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Category Archives: ICFA

Call for SFL Division Head Applications

The International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts is accepting applications for the position of Division Head of the Science Fiction Literature (SFL) Division. (Please see division description below.)

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 term is for three years with an opportunity to renew for an additional term.

The incoming SFL Division Head will shadow Pawel Frelik, the current SFL Division Head, through March 2023, and will take over full SFL DH duties after the March 2023 conference.

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.

Those interested in applying must send both a cover letter explaining their interest in, and qualifications for, the position, and a current CV, to the First Vice President, Valorie Ebert at iafa.1vp@fantastic-arts.org, no later than 20 July 2021.

SFL Division description:

The Science Fiction Literature division welcomes critical scholarship on topics related to science fiction novels, short stories, poems, and other forms that can be considered literary as well as those focused on critical theories related to the SF genre. This division’s emphasis is textual as well as theoretical; papers considering science fiction in film, television, or comics are encouraged to apply to the Film and Television division or the Visual & Performing Arts and Audiences division instead.

Call for Volunteers: SCIAFA Undergraduate Representative

Are you an undergraduate looking to build your CV in anticipation of applying to grad school or other future jobs? Do you know an undergraduate who wants to take on a position of leadership? Then I would recommend nominating yourself for the SCIAFA undergraduate representative position! You would gain experience in managing an international organization representing hundreds of students! Responsibilities would include organizing and managing a mentorship program (along with the vice representative of SCIAFA) and proposing and moderating a panel at ICFA—an international conference with hundreds of attendees annually.

SCIAFA represents all students, but the leadership is currently only graduate students—we want to make sure the needs of every students are being met so we of the board are seeking an undergraduate who is ready and willing to help lead this organization and make an impact in SCIAFA and IAFA more broadly!

If you are interested in applying for this position follow this link: https://forms.gle/xgjp4YYRJ4bMBC7y5

Thank you so much for considering this position and please feel free to email me (iafa.studentcaucus@fantastic-arts.org) with any questions!

Samantha Baugus
University of Florida
Doctoral Candidate
Student Caucus Representative for the International Association for the Fantasy in the Arts

News from your IAFA Board

Dear IAFA Members:

Your IAFA Executive Board met on Saturday 6/5 and Sunday 6/6 and, among other business, discussed several new initiatives, two of which we are happy to announce:

1) We will create a J.E.D.I. (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) Officer and formulate an IAFA policy document on Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. This will be a lengthy process involving extensive dialogue and research into best practices, and we will keep you posted as the process evolves.

2) In response to our growing international membership and the numerous difficulties members have expressed involved in funding travel, we are creating a virtual conference to be held yearly beginning in October 2022. Again, there are many details to be worked out, but we will keep you informed.

As a result of these and other changes there will be many new opportunities to gain experience, strengthen your C.V. or resumé, and perhaps start down the path to future leadership in the IAFA. So please keep an eye on your IAFA list serve!

In further news:

As Brian Attebery is stepping down after 16 years of distinguished service as Editor of our Journal of the Fantastic of the Arts, for which the organization owes him a great debt of gratitude. A search will soon take place to identify new editorial leadership, so stay tuned for a call for applications.

Bill Clemente, our long-time Treasurer responsible for getting the IAFA taxed-exempt status and putting us on sound financial footing, is also stepping down. Thank you Bill! A search will happen soon so….well, you know.

We all wish Brian and Bill the very best in their future endeavors!

On behalf of the IAFA Executive Board,

Dale Knickerbocker
IAFA President

Call for Submissions: The 12th Annual IAFA Imagining Indigenous Futurisms Award

The IAFA Imagining Indigenous Futurisms Award recognizes emerging authors who use science fiction to address issues of Indigenous sovereignty and self-determination.

