Science Fiction Research Association
Encyclopedia
The Science Fiction Research Association (SFRA), founded in 1970, is the oldest, non-profit professional organization committed to encouraging, facilitating, and rewarding the study
of science fiction
and fantasy
literature, film, and other media. The organization’s international membership includes academically affiliated scholars, librarians, and archivists, as well as authors, editors, publishers, and readers. In addition to its facilitating the exchange of ideas within a network of science fiction and fantasy experts, SFRA holds an annual conference for the critical discussion of science fiction and fantasy where it confers a number of awards, and it produces the quarterly publication, SFRA Review, which features reviews, review essays, articles, interviews, and professional announcements.
The 2012 SFRA Conference will meet in Detroit, Michigan
, and its theme is "Urban Apocalypse, Urban Renaissance:
Science Fiction and Fantasy Landscapes." The Guest of Honor is Eric Rabkin, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of English Language and Literature at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and the guest speakers include Professor Steven Shaviro of Wayne State University and writers Saladin Ahmed
, Sarah Zettel
(aka C.L. Anderson), and Minister Faust.
Pioneer Award
Clareson Award
Mary Kay Bray Award
Graduate Student Paper Award
SFRA book publications include the 1988 anthology, Science Fiction: The Science Fiction Research Association Anthology, edited by Patricia S. Warrick, Charles G. Waugh, and Martin H. Greenberg, the 1996 collection, Visions of Wonder: The Science Fiction Research Association Reading Anthology, edited by David G. Hartwell and Milton T. Wolf, the 1999 work, Pilgrims & Pioneers: The History and Speeches of the Science Fiction Research Association Award Winners by Hal W. Hall and Daryl F. Mallett
with substantial contributions by Fiona Kelleghan
, and the 2010 anthology, "Practicing Science Fiction: Critical Essays on Writing, Reading and Teaching the Genre," edited by Karen Hellekson, Craig B. Jacobsen, Patrick B. Sharp, and Lisa Yaszek.
Science fiction studies
This article is about the field of science fiction studies. For the journal of the same title, please see Science Fiction Studies.Science fiction studies is the common name for the academic discipline that studies and researches the history, culture, and works of science fiction and, more broadly,...
of 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...
and 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...
literature, film, and other media. The organization’s international membership includes academically affiliated scholars, librarians, and archivists, as well as authors, editors, publishers, and readers. In addition to its facilitating the exchange of ideas within a network of science fiction and fantasy experts, SFRA holds an annual conference for the critical discussion of science fiction and fantasy where it confers a number of awards, and it produces the quarterly publication, SFRA Review, which features reviews, review essays, articles, interviews, and professional announcements.
Conferences
The SFRA hosts an annual scholarly conference, which meets in a different location each year. Meetings have been held predominately in the United States in such places as New York, New York (1970), Lawrence, Kansas (1982, 2008), Las Vegas, Nevada (2005), and Atlanta, Georgia (2009). However, its meetings have been held elsewhere when possible including the cities of St. Anne de Bellevue, Province of Quebec (1992), New Lanark, Scotland (2002), Guelph, Ontario (2003), and Lublin, Poland (2011).The 2012 SFRA Conference will meet in Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
, and its theme is "Urban Apocalypse, Urban Renaissance:
Science Fiction and Fantasy Landscapes." The Guest of Honor is Eric Rabkin, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of English Language and Literature at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and the guest speakers include Professor Steven Shaviro of Wayne State University and writers Saladin Ahmed
Saladin Ahmed
Saladin Ahmed is an Arab-American science fiction and fantasy writer and poet. He has been a finalist for the John W. Campbell Award and the Nebula Award for Best Short Story. His fiction has been published in book anthologies and magazines such as Strange Horizons, Orson Scott Card's...
, Sarah Zettel
Sarah Zettel
Sarah A. Zettel is an American science fiction and fantasy author.She was born in Sacramento, California. Her mother, Gail Beavers, is a retired teacher and social worker; her father, Leonard Francis Zettel, Jr., is a retired engineer and programmer. She obtained a B.A. in Communications from...
(aka C.L. Anderson), and Minister Faust.
Awards
The SFRA presents the following awards at its annual conference:- Pilgrim AwardPilgrim AwardThe Pilgrim Award is presented by the Science Fiction Research Association for Lifetime Achievement in the field of science fiction scholarship. It was created in 1970 and was named after J. O. Bailey’s pioneering book Pilgrims Through Space and Time. Fittingly, the first award was presented to...
- The Pilgrim Award, created in 1970 and named for J. O. BaileyJ. O. BaileyJames Osler Bailey was a professor of literature who taught at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He wrote on a wide slate of topics ranging from the works of Edgar Allan Poe and Thomas Hardy to science fiction and utopian literature.The Science Fiction Research Association gives...
's pioneering book, Pilgrims through Space and Time, honors lifetime contributions to SF and fantasy scholarship. - Pioneer AwardSFRA Pioneer AwardThe Pioneer Award is given by the Science Fiction Research Association to the writer or writers of the best critical essay-length work of the year.Previous winners:*1990 - Veronica Hollinger, "The Vampire and the Alien: Variations on the Outsider"*1991 - H...
