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CFP: special issue of SF Studies on Italian SF

Science-Fiction Studies* is gathering scholarly essays for a special issue on Italian Science Fiction.  The projected publication date is 2015.  Articles on this topic that would be of interest include the following themes or approaches:

–       analysis and discussion of important works of Italian SF (novels, short stories, film, comics, magazines, t.v. series, on-line journals, in the academy, etc.)

–       profiles of important Italian SF writers

–       works of SF written by authors who are considered part of the literary mainstream (e.g. Buzzati, Landolfi, Levi, Morselli, etc.)

–       the critical debate around SF in Italian culture and the academy

–       the socio-cultural impact of science fiction’s visions in Italy

Articles should be written in English, should be between 8,000 and 13,000 words (including endnotes and bibliography), and include a comprehensive bibliography.  Authors should follow Science-Fiction Studies’s formatting guidelines (see below **).

Abstracts (max. 500 words) are due on or by September 30, 2013.  They should be sent via email as an MS Word attachment, or included within the body of the email to Arielle Saiber (asaiber AT bowdoin.edu) and Umberto Rossi (teacher AT fastwebnet.it).

 

If your proposal is accepted, you will receive a message no later than October 20.  We will then need the complete article by May 31, 2014.  All submitted articles will be sent for peer-review; final acceptance will be based on reviewer reports and those of the special issue’s editors.

* For information about Science Fiction Studies see http://www.jstor.org/page/journal/sciefictstud/about.html  and http://www.depauw.edu/sfs/

 

** Guidelines for formatting the article: http://www.depauw.edu/sfs/masthead.htm?47,34

cfp: Jamie Bishop Award for an essay not in English

The International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts Announces its 8th annual Jamie Bishop Memorial Award for a critical essay on the fantastic written in a language other than English. The IAFA defines the fantastic to include science fiction, folklore, and related genres in literature, drama, film, art and graphic design, and related disciplines. For more information on the award and on past winners, please see http://fantastic-arts.org/awards/jamie-bishop-memorial-award/ (please note the updated submission criteria, below).

Submission criteria:

·       Essays should be of high scholarly quality, as if for publication in an academic journal.

·       We consider essays from 3,000-10,000 words in length (including notes and bibliography).

·       Essays may be unpublished scholarship submitted by the author, or already published work nominated either by the author or another scholar (in which case the author’s permission should be obtained before submission).

·       Essays must have been written and (when applicable) published in the original language within the last three years prior to submission.

·       An abstract in English must accompany all submissions; an English translation of the title of the essay should also be included.

·       Only one essay per person may be submitted each year.

·       Submissions must be made electronically in Word format.

Deadline for submissions: September 1st

Prize: $250 U.S. and one year’s free membership in the IAFA to be awarded at the annual International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts held each March. Winning essays may be posted on the IAFA website in the original language and/or considered for publication in the Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts (http://www.fantastic-arts.org/jfa/) should they be translated into English.

Please direct all inquiries and submissions to:

Rachel Haywood Ferreira

Department of World Languages and Cultures

3102 Pearson Hall

Iowa State University

Ames, IA 50011 USA

Email: <rachelhf AT iastate.edu>

See you at the Pool!

Things are starting to wind down to the big banquet tonight! Are you out at the pool yet??

Conference Update

The conference is already off to a GREAT start!! Here are some updates. In addition to Brie’s update, the super final conference schedule is posted on the site!

Meals

  • Thursday Lunch is Sold Out
  • Friday Lunch is Closed. If you did not request a ticket, but would like to attend, we will form a line near registration and accommodate anyone we can after all ticketed guests have been seated. There is no guarantee that we will be able to seat you.
  • Banquet- If you would still like to purchase a meal ticket for yourself or a guest to attend the Awards Banquet, please do so when you register today. Banquet tickets purchased onsite will be $60. Thank you for your cooperation.

Registration

Conference Registration (Main Floor) will now open at 2PM on Wednesday.

Book Exhibit and Sales

The book room and auction, including Charles Vess’ original art, will open for business on Wednesday afternoon.

Volunteering

Make sure to check the schedule when you register. When you show up for your shift, make sure to sign in, so that we can keep track of your hours. If you have not signed up, but are interested in volunteering, please ask about open shifts when you register.

Limited Edition Charles Vess Shirts & Canvas Totes – printed with Charles Vess’ Neil Gaiman inspired design.

A limited selection of standard and fitted t-shirts/totes is still available. All shirts/totes will be distributed/sold from Thursday forward–while supplies last. Both shirt styles and the book tote are priced at $20.