To be considered for the award, submit the following:

200-word statement with background & goals in writing SF

4,000-word maximum writing sample addressing Indigenous perspectives

Deadline: November 1, 2021

Send your materials as attachments to Professor Grace L. Dillon (dillong@pdx.edu)

Use Word Document or PDF format

Name and Page numbers on story and bio

Double space the story and use 12-point font

Proof the work for typos and other errors.

The contest winner will be announced at the ICFA Awards Banquet and on the Imagining Indigenous Futurisms Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/349927541693986. Not a member? Think about joining!

This year’s judge: acclaimed author Andrea Hairston

For more information, please visit https://iaftfita.wildapricot.org/Imagining-Indigenous-Futurisms-Award/.

ICFA 42 “Climate Change and the Anthropocene” is this week!

ICFA 42 “Climate Change and the Anthropocene” is this week!

ICFA 42 is almost upon us! The link to the page with the program details has been emailed to all paid registrants.

The program is being continually updated, so before emailing with questions or corrections, please ensure you have the most recent version. Each daily program upload is time/date stamped next to the link.

The program is hotlinked to the relevant Zoom room, and individual papers are hotlinked as well. Please be sure to review any relevant presentations beforehand because panels will be Q&A only, with no paper summaries permitted for time reasons. The presentation to access ahead of time can be any of PowerPoint/Prezi/MP4 videos, MP3 audio, or PDFs.

USEFUL LINKS

* Code of conduct: https://iaftfita.wildapricot.org/Code-of-Conduct
* Netiquette: https://iaftfita.wildapricot.org/Netiquette
* FAQ Sheet for Presenters: https://www.fantastic-arts.org/2021/icfa-42-faq-sheet-for-presenters/
* YouTube channel playlists for videos on using Zoom and creating uploads: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWbFN8jKysYvj4C4xE1yQVA/playlists
* Hashtag: #ICFA42

BOOK ROOM

Scholar’s Choice and the book room are linked on the program page. The book room link will go live imminently. This resource is available only to registered attendees.

OVERENTHUSIASTIC SPAM FILTERS

We have received reports that many people’s spam filters are sweeping up emails sent through our event management software. This is mostly happening with EDU accounts and email accounts serviced by ISPs. Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, and the like seem to be OK, but now that I’ve said that out loud…

The subject line for the email with the hotlinked program sent on March 8, 2021, is: Program links for ICFA 42 “Climate Change and the Anthropocene.” The hotlinked version of this email was sent on March 15, 2021, with this subject line: ICFA 42 “Climate Change and the Anthropocene” is this week!

If you aren’t receiving emails, please check your spam filter for these dates and subject lines, and unblock us.

See you in a few days!

–Karen Hellekson for the Reg team (iafareg AT gmail.com)

ICFA 42 Program Information

If you are registered for ICFA 42, you have received an email that contains information on accessing the version of the program that contains the links. If you are sure that you have registered for the conference, and you did not receive the email, please check your spam folder as a lot of our emails have been sent to spam recently.

If you are sure you are registered for the conference and did not find the email with the program information in it, please let us know.

ICFA 42: Update on Program Release Date

Dear All,

I wanted to provide you with a quick update about when the program will go live with the links to presentations!
The deadline to have conference presentations uploaded to our system was 23 February 2021. However, due to the power and life disruptions across much of Texas and other parts of the United States, we offered extensions for those who needed them, and therefore the link to upload will remain open until next week.

I was hoping that I could meet the original deadline of 1 March 2021 to release the program with the live links to the presentations; However, because of the extension, and in an effort to keep from overloading your inbox with multiple versions of the program, it is likely that I will not be able to send the program with the live links until 5 March 2021. Even though this is four days later than our original plan to get the program to you, it will still give you a full two weeks to view all of the amazing presentations that are planned for this year! (NB: Only those registered for the conference will receive the program with the live links.)

Once you receive the program, you will see that I have embedded all of the presentation titles with a link to the corresponding presentation. When you find a presentation that you would like to view, all you will have to do is click the title of the presentation and it will take you directly to it! (NB: The volume of the presentation is set by the person who uploaded the presentation, and there may be some presentations that will require you to adjust the volume on your end.)

