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Author Archives: Stacie Hanes

Mullen Fellowships

The Mullen Fellowship offers stipends of up to $3000 per applicant to support research at any archive that has sf holdings pertinent to the dissertation topic. The program was instituted to honor Richard “Dale” Mullen, founder of Science Fiction Studies.

Qualified applicants will be PhD students from any accredited doctoral program who are pursuing an approved dissertation topic in which science fiction (broadly defined) is a major emphasis. The research may involve science fiction of any nation or culture and of any era. Applications may propose research in—but need not limit themselves to—specialized sf archives such as the Eaton Collection at UCR, the Maison d’Ailleurs in Switzerland, the Judith Merril Collection in Toronto, or the SF Foundation Collection in Liverpool. Proposals for work in general archives with relevant sf holdings—authors’ papers, for example—are also welcome. For possible research locations, applicants may wish to consult the partial list of sf archives compiled in SFS 37.2 (July 2010): 161-90. This list is also available online at: <http://sfanthology.site.wesleyan.edu/files/2010/08/WASF-Teachers-Guide-2Archives.pdf>.

The application should be written in English and should describe the dissertation, clarifying the centrality of science fiction to the project’s overall design. It should show knowledge of the specific holdings and strengths of the archive in which the proposed research will be conducted, and it should provide a work-plan and budget. Candidates should clarify why research in this particular archive is crucial to the proposed project. Students who receive awards must acknowledge the support provided by SFS’s Mullen Fellowship program in their completed dissertations and in any published work that makes use of research supported by the fellowship.

A complete application consists of a project description (approximately 500 words) with a specific plan of work, updated curriculum vitae, itemized budget, and two letters of reference, including one from the faculty supervisor of the dissertation.

Applications should be submitted electronically to the chair of the evaluation committee, Sherryl Vint, at sherryl.vint@gmail.com.  Applications are due April 1, 2016 and awards will be announced May 1, 2016. The selection committee in 2016-17 consists of Neil Easterbrook and DeWitt Douglas Kilgore (SFS Advisory Board members) and Carol McGuirk and Sherryl Vint, SFS editors.

Announcement from the President

Dear ICFA attendees,

We regretfully announce that Terri Windling will be unable to join us at the conference next week. Nonetheless, we intend to honor and celebrate her work as planned, in addition to the fine work of our other guests, Holly Black and Cristina Bacchilega. I am delighted to report that we will still hear Terri’s Guest of Honor speech on Thursday, which will be delivered by Ellen Kushner.

The conference will cancel only two events out of more than 150 total sessions, so while we will miss Terri Windling’s presence, we trust your conference experience will be an excellent one. Please join us in wishing Terri the best.

Warm regards,
Sydney Duncan
President, IAFA Board of Directors

CRSF Call for Papers

Abstracts of 300 words for a 20 minute English language paper and a 100 word biography should be submitted to CRSF.team@gmail.com by Monday 7th March 2016. Please circulate as appropriate.

The 2016 conference will be welcoming Dr Caroline Edwards and Dr Patricia Wheeler as this year’s keynote speakers. In addition, the conference will be serving as the opening, as I’m sure you’re all well aware, for the SFRA’s three-day conference in Liverpool (28th-30th).

We are seeking abstracts for 20 minute papers on topics related to speculative fiction on a wide variety of subjects:

•Alternate History •Alternative Culture •Animal Studies •Anime •Apocalypse •Body Horror •Consciousness •Cyber Culture •Drama •Eco-criticism •Fan Culture •Gaming •(Geo)Politics •Genre •Gender •Graphic Novels •The Grotesque •The Heroic Tradition •Liminal Fantasy •Magic •Meta-Franchises •Morality •Monstrosity •Music •Non-Anglo-American SF •Otherness •Pastoral •Poetry •Politics •Post-Colonialism and Empire •Proto-SF •Psychology •Quests •Realism •Sexuality •Slipstream •Spiritualism •Steampunk •Supernatural •Technology •Time •TV and Film •Urban Fantasy •Utopia/Dystopia •(Virtual) Spaces and Environments •Weird Fiction •World Building •Young Adult Fiction.

