I blogged about my experience at Launch Pad here before, and most recently discussed it with a group of other participants here, but I just want to highly, highly recommend that anyone working in science-popularization, in SF media or literature, who would like to have her or his mind blown a bunch of times in a week, getting not just an intensive course in astronomy but also in communicating science to nonscientists, learning about how to approach research, and hanging out with what will be, if you’re as lucky as I was, a stunningly wonderful group of people, you should apply for the Launch Pad Workshop.

This year is the last year of guaranteed funding, so it could well be your last chance. (Hopefully not: a new funding application is pending, but you never know.) The guest lecturer this year is Kevin Grazier, and of course the inimitable Mike Brotherton is leading the proceedings.

(And by the way, it’s held in Laramie, Wyoming, home to amazing numbers of wonderful microbreweries. Even the beer out there, though you won’t drink much unless you’re already used to the altitude, is wonderful and mind-blowing all at once.)

Apply! Apply! You know you want to!