. Not naming that one because I was told it in confidence nearly a decade ago when I was reprinting a story of Neil's in an anthology."

Matheson also points out how the industry protects Neil Gaiman, saying, "It's not a question of 'if,' the silence surrounding Gaiman for years is about who wants to lose their career by tilting a lance at one of genre publishing's sacred (cash) cows. That Gaiman cloaked himself in feminist/ally rhetoric for ages also made it harder to air things."

Having an unspoken rule about not sleeping with students named after Neil Gaiman at Clarion is a huge red flag. Clarion is where writers go to live for six weeks to workshop and learn from teachers like Neil Gaiman. The workshop produces a lot of writers in traditional publishing and is seen as a rite of passage for a fast track to get into places like Clarke's World or Tor Books. 

With a second writer's workshop allegedly banning Neil Gaiman because it's geared toward young students, it appears the industry knows the 62-year-old author's proclivities are much worse than they seem on the surface.

Even with this information coming to light, no one in mainstream entertainment media reports what's occurring with Neil Gaiman, leaving the public unaware of his alleged wrongdoings. One wonders how much bathwater needs to be put into the tub for this situation to boil over. 

What do you think of Neil Gaiman's allegations extending to Clarion with "The Gaiman Rule?" Leave a comment and let us know, and restack this post!