Online Registration Closes March 2

Hello Everyone!

The Thirty-Seventh International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts is right around the corner! The on-line registration system will be open until March 2, 2016. After March 2, the on-line system will be closed temporarily so that the conference committee can commit to the hotel for space and meal requirements. The system will open again for on-site registration on March 16th. Please note that date changes for registration purposes are reckoned by local time in Orlando, Florida

Although you can join the association even if you don’t attend the conference, current IAFA membership is required if you are presenting a paper at the conference. If you haven’t already done so, you can renew your membership and register for the conference here: https://iaftfita.wildapricot.org/JoinUs.

If you are not presenting, but still want to attend the conference and hear some amazing papers, you do not have to be a member of IAFA, but you do have to register for the conference. You can register for the conference here: https://iaftfita.wildapricot.org/JoinUs.

A list of all fees associated with the conference can be found here and a “How To” guide for membership renewal can be found here, and a “How To” guide for registering and paying for the conference can be found here.

Student Caucus (SCIAFA):

The purpose of the Student Caucus (SCIAFA) is to foster and promote growth, scholarship, and fellowship among the student members of the IAFA and to address the needs of students working in the field of the fantastic, by establishing mentoring and other programs, through coordinating efforts with the main body of the IAFA. If you are a student member of the IAFA, you are automatically a member of SCIAFA

Discussion List:

All IAFA members are invited to join the IAFA listserv. You may do so by clicking here.

Volunteering:

Interested in helping us make ICFA 37 a success? We are looking for volunteers to assist with the book room, registration desk, and A/V. Please use the survey link below to let us know when and where you would like to help. If you know of other people attending the conference that would like to volunteer and earn ICFA bucks to help them keep coming back, please share the survey with them. If you have questions or concerns, please contact Valorie Ebert, Membership and Registration Coordinator (iafareg AT gmail.com).

Please Note: We need extra volunteers to help load and unload the bookroom. If you plan on being at the hotel Monday and/or aren’t leaving until the following Sunday or Monday and would like to help with this important task, please indicate your willingness on the volunteer survey or contact Valorie Ebert, Membership and Registration Coordinator (iafareg AT gmail.com).

** Book Room Set Up normally begins at 8:00 a.m. on Monday morning. They need all the help they can get, so if you are at the conference early on Monday, stop by and lend a hand.

** Book Room Breakdown normally begins at 8:00 a.m. on Sunday morning. Again, they need all the help they can get, so if you are an early riser, go lend a hand.

You can find the volunteer survey here.

ICFA Accessibility Policy:

ICFA is committed to being an accessible conference that supports the varied needs of our members. We understand how important it is for our attendees and panelists to feel comfortable and welcome.

The conference is held at the Orlando Marriott Lakeside Hotel. Members can find our accessibility policy here.

Social Media:

If you are on Facebook you can connect with IAFA here. In addition, if you are a student you can also join the Student Caucus Facebook page here.

If you have any questions or need any help with membership renewal or registration, please email me at iafareg AT gmail.com.

We look forward to seeing you in March!

Regards,

Valorie

Extended deadline for Graduate Student Writing Workshop

Hello ICFA 37 Graduate Student Attendees!

I have extended the deadline to sign up for this year’s Graduate Student Writing Workshop to February 27th! If you are interested in signing up for the workshop, this is your last chance!

For the past few years, the Student Caucus has hosted a Graduate Student Writing Workshop, and it is time to sign up for this year’s session with Brian Attebery. This year’s workshop will be held on Friday, March 18th from 4:15-5:45.
The workshop is limited to 15 participants, and you must sign up in advance to attend. Please make sure to check the schedule to ensure you do not have any conflicts, and be aware that you will be expected to bring a 2 page writing sample with you to the workshop.

