International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts

International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts
Founded 1982
Founder Robert A. Collins
Type Professional Organization
Focus Academic Study of Fantasy, Science Fiction, Horror
Location
Area served
 Worldwide
Method Conferences, Publications
Members
 400+
Key people
 Sydney Duncan, President
Volunteers
 19
Website www.iafa.org

The International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts (IAFA), founded in 1982[1] is a nonprofit association of scholars, writers, and publishers of science fiction, fantasy, and horror in literature, film, and the other arts.[2] Its principle activities are the organization of the International Conference of the Fantastic in the Arts (ICFA),[3] which was first held in 1980,[4] and the publication of a journal, the Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts (JFA), which has been published regularly since 1990.

Membership in the IAFA is open but almost all members are scholars, teachers, and graduate students in the field of Science fiction studies or Fantasy literature or Horror literature, or are authors.[5]

The Conference

The International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts (ICFA) is held annually in the spring. The conference has been held in Orlando, Florida since 2008.

The first ICFA was organized by Dr. Robert A. Collins of Florida Atlantic University in March 1980.[6] The conference was held on the FAU campus and was supported by a gift of operating funds provided by Margaret Gaines Swann, mother of the late FAU professor and fantasy author Dr. Thomas Burnett Swann. In the following years, the conference was held in Boca Raton, Florida, Beaumont and Houston, Texas, and in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, before settling in Orlando.

The ICFA is organized into divisions by topic, which can change to reflect changing interests of the members. Current divisions include: fantasy literature, horror literature, the international fantastic, science fiction literature, visual and performing arts and audiences, film and television, and children's and young adult literature and art. Anthologies of essays delivered at conferences from 1980 (published in the mid 80s) through 1994 have been called "the most comprehensive set of analyses of the fantastic in English."[7]

As well as the presentation of research, the conference includes readings by invited authors, addresses by notable authors and scholars, workshops and social activities for students, and dramatic and sometimes humorous performances.

Numerous invited authors attend each year's conference and the event includes one or more guests of honor, generally authors. Recent guests of honor include James K. Morrow (2015), Ian McDonald and Nnedi Okorafor (2014), Neil Gaiman and Kij Johnson (2013), China Miéville and Kelly Link (2012), and Terry Bisson and Connie Willis (2011).

Themes

For much of its history, ICFAs have been organized around a theme of current interest to IAFA members. These themes have included:

Awards

The following awards are presented at the conference:

The IAFA Distinguished Scholarship Award

The IAFA Distinguished Scholarship Award, presented annually since 1986, recognizes a career of distinguished contributions to the scholarship and criticism of the fantastic. Recipients deliver a keynote address at the annual conference.[8]

Recipients of the IAFA Distinguished Scholarship Award

The IAFA William L. Crawford Fantasy Award

The Crawford Award, named for publisher William L. Crawford, each year recognizes a new writer whose first fantasy book was published during the previous calendar year. The award was established with the support of the late Andre Norton, who also helped establish the criteria. Recent winners include Zen Cho (2015) for Spirits Abroad and Stephanie Feldman (2015) for The Angel of Losses,[11] Sofia Samatar (2014) for A Stranger in Olondria,[12] Karin Tidbeck (2013) for Jagganath,[13] Genevieve Valentine (2012) for Mechanique,[14] and Karen Lord (2011) for Redemption in Indigo. Redemption in Indigo was also nominated for the Best Novel award at the World Fantasy Convention in 2011.[15]

Dell Magazines Award

The Dell Magazines Award (formerly the Isaac Asimov Award) is presented to a full-time undergraduate college student for an unpublished and unsold science fiction or fantasy short story. The award includes a five hundred dollar prize and is co-sponsored by Dell Magazines, the IAFA, and the School of Mass Communications of the University of South Florida.[16] The winner is invited to the annual conference and the winning story is considered for publication in Asimov's Science Fiction. The most recent winner is Kayla Chronister (2015) for How the Blood Spills.[17] Previous winners include Rich Larson (2014) for Nostalgia Calculator, Lara Donnelly (2013) for To the Dogs,[18] Rebekah Baldridge (2012) for Superposition,[19] and Seth Dickinson (2011) for The Immaculate Conception of Private Ritter.[20]