I will update the program one more time after 5 March 2021 to add in a direct link to the “room” where each session is being held, and then email it to everyone who is registered for the conference! Once that is sent out, and once the conference officially begins, all you will have to do is click on the title of the session you want to attend, and it will take you into the room where the session is being held!
Thank you all for being so kind and understanding as we work to bring you the best virtual conference we can!
As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me.

Valorie
—
Valorie Ebert
First Vice President, International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts (IAFA.org)
Department of English
Broward College – North Campus
Coconut Creek, Florida 33066

ICFA 42 Power Disruption and Paper Uploads

ICFA 42 Power Disruption and Paper Uploads

The IAFA is aware of the power (and life) disruptions across much of
Texas and in other parts of the United States, and we will make
exceptions for submitting presentations as needed.

Because our deadline was created to ensure that everyone is able to
view the presentations before the conference, we ask that any member
who can meet the original deadline (which is February 23, 2021) to
please do so.

We’ve updated the FAQ for Sheet for Presenters:
https://www.fantastic-arts.org/2021/icfa-42-faq-sheet-for-presenters/

–Karen Hellekson for the Reg team (iafareg AT gmail.com)

ICFA 42 Update

ICFA 42 “Climate Change and the Anthropocene”
When: March 18–21, 2021
Where: Online
Guest scholar: Stacy Alaimo
Guest author: Jeff VanderMeer

Event details
Cost: Registration ($40 for regular registrants, $20 for students/adjuncts) closes on February 22, 2021. There is no on-site registration. Paper presenters must be an IAFA member to present. Further, all merchandise is being printed and mailed to order, and will not be available for sale at future conventions. Sign up for the conference via the IAFA home page: https://iaftfita.wildapricot.org/
If you cannot pay right now: That’s OK. Please sign up and create an invoice to indicate your good-faith effort to attend. You can pay the outstanding balance later.

Here’s how the online programming works: Presentations are organized into panels as usual. Presenters will upload their presentations as videos or as documents like PDFs. Attendees will peruse the program ahead of time, viewing/accessing the presentations relevant to a panel. Then, at the time noted on the program, everyone will log into Zoom and talk about the panel’s papers.

There will be a moderator to organize time, and there will be a tech person to troubleshoot tech. Nobody will recap their paper; it will all be discussion. All the clicky links to make this happen will be easily accessible online to registered attendees.
In addition to prerecorded content to view ahead of time, there are a couple LIVE items on the program.

The program is updated continually here (currently v8), so be sure to check your data and ensure correctness: https://iaftfita.wildapricot.org/

Here is the FAQ Sheet for Presenters, which includes useful dates: https://www.fantastic-arts.org/2021/icfa-42-faq-sheet-for-presenters/
Some content has already been uploaded; thank you to those who are either (a) helping us test, or (b) really on top of things! Mike Smith, IAFA’s tech officer, who is previewing the content as he processes it, notes, “There are some seriously creative and talented people in this organization.”

Yes, there will be a book room
Kathmandu Books, our usual on-site vendor for the beloved book room, is busy putting together a tailored collection of books for sale, focusing on books by ICFA 42’s author/creative attendees. Stay tuned for more info!

We still need volunteers!
For help with Zoom: Here’s a description of the tasks: https://www.fantastic-arts.org/2021/volunteers-needed-for-icfa-42/
Or sign up here: https://forms.gle/qYYJrQPN8v5sD6T49
Training has been moved to the week of February 22, 2021, to accommodate more signups. If you’re on the fence, consider yourself nudged and sign up.

