If you've spent more than a day reading science fiction, you've come across a reference to the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshop at some point, because chances are at least one of your favorite writers has taught or studied there at some point. For years, the program was run by Michigan State University, but now some of the genre's biggest stars have come together to form the board of directors for The Clarion Foundation, a charitable organization that will help keep the workshop up and running. Among their fundraising techniques: an eBay auction to be held in March. So far, the only offering I've heard about is short story writing genius Howard Waldrop creating an outgoing message for your answering machine using his Peter Lorre imitation, but with people like Kate Wilhelm, Karen Joy Fowler, Walter Jon Williams, Kelly Link, and Cory Doctorow on board, they're bound to get a ton of other great donations in the next month.