International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts

IAFA 2021 Statement

Dear IAFA Members,

The Board has been monitoring the ongoing situation with the pandemic closely and has met twice this summer to consider options for the 2021 conference. The future prospects remain unclear, but based on information about our membership, likely timelines for widespread vaccination, ongoing border closures, and our financial options, the Board took the decision at its meeting on September 19, 2020 to move the 2021 Conference to an online format.

More information will follow soon about methods of participation, timelines for events and other considerations regarding membership and registration fees. We are also adjusting the timeframe for the event to maximize chances for participation across time zones, but we will convene during the originally scheduled conference “long” weekend, March 18-21, 2021. We are currently working to sort out these details and will prioritize releasing information about options for participation and presentation, as they most urgently need to be worked out so that the conference application cycle can begin. Please be assured that we continue to work on the rest of the picture and will release additional information as we make further decisions.

We are aware that this news is very disappointing—to us as well! Nonetheless, we believe it a priority to protect the health of our members and guests over other considerations. We also feel that we needed to make this decision early enough to give us time to mount a great online event. Rest assured that we are aware that social interactions are a hugely important part of our conference culture, and we are working on ways to allow maximum interaction and also to recreate a version of some of our most important social gatherings.

Right now, the important information is that we will have a conference and will soon open the submission portal. Do not, however, book hotels or flights since we will not be gathering in person in 2021. Thank you for your patience as we continue to refine our plans and release further information to you as more decisions are taken. We ask that you do not send in questions for further information at this time as we are still in the process of evaluating our options and making decisions. We will update you as quickly as possible as further plans solidify.

We are all committed to ensuring the ongoing quality of ICFA and the future of our organization. While it might not be the same as typical, we will have a 2021 gathering and look forward to seeing you in virtual spaces.

Dale Knickerbocker, IAFA President

The Executive Board of the IAFA is interested in receiving input on how we can more effectively reach out to and engage with authors and scholars who are Black, Indigenous, or belong to other communities of People of Color (BIPOC), and to increase BIPOC membership in the organization. We do not want to do this in a top-down manner, but by inviting interested BIPOC IAFA members to collaborate in the formation of a committee to advise us on how to do so. I therefore encourage those interested in being part of such an initiative to send an e-mail to me at iafa.president@fantastic-arts.org.

Dale Knickerbocker
IAFA President

2021 ICFA: I’m sure you are all curious as to how plans are going for next year’s conference. At its June meeting, the Board discussed options for various possible scenarios and contingency plans. We believe it is still too early to make any decisions. We will meet virtually again during the fall. The ICFA will happen in one form or another.

Registration fees are frozen for next year and, for 2021 only, in light of the probable travel uncertainties there will be no late registration pricing. This may have to be revisited should circumstances change (such as the conference being held virtually).

The submissions portal for the 42nd ICFA, “Climate Change and the Anthropocene” (March 17-20, 2021), will open on 1 September and close 8 November 2020.

Other News:
The theme of the 44th ICFA (2023) will be “The Black Fantastic: The African Diaspora and the Speculative Genres”.

Beginning in 2021, the IAFA will offer an additional travel grant specifically for a Black conference attendee.

The Student Caucus of the IAFA elected Samantha Baugus to be its Representative, and Shelby Cadwell to be the Vice Representative. Congratulations to both!

The IAFA is now officially the proud home of the Imagining Indigenous Futurisms Award! https://iaftfita.wildapricot.org/Imagining-Indigenous-Futurisms-Award/. We had planned on announcing this years winner at the ICFA, but…

Planning for the conference co-sponsored with the Centre for Studies of the Fantastic at the University of Glasgow for July 2021 continues and is going well.

LINK to the meeting minutes may be found at: https://iaftfita.wildapricot.org/MembersOnly/. (sign into your membership account to access them).

Dale Knickerbocker
President

We, the Executive Board of the International Association of the Fantastic in the Arts, affirm that systemic racism has and continues to cause the Black community in the United States to suffer inequality, oppression, and injustice, inflicting both psychological and physical violence upon them. We support and stand with the BLM movement and all those who oppose and protest racism. As an organization of professional creators, educators, and scholars, we feel we have an obligation to do our part to dismantle systemic racism in this country, to exemplify the change we wish to see. While we have always tried to be inclusive, we recognize that more is needed. The IAFA is therefore committing itself with renewed energy to racial equity in our own organizational practices; toward that end, we will be moving forward with a number of specific new initiatives to support people of color in our community. These include but are not limited to: a conference on the theme of African diasporic voices in the speculative genres, a travel grant for people of color to attend the ICFA, the formation of a Presidential Inclusivity Committee by and for marginalized groups to propose solutions for the under-representation of people of color in our organization and at our conference. Further information will be forthcoming as we proceed. We commit to actively recruiting membership, attendance and participation from organizations that represent people of color and other marginalized groups.