Conviviality

* Pre-Opening Refreshment – Wednesday 3-20 from 2:30-3:15pm- Ballrom Foyer

* Newcomer Meet-up – Wednesday 3-20 from 8-8:30 – Captiva A/B

* Opening Reception – Wednesday 3-20 from 8:30-11pm – Capri – open to all

Excursion

This year’s Sunday excursion to Disney’s Hollywood Studios is SOLD OUT.

* This link provides local dining, shopping, and tourism discounts: http://www.orlandoconventionaid.com/directory_view.php?dir_id=2346

* An indoor/outdoor pool, fitness center, and jogging trail are also available to hotel guests.

If there is anything else that you need before you arrive, please respond to this message or e-mail me at <iafareg_at_gmail.com> and let me know how I can help. Messages come to my phone, which should afford a quick response. After the conference is in full swing, visit the Registration Desk (Main Floor) or the Information Desk (2nd floor) for answers.

Bridgid P. Shannon
International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts(IAFA)
Membership & Registration Coordinator

Original Vess Art Added to Auction

Charles Vess has very generously donated the long version of the t-shirt/tote and program  art for ICFA 34: Fantastic Transformations, Adaptations, and Audiences to the silent auction. Funds generated by the auction support the scholar’s honorarium and the conference in general.

The original black and white art on heavy Strathmore Britsol Board, measuring 12.5” x 22”, will be available for bid in the auction room with a minimum of $800. A low resolution version of the image appears here.

Make sure to stop by the Bookroom and Auction in Augusta A/B for this and other amazing finds.

* Limited Edition T-Shirts and Book Totes with the same design are still available: http://fantastic-arts.org/2013onlinepmt/

Final program updated

Final part 2! Updates have been completed and uploaded with and without abstracts.

Breaking ICFA news from NYRSF

Thanks to Joe Berlant for the Facebook posting of this very interesting news item…

From David Hartwell:

Jennifer Gunnels has contracted to sing a song a capella at ICFA in three weeks if she can get 300 new likes for NYRSF. If it happens, it will be recorded.

– The New York Review of Science Fiction

Let’s “like” http://www.facebook.com/nyrsf before ICFA!

Final draft of the program guide available!

Plan your week now! Final online version of the program is available with and without abstracts.

2012 Nebula Awards Nominees Announced

Nebula Awards logoReprinted from the SFWA site. We’re so excited to see so many friends here!! Congratulations everyone!!

Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America announces the nominees for the 2012 Nebula Awards (presented 2013), nominees for the Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation, and nominees for the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy.

Novel

Throne of the Crescent Moon, Saladin Ahmed (DAW; Gollancz ’13)
Ironskin, Tina Connolly (Tor)
The Killing Moon, N.K. Jemisin (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
The Drowning Girl, Caitlín R. Kiernan (Roc)
Glamour in Glass, Mary Robinette Kowal (Tor)
2312, Kim Stanley Robinson (Orbit US; Orbit UK)

Novella

On a Red Station, Drifting, Aliette de Bodard (Immersion Press)
After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall, Nancy Kress (Tachyon)
“The Stars Do Not Lie,” Jay Lake (Asimov’s 10-11/12)
“All the Flavors,” Ken Liu (GigaNotoSaurus 2/1/12)
“Katabasis,” Robert Reed (F&SF 11-12/12)
“Barry’s Tale,” Lawrence M. Schoen (Buffalito Buffet)

Novelette

“The Pyre of New Day,” Catherine Asaro (The Mammoth Books of SF Wars)
“Close Encounters,” Andy Duncan (The Pottawatomie Giant & Other Stories)
“The Waves,” Ken Liu (Asimov’s 12/12)
“The Finite Canvas,” Brit Mandelo (Tor.com 12/5/12)
“Swift, Brutal Retaliation,” Meghan McCarron (Tor.com 1/4/12)
“Portrait of Lisane da Patagnia,” Rachel Swirsky (Tor.com 8/22/12)
“Fade to White,” Catherynne M. Valente (Clarkesworld 8/12)

Short Story

“Robot,” Helena Bell (Clarkesworld 9/12)
“Immersion,” Aliette de Bodard (Clarkesworld 6/12)
“Fragmentation, or Ten Thousand Goodbyes,” Tom Crosshill (Clarkesworld 4/12)
“Nanny’s Day,” Leah Cypess (Asimov’s 3/12)
“Give Her Honey When You Hear Her Scream,” Maria Dahvana Headley (Lightspeed 7/12)
“The Bookmaking Habits of Select Species,” Ken Liu (Lightspeed 8/12)
“Five Ways to Fall in Love on Planet Porcelain,” Cat Rambo (Near + Far)

Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation

The Avengers, Joss Whedon (director) and Joss Whedon and Zak Penn (writers), (Marvel/Disney)
Beasts of the Southern Wild, Benh Zeitlin (director),  Benh Zeitlin and Lucy Abilar (writers), (Journeyman/Cinereach/Court 13/Fox Searchlight )
The Cabin in the Woods, Drew Goddard (director), Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard (writers) (Mutant Enemy/Lionsgate)
The Hunger Games, Gary Ross (director), Gary Ross, Suzanne Collins, and Billy Ray  writers), (Lionsgate)
John Carter, Andrew Stanton (director), Michael Chabon, Mark Andrews, and Andrew Stanton (writers), (Disney)
Looper, Rian Johnson (director), Rian Johnson (writer), (FilmDistrict/TriStar)

Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy

Iron Hearted Violet, Kelly Barnhill (Little, Brown)
Black Heart, Holly Black (S&S/McElderry; Gollancz)
Above, Leah Bobet (Levine)
The Diviners, Libba Bray (Little, Brown; Atom)
Vessel, Sarah Beth Durst (S&S/McElderry)
Seraphina, Rachel Hartman (Random House; Doubleday UK)
Enchanted, Alethea Kontis (Harcourt)
Every Day, David Levithan (Alice A. Knopf Books for Young Readers)
Summer of the Mariposas, Guadalupe Garcia McCall (Tu Books)
Railsea, China Miéville (Del Rey; Macmillan)
Fair Coin, E.C. Myers (Pyr)
Above World, Jenn Reese (Candlewick)

The Forty-Eighth Nebula Awards Weekend will be held May 16-19th, 2013, in San Jose at the San Jose Hilton. Borderland Books will host the mass autograph session from 5:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. on Friday, May 17th at the San Jose Hilton. This autograph session is open to the public and books by the authors in attendance will be available for purchase. More information about the Nebula Awards Weekend is available at http://www.sfwa.org/nebula-awards/nebula-weekend/.

The Nebula Awards are voted on, and presented by, active members of  SFWA. Voting will open to SFWA Active members on March 1 and close on March 30.  More information is available from http://www.sfwa.org/nebula-awards/how-to-vote/.

Founded in 1965 by the late Damon Knight, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America brings together the most successful and daring writers of speculative fiction throughout the world.

Since its inception, SFWA® has grown in numbers and influence until it is now widely recognized as one of the most effective non-profit writers’ organizations in existence, boasting a membership of approximately 2,000 science fiction and fantasy writers as well as artists, editors and allied professionals.  Each year the organization presents the prestigious Nebula Awards® for the year’s best literary and dramatic works of speculative fiction.

Media: For information on obtaining press passes, interviews with nominees, or questions about the event itself, please contact SFWA’s public relations manager, Jaym Gates, at pr@sfwa.org.

Additional Information

Website: http://www.sfwa.org/

Postal Queries

SFWA, Inc.
PO Box 3238
Enfield, CT
06083-3238

Head of Fantasy Division

The IAFA is looking for a candidate for the position of Head of the Fantasy Division, effective June of 2014. The current Division Head, Stefan Ekman, will finish his term following the 2014 conference. We are advertising this position now to give the incoming Division Head the opportunity to observe the cycle during the 2014 conference, and thus be ready to take over in the summer of 2014 for the 2015 conference cycle.

The Division Head is the person who sends out paper calls for his/her Division, collects and accepts paper proposals, creates paper sessions, helps to create panels, selects and moderates roundtable readings, and passes the work s/he’s done on to the 1st Vice President for scheduling. This Division is responsible for scholarship on all aspects of fantasy literature (broadly defined to mean anything from genre fantasy to magic realism and folk tales) including, but not restricted to, criticism on works by fantasy authors writing in English, inter-disciplinary approaches to the genre, and scholarship on fantasy theory.

Qualifications include current membership with IAFA (at least a couple of years’ experience with the organization so you have some understanding of how things work at the conference), easy and dependable internet access and comfort level with computers, organizational skills, the ability to work as part of a group working together on the ‘big picture,’ a willingness to work through the transition with the previous Division Head beginning this fall, the ability to attend March conferences while you hold the position and to attend the Division Heads’ meeting run by the 1st VP at the conference, plus, of course, the time to do the work involved. Knowledge of the field of fantasy, including theory and criticism, is required. Division Heads hold office for a term of 3 years (with a probationary first year) with the possibility of renewal for a second 3-year term.

If you’re interested in taking on the work of Fantasy Division Head, please contact both Dale Knickerbocker, 1st Vice President (KNICKERBOCKERD@ecu.edu), and Stefan Ekman outgoing Fantasy Division Head (stefan.ekman@englund.lu.se), with a cover letter about your interest in and qualifications for the job. Applications for the position should include a CV. The IAFA Board of Directors will consider all applications for the position.

The deadline for applications is May 1, 2013; a decision will be made by June 2013.