- The Pioneer Award, first given in 1990, recognizes the writer or writers of the best critical essay-length work of the year. - Clareson AwardThomas D. Clareson Award for Distinguished ServiceThe Thomas D. Clareson Award for Distinguished Service is presented by the Science Fiction Research Association for outstanding service activities...
- The Thomas D. Clareson Award for Distinguished Service, first given in 1996, recognizes an individual for outstanding service activities, which may include promotion of SF teaching and study, editing, reviewing, editorial writing, publishing, organizing meetings, mentoring, and leadership in SF/fantasy organizations. - Mary Kay Bray AwardMary Kay Bray AwardThe Mary Kay Bray Award is given by the Science Fiction Research Association for the best essay, interview, or extended review to appear in the SFRA Review in a given year.Previous winners include:...
- The Mary Kay Bray Award, first given in 2002 and established in honor of the late scholar for whom it is named, recognizes the best essay, interview, or extended review to appear in the SFRA Review in a given year. - Graduate Student Paper AwardGraduate Student Paper AwardThe Graduate Student Paper Award is presented by the Science Fiction Research Association to the outstanding scholarly essay read at the annual conference of the SFRA by a graduate student.Previous winners include:...
- The Graduate Student Paper Award, first given in 1999, recognizes the most outstanding scholarly essay read by a graduate student at the SFRA's annual conference.
2011 SFRA Award Winners
Pilgrim AwardPilgrim Award
The Pilgrim Award is presented by the Science Fiction Research Association for Lifetime Achievement in the field of science fiction scholarship. It was created in 1970 and was named after J. O. Bailey’s pioneering book Pilgrims Through Space and Time. Fittingly, the first award was presented to...
- Award Winner: Donna HarawayDonna HarawayDonna J. Haraway is currently a Distinguished Professor Emerita in the History of Consciousness Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz, United States...
Pioneer Award
Pioneer Award
Pioneer Award may refer to:*EFF Pioneer Award presented by the Electronic Frontier Foundation*SFRA Pioneer Award presented by the Science Fiction Research Association*INCOSE Pioneer Award presented by the International Council on Systems Engineering...
- Award Winner: John Rieder, "On Defining SF, or Not," Science Fiction Studies 37.2 (July 2010)
Clareson Award
Thomas D. Clareson Award for Distinguished Service
The Thomas D. Clareson Award for Distinguished Service is presented by the Science Fiction Research Association for outstanding service activities...
- Award Winner: The Tiptree Motherboard (Karen Joy Fowler, Debbie Notkin, Ellen Klages, Jeanne Gomoll, Jeff Smith, and Pat Murphy)
Mary Kay Bray Award
Mary Kay Bray Award
The Mary Kay Bray Award is given by the Science Fiction Research Association for the best essay, interview, or extended review to appear in the SFRA Review in a given year.Previous winners include:...
- Award Winner: Alfredo Suppia, "Southern Portable Panic: Federico Álvarez’s Ataque de Pánico!," SFRA Review 292 (Spring 2010)
Graduate Student Paper Award
Graduate Student Paper Award
The Graduate Student Paper Award is presented by the Science Fiction Research Association to the outstanding scholarly essay read at the annual conference of the SFRA by a graduate student.Previous winners include:...
- Award Winner: Bradley Fest, "Tales of Archival Crisis: Stephenson’s Reimagining of the Post-Apocalyptic Frontier," and Honorable Mention: Erin McQuiston, "Thank God It’s Friday: Threatened Frontier Masculinity in Robinson Crusoe on Mars"
Publications
SFRA members receive the association’s quarterly publication SFRA Review (ISSN 1068-395X). The contents include extensive book reviews of both nonfiction and fiction, review articles, listings of new and forthcoming books, letters, SFRA internal affairs, calls for papers, works in progress, and an annual index. Individual issues are not for sale; however, starting with issue #256 (Jan-Feb 2002) all issues are published to SFRA's website.SFRA book publications include the 1988 anthology, Science Fiction: The Science Fiction Research Association Anthology, edited by Patricia S. Warrick, Charles G. Waugh, and Martin H. Greenberg, the 1996 collection, Visions of Wonder: The Science Fiction Research Association Reading Anthology, edited by David G. Hartwell and Milton T. Wolf, the 1999 work, Pilgrims & Pioneers: The History and Speeches of the Science Fiction Research Association Award Winners by Hal W. Hall and Daryl F. Mallett
Daryl F. Mallett
Daryl Furumi Mallett, , is a freelance writer, editor and publisher; as well as an actor, director, producer and screenwriter.-Writing:...
with substantial contributions by Fiona Kelleghan
Fiona Kelleghan
Fiona Kelleghan is an American academic and critic specializing in science fiction and fantasy; she is also the metadata librarian at the University of Miami's Otto G...
, and the 2010 anthology, "Practicing Science Fiction: Critical Essays on Writing, Reading and Teaching the Genre," edited by Karen Hellekson, Craig B. Jacobsen, Patrick B. Sharp, and Lisa Yaszek.