Sad to miss out on ICFA and looking for something to read? Considering purchasing one of the “fantastic” titles Scholar’s Choice purchased for the conference.

View and download the order form here: Fantastic order form 2020

ICFA WILL SURVIVE

As IAFA president Dale Knickerbocker wrote (https://www.fantastic-arts.org/2020/good-news-reicfa/) on March 23, 2020, the organization was able to negotiate an advantageous agreement with the conference hotel. This means that the financial impact of ICFA 41’s cancellation is not catastrophic. We thank ICFA attendees for their outpouring of support.

ICFA 42 WILL HAVE THE SAME THEME

ICFA 41’s theme, “Climate Change and the Anthropocene,” will be repeated for ICFA 42. Guests of honor Stacy Alaimo (University of Oregon) and Jeff VanderMeer have agreed to attend. ICFA 42 is scheduled for March 17–20, 2021.

Although the theme is the same, the conference will be treated as a wholly new endeavor. All papers, panels, and so on must be resubmitted for reconsideration.

ICFA 43 “Fantastic Alterities” will feature guest author Rebecca Roanhorse and guest scholar Farah Mendlesohn. ICFA 43 is scheduled for March 16–19, 2022.

CREDITS

Everyone signed up for ICFA 41 has been credited. Please log into your account (iafa.org) and check your credit, which must be used within the next 2 years. If you are fine with a credit, you need do nothing.

If you wish to donate your credit to IAFA, or if you require a refund, please email me. Thanks to those who have already donated their credit.

If you require tax paperwork for a donation, or if you need a special invoice run for institutional reimbursement, please email me, including all relevant details.

If you notice a financial discrepancy between what you paid and what you are credited, please email me. I can look at your credit-card payment transaction and update the system accordingly.

It would be convenient if all these requests could be made by April 15, 2020.

TRAVEL GRANTS

Those who received travel grants for ICFA 41 will receive them again for ICFA 42.

CHECK YOUR DIVISION

When you log into your account to check your credit, please also check your division. The Gothic and Horror (GAH) division was recently added. If this is a field of interest for you, please tick the relevant box so that we can get a listing of people interested in this division. Likewise, if you’ve moved from one division to another, edit your preferences so that we can send the division heads an accurate listing.

MERCH

We stopped ICFA 41’s merchandise order before it was fully printed. Therefore, there is no ICFA 41 merch, except for about 40 totes. Apologies to ICFA merch completists. The artwork for ICFA 41 will be reused for ICFA 42. The fate of the ICFA 41 totes (which list the convention date but not the guests of honor) remains to be determined.

WASH YOUR HANDS

I hope to see everyone in 2021.

Karen Hellekson, IAFA Registrar (iafareg@gmail.com)

Dear IAFA Members,

I have excellent news regarding the ICFA. We have negotiated a settlement with the hotel that is very advantageous to the IAFA: we will put down a $10,000 deposit toward next year’s conference, so the net cost for the cancellation is zero. To give you an idea just how important this is, we could have been on the hook for a $130,000 payment (not a deposit) even if they had not invoked penalty clauses, which would have been disastrous. Expect an e-mail regarding options for 2020 registration fees and credits once we have a fuller understanding of the of all the financial implications the registration credits will have on our planning for 2021. On behalf of the board, officers, and division heads, I would like to express our profound gratitude for your patience and understanding during these trying times, and for the many expressions of support we received from all of you.

The board and officers met yesterday via videoconference, and I am pleased to announce that the theme of next year’s conference will be the Anthropocene, and that the Guest Author Jeff VanderMeer and Guest Scholar Stacy Alaimo have agreed to participate. The 2021 theme will be moved to 2022. The guests for the 2021 conference, have very graciously agreed to the postponement.

We will continue to update you as the situation evolves but, rest assured, we will survive.

From all of us, please stay safe and well!

Dale

Dale Knickerbocker
IAFA President