For the SCIAFA mentorship program: There is still time to sign up to be a mentor or a mentee at this year’s virtual ICFA conference. If this is your first time attending ICFA, or just your first time attending a virtual conference, please sign up to be a mentee and you’ll be paired with an experienced conference-goer who can answer your questions and show you the ropes!
If you have lots of experience with ICFA, virtual conferencing, or both, please sign up to be a mentor and help our newcomers feel welcome!
If you’re interested in being either a mentee or a mentor for the student caucus, please email Shelby Cadwell (iafa.studentcaucus2 AT fantastic-arts.org), vice rep for the Student Caucus, the following information no later than February 28, 2021:
• Name
• Email address
• Institutional affiliation (if any)
• Main interests in the field of the fantastic
• Will you be available for the Wednesday evening meet-up? Yes or No
• Which role are you signing up for, mentor or mentee?

The usual Reg reminders
If you have a credit, please, please, please do not pay your invoice. Choose “invoice me” and not “pay now.” If you have to enter credit card info, just stop. Stop I tell you! Don’t do it! The software needs an open invoice so Reg can apply your credit. However, keep in mind that credits last 2 years, so if you have money left over from last year’s canceled ICFA 41, you can use it next year too.
To apply your credit to an open invoice, just email Reg the relevant unpaid invoice numbers, and we will do a Thing in the software to apply it.

We hope to see you at ICFA 42 in March!
—Karen Hellekson for Reg (iafareg AT gmail.com)

ICFA 42 Update

Quick update as ICFA 42 fast approaches!

Confirm info in program

As 1VP Valorie Ebert updates the draft schedule, it is posted on the organization’s website (https://iaftfita.wildapricot.org/). If you appear in the program, please check your info. If you do not appear in the program, revel in your freedom—but peruse it anyway to see what is to come!

Zoom managers still needed

Thank you to those who responded to registrar Emily Midkiff’s plea for more Zoom managers; the response was gratifying. But we can always use more! In fact, it would really help us out. Description of requirements here: https://www.fantastic-arts.org/2021/volunteers-needed-for-icfa-42/

The form to fill in to indicate you wish to volunteer is here: https://forms.gle/qYYJrQPN8v5sD6T49

Reminder

The last day to sign up for the conference is February 22, 2021, at midnight Florida time (GMT-5). Academic presenters must be current members of IAFA to present.

A FAQ sheet for presenters follows. Please email me if you need anything membership or registration related. I’ll also forward any notes you send to the relevant person, so if you have a question and need it directed, do reach out.

—Karen Hellekson for Reg (iafareg@gmail.com)

=====

FAQ Sheet for Presenters, ICFA 42

PRESENTATION

Once accepted, the author may choose to present in one of the following formats:

● Text document
Format: PDF; maximum length: 1800 words

● PowerPoint slideshow with audio commentary
Format: PPTX or MP4; length: 10–15 minutes

● Prezi presentation with audio commentary
Format: any exportable Prezi format; length: 10–15 minutes

● Video recording
Format: MP4; length: 10–15 minutes

We will soon add a small section on the conference website (https://iaftfita.wildapricot.org/) with links to tutorials about creating PowerPoint and Prezi slideshows with audio commentary.

Please upload your presentation (in any of the above formats) to the conference Dropbox (https://iaftfita.wildapricot.org/ICFA-42-Upload). The process is easy: click the link, choose the presentation file, and hit Upload. A Dropbox account is not required to upload. You will need to drop your file by February 23, 2021.

The conference participants will have almost three weeks (March 1–18, 2021) to read, view, or otherwise peruse and become familiar with the presentations.

The Zoom sessions during the conference will be limited to Q&A. Time limitations mean that authors will not be allowed to summarize the papers, but we envision plenty of time for real-time discussions.

DATES TO REMEMBER (ALL TIMES US-EST GMT-5)

● February 1 (Monday): Final schedule posted.

● February 22, 11:59p (Monday): Registration closes.

● February 23, 11:59p (Tuesday): Papers/presentations due via upload.

● March 1 (Monday): Version of program with links to presentations goes live.