IAFA Graduate Student Award

The IAFA Graduate Student Award is an annual award and stipend presented to a graduate student for a paper presented at the conference. The most recent winner (2015) is The Strange and Wonderful Workings of Science in the Land of the Free, or, the Technology of Race by Taylor Evans. Previous winners include Melisa Kurtz (2014), Cassandra Bausman (2013), Timothy S. Miller (2012), and Mark DeCicco (2011).

Jamie Bishop Memorial Award for an Essay Not in English

The Jamie Bishop Memorial Award recognizes a critical essay on the fantastic written in a language other than English. The award is named for Jamie Bishop (1971-2007), who was among those killed in the Virginia Tech massacre of April 16, 2007.[21] Jamie was the son of Michael Bishop, an award-winning science fiction writer, and Jeri Whitaker Bishop. The most recent winner (2015) is the team of Fernando Ángel Moreno, Mikel Peregrina, and Steven Bermúdez, for Condiciones para el nacimiento de la ciencia ficción española contemporánea. Previous winners include Vera Cuntz-Leng (2014), Ezequiel De Rosso (2013) for La línea de sombra: literatura latinoamericana y ciencia ficción en tres novelas contemporáneas (The shadow line: Latin American literature and science fiction in three contemporary novels), Pampa Olga Arán (2012) for Lo unido y lo enhebrado: para una teoría del fantástico literario contemporáneo (The United and the Linked: Towards a Theory of Contemporary Fantastic Literature), and Alejo Steimberg (2011) for El futuro obturado: el cronotopo aislado en la ciencia ficción argentina pos-2001 (The Future Sealed Off: The Chronotope of Isolation in Argentine Science Fiction After 2001).

The Lord Ruthven Award

The Lord Ruthven Award is given annually at the ICFA by the Lord Ruthven Assembly, a group of academic scholars associated with the IAFA that specialize in Vampire literature. The award is presented for the best fiction on vampires and the best academic work on the study of the vampire figure in culture and literature. The award is named after Lord Ruthven (vampire), one of the first vampires in English literature.[22]

Walter James Miller Award

The Walter James Miller Memorial Award for Student Scholarship in the International Fantastic is given annually to the author of the best ICFA student paper devoted to a work or works of the fantastic originally created in a language other than English. In addition to scholarly excellence, the winning paper must also demonstrate the author’s command of the relevant linguistic, national, and cultural contexts of the work or works discussed. The first Walter James Miller Award, given in 2015, was awarded to Andrés García Londoño, PhD Candidate in Hispanic Studies, University of Pennsylvania, for A Time without a Master. Proposals for an Alternative Future in Los pasos perdidos (The Lost Steps), by Alejo Carpentier.

Robert A. Collins Service Award

The Robert A. Collins Service Award is presented when merited to an officer, board member, or division head for outstanding service to the organization.

Stephen R. Donaldson Award

The Stephen R. Donaldson Award recognizes exceptional support and service to the organization from individuals who have not served as officers, board members, or division heads. It has been presented six times since its creation in 1997.

Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts

The Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts (JFA), published regularly since 1990, is one of the four major academic journals that publish critical works concerning science fiction, featuring no fiction other than as reference.[23] The journal is interdisciplinary, publishing work on the fantastic in literature, art, drama, film, and popular media. The JFA is published three times a year from its office at Idaho State University's Department of English and Philosophy.

Student Caucus

The Student Caucus of the IAFA (SCIAFA) is open to both graduate and undergraduate students. The caucus sponsors a mentor program, a panel, and late-night motion picture screening at the conference. Panels are pragmatic in orientation and have included such topics as: “How to Publish a Paper,” “Applying for Graduate Schools,” and “Getting a Job.” The current SCIAFA Representative is Skye Cervone, and the current SCIAFA Vice-Representative is Stina Attebery.