If you would like to be considered for this year’s workshop, please e-mail the following information to me at scervone@fau.edu:

-your name

-your preferred email address

-your institutional affiliation and adviser

-what stage you’re at in your program

-your dissertation or thesis topic (1-2 sentences)

-the issues or problems in your writing you’d most like to address (1-2 sentences)

-What personal stake do you have in writing academic prose, other than completing requirements for a degree?

Please send me this information no later than February 27th. Be aware that participants will be selected in the order in which they sign up, so you will want to get this information to me as soon as possible.

Best,
Skye

ICFA Accessibility Policy

ICFA is committed to being an accessible conference that supports the varied needs of our members. We understand how important it is for our attendees and panelists to feel comfortable and welcome.

The conference is held at the Orlando Marriott Lakeside Hotel. Members should be aware of the following:

  1. The hotel has a number of mobility accessible rooms, which include full deaf alert systems. Members can select rooms with roll-in showers or handle-grip tubs (please note that the tubs are generally available only with rooms with single king sized beds.) Most of the mobility accessible rooms are not equipped with refrigerators; if you have medication that needs to be refrigerated, please contact the hotel in advance to arrange for a refrigerator in your room, or contact ICFA staff for assistance.

The main hotel registration desk is not fully accessible.

Please note that mobility accessible rooms are limited and may sell out. All nearby hotels contain at least eight mobility accessible rooms per hotel.

  1. Following Florida law, service animals are allowed for guests with disabilities.
  1. The hotel does not have a disabled accessible restroom on the second floor, where some panels are held.  Two elevators provide access to the disabled accessible restrooms on the ground level.  Many panels are held in in the hotel’s ballroom event area, which has fully accessible restrooms.
  1. The hotel’s lunchtime restaurant/bar area is divided by stairs. Members can reach the ground floor area directly, or reach the top area through a long access ramp off to the side of the bar.
  1. The hotel’s complimentary shuttle service is not wheelchair accessible. Boarding this service requires climbing three steps.
  1. The Orange County Lynx Bus service and all theme park buses are wheelchair accessible. Most services will require wheelchair users to use the complimentary seatbelts/straps.  Many Orlando taxis offer roll in wheelchair service; please alert the taxi service when making your reservation.  The Marriott hotel will be able to assist you with finding accessible taxi services.

Please note that ACCESS Lynx is not available at this time to out of state residents.

  1. Although a sidewalk does lead away from the hotel, it does not fully connect to other sidewalks offering access to local restaurants and overflow hotels. The curb cut from this sidewalk to the street is tilted and may cause issues for heavy power chairs and mobility scooters.  The curb cut from the main guest parking lot into the hotel is narrow and may cause issues for heavy power chairs and mobility scooters. The curb cut from the parking lot by the main ballroom area is fully accessible; that, and the main lobby entrance, are recommended entrances for wheelchair users.
  1. The hotel pool has a lift; although labeled self-operating, guests will need the assistance of hotel staff to use it.
  1. The Marriott hotel currently uses fluorescent lighting in most of its meeting rooms. The restaurant and bar area use a mix of LED and fluorescent lighting.
  1. Our banquet menus have been selected to offer a broad variety of foods, including clearly labeled vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, and dairy-free options.
  1. At this time, financial restrictions preclude us from offering ASL interpreters or captioning. We welcome any suggestions on how we can improve accessibility for members in this area.

Call for Division Head Applications

The International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts is accepting applications for the position of Head of the Horror Literature (HL) and Visual and Performing Arts and Audiences (VPAA) Divisions. Those interested in applying must send a cover letter explaining their interest in and qualifications for the position, and a current CV, to the First Vice-President, Dale Knickerbocker knickerbockerd@ecu.edu, no later than 10 March 2016. Division Heads are appointed by the President, on the recommendation of the First Vice-President, who chairs the Council of Division Heads, after formal discussion and majority vote of the Board. The termi is for three years. The terms are for three years. The VPAA Division Head will begin immediately following the 37th ICFA, the Head of HL will “shadow” the current Head until their appointment begins at the conclusion of the 38th ICFA in 2017.

