The Baltimore Science Fiction Society is a literary society focusing on science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

, fantasy

Fantasy

Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...

 and related genres. A 501c3 literary society based in Baltimore, Maryland, the BSFS sponsors Balticon

Balticon

Balticon is the Maryland Regional science fiction convention, sponsored by the Baltimore Science Fiction Society . It has been held annually since 1966...

, the Maryland Regional Science Fiction Convention.

Activities

BSFS holds a business meeting on the second Saturday of each month, and a social meeting on the fourth Saturday of the month. It maintains a free lending library, and conducts other public outreach events promoting literacy.

BSFS sponsors a young writers contest for Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

 students named "The Jack L. Chalker

Jack L. Chalker

Jack Laurence Chalker was an American science fiction author. Chalker was also a Baltimore City Schools history teacher in Maryland for 12 years, retiring in 1978 to write full-time...

 Young Writers Contest." BSFS conducts the annual Bobby Gear Memorial Charity Auction to fund the BSFS Books for Kids program which gives free reading books to students in cooperation with a Maryland school/schools.

The BSFS has presented the Compton Crook Award

Compton Crook Award

The Compton Crook Award is presented to the best first novel of the year in the field of Science Fiction, Fantasy, or Horror by the members of the Baltimore Science Fiction Society, Inc, at their annual Baltimore-area science fiction convention, Balticon, held on Memorial Day weekend in the...

 each Balticon SM (since 1983) for "... the best first novel in the genre published during the previous year ...". The list of eligible books is published in the monthly newsletter so all club members will have a chance to read and vote. The winning author is invited to Balticon SM (BSFS pays transportation and lodging) and presented with the cash award. Compton Crook, who used the nom de plume

Pen name

A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...

 Stephen Tall

Stephen Tall

Stephen Tall was the most common pseudonym of American science fiction writer Compton Newby Crook .Born in Rossville, Tennessee, Crook studied biology at Peabody College, and did graduate work at Arizona State University and Johns Hopkins University...

, died in 1981. He was a long time Baltimore resident, a Towson University

Towson University

Towson University, often referred to as TU or simply Towson for short, is a public university located in Towson in Baltimore County, Maryland, U.S...

 professor, and, of course, a science fiction author.

History

The Baltimore Science Fiction Society was first formed on January 5, 1963, on the back seat of a Trailways bus, by people returning from a meeting of the Washington Science Fiction Association

Washington Science Fiction Association

The Washington Science Fiction Association is the oldest science fiction club in the Washington, D.C. area. It is also one of the oldest science fiction clubs, founded in 1947 by seven fans who met at that year's Worldcon in Philadelphia, the fifth Worldcon held.Since 1960 it has met on the...

 (WSFA). It went into suspension as an organization after an election of officers which proved disastrous on October 12, 1968, on a (non-functioning) streetcar. Its only production of consequence was starting Balticon SM (1966) and it has in common with the present group only the name, spirit, Balticon, and continuity of the same three founding members.

There was no formal BSFS during the intervening years, but several fans managed to keep the Balticon SM tradition alive by holding Balticons SM number 3 through 8.

Present

The present Baltimore Science Fiction Society was re-started in 1974 when it was incorporated in the State of Maryland. It applied for and was granted IRS

Internal Revenue Service

The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...

 tax exempt status.

BSFS is the third Science Fiction society in the country to own their own meeting place. LASFS (Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society

Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society

The Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society, Inc., or LASFS is a science fiction society with its headquarters in Van Nuys, a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California. Van Nuys is located in the San Fernado Valley, north of Los Angeles...

) and NESFA (New England Science Fiction Association

New England Science Fiction Association

The New England Science Fiction Association, or NESFA, is a science fiction club centered in the New England area. It was founded in 1967, "by fans who wanted to do things in addition to socializing"...

) are the other two. The former theater at 3310 East Baltimore Street, in the Highlandtown

Highlandtown, Baltimore

Highlandtown is a neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland, United States.The area currently known as Highlandtown was established in 1866 when the area known as "Snake Hill" was established as a village outside of the Baltimore city limits. The first settlers of the community were primarily Greek...

 section of Baltimore, is being slowly renovated as time and money allow. On December 15, 2004 after a long fight by BSFS the Maryland Court of Appeals

Maryland Court of Appeals

The Court of Appeals of Maryland is the supreme court of the U.S. state of Maryland. The court, which is composed of one chief judge and six associate judges, meets in the Robert C. Murphy Courts of Appeal Building in the state capital, Annapolis...

ruled favorably on the tax exemption status of the BSFS building, reversing a ruling by the Maryland State Department of Assessment and Taxation. The decision forced the state to revise the Maryland property tax code for literary organizations and other non-profit organizations that serve an educational purpose.

BSFS maintains a popular SF resources website with something for everyone who likes science fiction in any of its cultural art forms.