Utah Speculative Fiction Council
Encyclopedia
The Utah Speculative Fiction Council (UtahSF) is a non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
designed to allow all the different speculative fiction
Speculative fiction
Speculative fiction is an umbrella term encompassing the more fantastical fiction genres, specifically science fiction, fantasy, horror, supernatural fiction, superhero fiction, utopian and dystopian fiction, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, and alternate history in literature as well as...
related organizations in Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
to have a common forum which fosters discussion and inter-group cooperation—a guild
Guild
A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...
of sorts. UtahSF does not determine policy
Policy
A policy is typically described as a principle or rule to guide decisions and achieve rational outcome. The term is not normally used to denote what is actually done, this is normally referred to as either procedure or protocol...
for or interfere with the internal affairs of its member groups, but instead acts as an advisory and support organization for any interested Utah speculative fiction group. UtahSF is completely independent of any particular club, group, or organization.
Each member group has equal representation, allowing members of UtahSF an equal and better opportunity for finding and sharing new ideas, as well as opportunities for finding new members. UtahSF also allows member groups to better negotiate with local companies, hotels, etc., in order to coordinate better deals for running events such as festivals, conventions, etc. UtahSF exists to assist all Utah speculative fiction organizations grow and prosper, and to help create a spirit of unity among Utah fans.
All Utah speculative fiction groups of any type are invited to join, including fan club
Fan club
A fan club is a group that is dedicated to a well-known person, group, idea or sometimes even an inanimate object . Most fan clubs are run by fans who devote considerable time and resources to supporting them. There are also "official" fan clubs that are run by someone associated with the person...
s (such as Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
, The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
, Stargate
Stargate
Stargate is a adventure military science fiction franchise, initially conceived by Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin. The first film in the franchise was simply titled Stargate. It was originally released on October 28, 1994, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Carolco, and became a hit, grossing nearly...
, Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
, anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
, etc.), writing groups, costuming
Costume
The term costume can refer to wardrobe and dress in general, or to the distinctive style of dress of a particular people, class, or period. Costume may also refer to the artistic arrangement of accessories in a picture, statue, poem, or play, appropriate to the time, place, or other circumstances...
groups, local conventions
Fan convention
A fan convention, or con , is an event in which fans of a particular film, television series, comic book, actor, or an entire genre of entertainment such as science fiction or anime and manga, gather to participate and hold programs and other events, and to meet experts, famous personalities, and...
, gaming
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
clubs, artist/art groups, etc. Any Utah group that wishes to join is encouraged to do so, and UtahSF actively seeks out new groups and ways to assist all of Utah fandom.
History
The Utah Speculative Fiction Council was created because a need was seen for a central location for finding information about all the various Utah speculative fiction groups. Discussions among the founders of UtahSF began around 2002 during some planning meetings for a Utah science fiction convention. A first attempt to form something like UtahSF was made by changing the corporate name of the convention and setting it up so that other groups could be sponsored. After two years, it was apparent that this method wasn't working as the founders had intended. It was then determined that the best course of action would be to form a completely new group, independent of any one group, that could accomplish the goals of better inter-group communication and cooperation.On April 6, 2005, UtahSF was officially registered with the state of Utah as a non-profit organization after the selection of three trustees for the new organization. During the next few months, the final structure of the main organization was hammered out, and the first official meeting of the council was held on August 20, 2005. At this meeting, the officers were selected, and the founding member organizations of UtahSF joined the council.
Member groups
The following groups are members of UtahSF:- Anime BanzaiAnime BanzaiAnime Banzai is Utah's first anime convention, originally held at and sanctioned by Salt Lake Community College and created and run by members of its anime club. It is held in late summer or fall, originally for one day, expanded to two days in 2006 and 2007, and again to three days in 2009. Anime...