Each Division Head organizes and supervises all conference activity within a subdivision of fantastic scholarship. Division Heads work under the guidance of the First Vice-President. Division Heads are responsible for recruiting session proposals and papers and are responsible for formatting these to the requirements of the First Vice-President. Division Heads are responsible for forwarding all information to the First Vice-President in a timely fashion. Division Heads have the responsibility to check the draft program for accuracy and AV needs. Division Heads are expected to liaise with other Division Heads and the First Vice-President. The First Vice-President is the final arbiter of the program under the aegis of the Executive Board. At the conference the Division Heads oversee sessions in their respective Divisions and collect suggestions for future topics, special guests, etc.

2016 Crawford Award Announced

The winner of the 2016 Crawford Award, presented annually by the International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts for a first book of fantasy fiction, is Kai Ashante Wilson for The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps (Tor). The judges cited the novel’s “fresh and powerful voice,” “gorgeous language, great characters, and wonderfully imagined setting.”

The other books included on this year’s Crawford shortlist include

Natasha Pulley, The Watchmaker of Filigree Street (Bloomsbury); Ken Liu, The Grace of Kings (Saga Press); Indra Das, The Devourers (Penguin India); Seth Dickinson, The Traitor Baru Cormorant (Tor); and Adrienne Celt, The Daughters (Liveright).

Participating at various stages of this year’s nomination and selection process were previous Crawford winners Sofia Samatar, Jedediah Berry, and Candas Jane Dorsey, as well as Cheryl Morgan, Niall Harrison, Farah Mendlesohn, Ellen Klages, Graham Sleight, Karen Burnham, Jonathan Strahan, Liza Groen Trombi, and Stacie Hanes.  The award will be presented on March 19 during the 37th International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts in Orlando, Florida.

Also at the conference, the IAFA’s Distinguished Scholarship Award will be presented to Cristina Bacchilega, and the Jamie Bishop Memorial Award for a work of scholarship written in a language other than English will go to Natacha Vas-Deyres and Patrick Bergeron.  The Walter James Miller Memorial Award, for a student paper on a work or works of the fantastic originally created in a language other than English, will be presented to Kristy Eager.  The IAFA’s general award for an outstanding student paper, formerly called the Graduate Student Award, has been rechristened the David G. Hartwell Emerging Scholar Award, in tribute to editor and long-time IAFA Board member and book room manager David Hartwell. The winner will be announced at a later date.

IAFA EMERGING SCHOLAR AWARD

Hello All –

The deadline for submitting a paper to be considered for the 2016 IAFAEmerging Scholar Award is quickly approaching! Papers must be submitted by February 1st. IAFA EMERGING SCHOLAR AWARD (formerly Graduate Student Award).  The International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts presents an annual award and stipend to the graduate student submitting the most outstanding paper at the Association?s conference. The award, and a check for $250, will be presented to the winner at the Awards Banquet on Saturday evening. Students must submit their completed paper (3500 words, excluding bibliography) and verification of student status by February 1, 2016.

CRITERIA & INSTRUCTIONS

1. The student will have had a paper accepted for presentation at the Conference. The paper submitted for the competition should be essentially the same as that presented at the conference. The maximum length for entries is 3500 words (about 2 pages over the recommended reading length of 8-9 pages). Students should be aware that funds are limited and that only one award will be given. The paper selected will be published in the Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts, and therefore must not have been previously published or submitted for publication elsewhere. Please note that acceptance of a paper for the Conference does not guarantee an award.

2. It is the responsibility of the student to send a copy of the paper by 1 February 2016 to the 1st VP Dale Knickerbocker (knickerbockerd@ecu.edu), as well as a copy of the letter of acceptance and verification of student status. Submissions may be in Word or PDF format.

3. The committee is looking for clear, coherent, and interesting writing. Essays should be solidly grounded in scholarly tradition, showing awareness of previous studies and of historical and theoretical contexts. Essays may use any suitable method of analysis, including historical and sociological approaches as well as those that originate in literary theory. Essays will be evaluated for their originality and quality of insight into the text.