Lord Ruthven Assembly

The Lord Ruthven Assembly is a group of academic scholars specializing in Vampire literature.

Governance

The association is governed by an executive board that includes five elected officers: President, First Vice-President, Second Vice-President, Treasurer, and Public Information Officer. The immediate past President is an ex officio member of the board. Other officers are appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the other elected officers. The academic affairs of the annual conference are supervised by the Vice-Presidents of the IAFA and the division heads, which are appointed by the Board.

The IAFA is registered as a 501(c)(3) corporation—a "public charity" for literary and educational purposes—in Florida.[24]

References

  1. ↑ Brian M. Stableford (1 January 2004). Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction Literature. Scarecrow Press. pp. 172–. ISBN 978-0-8108-4938-9.
  2. ↑ "International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts". Encyclopedia of Fantasy. SF Encyclopedia. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  3. ↑ Mort Castle (4 November 2006). On Writing Horror: A Handbook by the Horror Writers Association. Writer's Digest Books. pp. 28–. ISBN 1-58297-693-7.
  4. ↑ Mark Bould; Sherryl Vint (28 February 2011). The Routledge Concise History of Science Fiction. Routledge. pp. 104–. ISBN 978-1-136-82041-0.
  5. ↑ Peter Hunt (2 September 2003). International Companion Encyclopaedia of Children's Literature. Routledge. pp. 308–. ISBN 978-1-134-87994-6.
  6. ↑ Robert A. Collins. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. Retrieved 2/22/2014.
  7. ↑ John Clute; John Grant (15 March 1999). The Encyclopedia of Fantasy. St. Martin's Press. pp. 502–. ISBN 978-0-312-19869-5.
  8. ↑ Gary K. Wolfe (3 January 2011). Evaporating Genres: Essays on Fantastic Literature. Wesleyan University Press. pp. 278–. ISBN 978-0-8195-7104-5.
  9. ↑ Judith B. Kerman; John Edgar Browning (4 November 2014). The Fantastic in Holocaust Literature and Film: Critical Perspectives. McFarland. pp. 225–. ISBN 978-0-7864-5874-5.
  10. ↑ Sir Devendra P. Varma
  11. ↑ Cho and Feldman Win Crawford Award. Locus Online News. Retrieved 3/23/2015.
  12. ↑ Samatar Wins Crawford Award. Locus Online News. Retrieved 2/22/2014.
  13. ↑ 2013 Crawford Award. Locus Online News. Retrieved 2/22/2014.
  14. ↑ 2012 Crawford Award Announced. Locus Online News. Retrieved 2/22/2014.
  15. ↑ World Fantasy Nominees and Lifetime Achievement Winners. Locus Online News. Retrieved 2/22/2014.
  16. ↑ 2011 Dell Magazines Award for Undergraduate Excellence. Asimov's Science Fiction. Retrieved 2/22/2014.
  17. ↑ 2015 Dell Award winners announced. Website of the Alpha SF/F/H Workshop for Young Writers (ages 14 – 19). Retrieved 3/24/2015.
  18. ↑ Wright State alumna Lara Donnelly wins prestigious fantasy writing award. Wright State University Newsroom. Retrieved 2/22/2014.
  19. ↑ Newman student wins writing award. Catholic Diocese of Wichita. Retrieved 2/22/2014.
  20. ↑ Publications and Awards. Alpha The Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Workshop for Young Writers. Retrieved 2/22/2014.
  21. ↑ Christopher James Bishop. Virginia Tech. Retrieved 2/22/2014.
  22. ↑ S. T. Joshi (2011). Encyclopedia of the Vampire: The Living Dead in Myth, Legend, and Popular Culture. ABC-CLIO. pp. 278–. ISBN 978-0-313-37833-1.
  23. ↑ "Academic Journal". The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. SF Encyclopedia. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  24. ↑ International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts. Florida Department of State Division of Corporations. Retrieved 2/22/2014.

External links

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