- The first anime convention in Utah, and largest fan convention in Utah - AutumnCon - A general sf&f convention that was held at the end of October
- Belegarth Medieval Combat Society - A historical LARPLive action role-playing gameA live action role-playing game is a form of role-playing game where the participants physically act out their characters' actions. The players pursue goals within a fictional setting represented by the real world, while interacting with each other in character. The outcome of player actions may...
group - CONduitCONduit (convention)CONduit is an annual general interest science fiction and fantasy convention held in May in Salt Lake City, Utah. CONduit was founded in 1989 but took two years to plan its first convention...
- A general sf&f convention held annually in May - End of the World - The anime club at Salt Lake Community CollegeSalt Lake Community CollegeSalt Lake Community College is the largest higher education institution with the most diverse student body in Utah . The College offers and operates throughout the Salt Lake valley. Even with its large student body, the College maintains a student to faculty ratio of just 20 to 1...
- Life, the Universe, & Everything - An academic sf&f symposiumSymposiumIn ancient Greece, the symposium was a drinking party. Literary works that describe or take place at a symposium include two Socratic dialogues, Plato's Symposium and Xenophon's Symposium, as well as a number of Greek poems such as the elegies of Theognis of Megara...
held annually in February or March at Brigham Young UniversityBrigham Young UniversityBrigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students... - MountainCon - A media sf&f convention held annually, usually in September
- Mutual Admiration Society - A Utah-based fan fictionFan fictionFan fiction is a broadly-defined term for fan labor regarding stories about characters or settings written by fans of the original work, rather than by the original creator...
writers group, through FanFiction.NetFanFiction.NetFanFiction.Net is an automated fan fiction archive site. It was founded in late 1998 by Los Angeles computer programmer Xing Li, who also runs the site. The first fics to be posted were a few stories about Buffy the Vampire Slayer... - Quark Science Fiction and Fantasy Club - The sf&f fan club at Brigham Young University
- Reading for the Future Utah - A chapter of Reading for the FutureReading for the FutureReading for the Future is an international group which encourages literacy and reading through the use of speculative fiction. Some regional groups collect new and used books which are then distributed free of charge to schools and libraries...
, an international literacy group - Rebels Associated - A Star Wars fan club
- SG 42 and Utah Puddle Jumpers - A Stargate fan club
- SLAAKers - The "Salt LakeSalt Lake City, UtahSalt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
Area Anime Kurabu" - USS Alioth - A Starfleet International chapter in Provo
- USS Kelly - A Salt Lake area Star Trek fan club and flagship of The Seventh Fleet (an umbrella Star Trek fan club organization)
- USS Ticonderoga - A Star Trek fan club for the Ogden/Layton area and member of the Seventh Fleet
- USS Tsunami - An independent Star Trek fan club in Salt Lake
- USS Ursa Major - A Salt Lake area Star Trek fan club associated with the Seventh Fleet, formerly known as the USS Po
- Utah Costumer's Guild - A chapter of the International Costumers Guild
- Utah Educators for SFSpeculative fictionSpeculative fiction is an umbrella term encompassing the more fantastical fiction genres, specifically science fiction, fantasy, horror, supernatural fiction, superhero fiction, utopian and dystopian fiction, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, and alternate history in literature as well as...
- An organization of teachers and other educators in Utah
Related items
- Fan clubFan clubA fan club is a group that is dedicated to a well-known person, group, idea or sometimes even an inanimate object . Most fan clubs are run by fans who devote considerable time and resources to supporting them. There are also "official" fan clubs that are run by someone associated with the person...
s - Fan conventionFan conventionA fan convention, or con , is an event in which fans of a particular film, television series, comic book, actor, or an entire genre of entertainment such as science fiction or anime and manga, gather to participate and hold programs and other events, and to meet experts, famous personalities, and...
s - Science fiction conventionScience fiction conventionScience fiction conventions are gatherings of fans of various forms of speculative fiction including science fiction and fantasy. Historically, science fiction conventions had focused primarily on literature, but the purview of many extends to such other avenues of expression as movies and...
s - Science fiction fandomScience fiction fandomScience fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or "fandom" of people actively interested in science fiction and fantasy and in contact with one another based upon that interest...