The judges for the 2016 award will be:

Mary Pharr, Florida Southern College

Sherryl Vint, University of California-Riverside

Taylor Evans, University of California-Riverside

David G. Hartwell: 1941-2016

David G. Hartwell and Gary K. WolfeDavid G. Hartwell, who would have turned 75 this summer, attended his first ICFA in Boca Raton in 1984—only the fifth conference—and immediately earned his place in conference folklore when he and Justin Leiber (Fritz’s son; they were both guests that year) conspired to bum-rush the then-president Marshall Tymn into the hotel pool one evening.  There were good reasons for this, from David’s point of view, but there were also good reasons for David to continue attending the conference almost yearly, except for ICFA’s brief exile to Texas.  And the more he attended, the more such stories gathered around him.  He really did sing “Teen Angel” to a riverboat full of tourists, including Doris Lessing, and he really was along on what became known as the “Heart of Darkness” water taxi cruise with Philip Jose Farmer and his wife and a few of the rest of us.  And, of course, he really did own all those clothes. As he once explained to me, “You need to have good taste to do bad taste well.”

In 1995, Bob Collins and I invited him to join the conference board and take over management of the book room, which had been something of a haphazard affair before then.  For many conference members, this was their first encounter with David, whose connections in New York publishing and particularly with Tor have for years provided ICFA with many of the free books that showed up at luncheons and banquets.  The book room itself grew into one of the main attractions of the conference.

David believed in ICFA; he wrote that it had become an “umbrella for the marginalized study of the fantastic, and that it was worth supporting.”  This, I think, helps explain the apparent paradox of the two Davids.

And that paradox is this:  for many ICFA attendees, including some well-known scholars, David was the colorfully-dressed, urbane, and very knowledgeable guy who ran the book room, who had done some of those darkly outrageous things in the early history of the conference, and who was Peter and Elizabeth’s dad.

But for most of the writers attending and at least a few of us academics–the list of names is too long to even begin here–ICFA had somehow snagged one of the great legendary editors in the history of science fiction as a regular attendee and as, of all things, the book room manager.  He did this for more than twenty years, and the influence he had in bringing more and more distinguished writers to the conference is inestimable.

Academics and literary historians tend to focus on writers, for obvious reasons: they’re easier to research.  In the science fiction field, an occasional editor like Hugo Gernsback or John W. Campbell, Jr. or Michael Moorcock might show up on the radar, but anthologists and novel editors are far less visible.  But those who know the real history of science fiction (and fantasy, and horror) know that David Hartwell is a name that belongs in that pantheon.  He not only edited writers as diverse as Gene Wolfe, Gregory Benford, Michael Bishop, Robert Sawyer, and L.E.Modesitt, but he won three Hugo and two World Fantasy Awards, and one of the latter was for The Dark Descent, an anthology which did as much to define modern horror fiction as any other single book.  His equally massive science fiction anthologies, sometimes co-edited with Kathryn Cramer, more recently with Patrick Nielsen Hayden, made coherent and pointed arguments for the kind of science fiction David believed in.  He edited nine years of Best Fantasy annuals and eighteen years of Best Science Fiction annuals.  He co-founded one of the important critical magazines in the field, The New York Review of Science Fiction. He wrote a still-useful popular introduction to science fiction, Age of Wonders.

He shaped the field as much as anyone else has in the last half-century.

And he was the guy in the book room.  A couple of years ago, David told me with some glee that one of the more prominent ICFA scholars, who had read a lot of theory but only recently begun researching the details of the literary history of science fiction, had come up to him and said, with some surprise, “It seems like you’re a pretty important guy.”  She was even more surprised to learn he had a doctorate in medieval literature.

He didn’t seem to mind much, being the guy in the book room, but we all should have asked him more questions than we did. I knew David for over thirty years, and didn’t always agree with his ideas about science fiction or fantasy, but I never failed to learn something new from him just about every time we talked. We’ve lost a lot of the history of SF, as well as a congenial guy with unaccountable passions for indescribable wardrobes and teen death songs. And we have lost a huge and largely unsung part of what has helped knit ICFA together over all these years.

–Gary K. Wolfe