British Science Fiction Association

The British Science Fiction Association Limited is an organisation founded in 1958 by a group of British academics, science fiction fans, authors, publishers and booksellers, in order to promote the writing, criticism, and study of science fiction in every form. It is an open membership organisation, currently costing £29 per year for UK residents (£20 for students and the unwaged) and £45 for international members. The first president of the BSFA was Brian Aldiss. Pat Cadigan became the current President in August 2020. The BSFA currently publishes three magazines, sent to all members:

  • Vector – The critical journal of the BSFA, published two to three times a year.
  • Focus – The BSFA's writers magazine, launched in 1979. Published twice a year.
  • The BSFA Review - A digital only magazine, launched in late 2017. Published approximately four times a year.
British Science Fiction Association Limited
AbbreviationBSFA
PredecessorScience Fiction Association (SFA)
Formation1958
Legal statusPrivate company limited by guarantee
PurposeAn organisation of readers, authors, booksellers & publishers for the appreciation and promotion of science fiction in every form.
Location
Chair
Allen Stroud
Websitebsfa.co.uk

Previous publications:

  • Matrix was the news magazine which ceased publication in 2007 with issue 186.
  • The Quantum was a newsletter which succeeded Matrix and lasted for 6 issues. It ceased publication in 2012.
  • Paperback Inferno (initially Paperback Parlour) was a review magazine which ceased publication in 1992 with issue 97.[1]
  • Tangent was the fiction magazine, published in 1965 and 1977-1978.

The BSFA Awards are presented annually by the British Science Fiction Association, based on a vote of BSFA members and members of the British national SF convention (Eastercon). The BSFA also nominates two out of five of each year's judging panel of the Arthur C. Clarke Award.

History

The BSFA was the fourth attempt to set up a national organisation of science fiction fans in Britain. The first, the Science Fiction Association (SFA), was set up in 1937 by fans who attended the first British science fiction convention in Leeds in May of that year and was "devoted to the stimulation of interest in science fiction and scientific progress", but it had to be disbanded on the outbreak of the World War II barely two years later. The second attempt was the British Fantasy Society (which has no connection with the present organisation of the same name, which is a 1971 offshoot of the BSFA), which was established in June 1942 by many of the people behind the SFA with the objective of giving members (who numbered nearly one hundred) better access to science fiction through its extensive library. The BFS did not long survive the war, being wound-up in November 1946. In 1948 Captain Ken Slater, who ran "Operation Fantast" - a trading operation which bought and swapped books and magazines - proposed the founding of a new national fan organisation, and thus the Science Fantasy Society was born. Unfortunately Slater was later posted to the army in Germany and the remaining committee members did not share his "flaming enthusiasm" for the organisation; in September 1951 the SFS was declared to be "a glorious flop".

By the late 1950s, British science fiction fandom was in serious decline. The annual Eastercon had become a purely social event with a rapidly diminishing attendance (150 in 1954, 115 in 1955, 80 in 1956, fewer than 50 in 1958). Spurred by this, the 1958 Eastercon held in Kettering held a discussion on the whole future of British fandom. It was agreed that both British fanzines and science fiction conventions had become inward-looking and had moved so far away from science fiction that they were not attractive to newcomers, and there were no routes in to British fandom anyway. It was decided that the only way forward was a new national organisation devoted to the serious study of science fiction but also carrying material in its publication about fandom, so that newcomers could go on to more personal involvement in fandom. After considerable debate on the name ("science fiction" being considered a stigma in dealing with the Press), the BSFA was formed and had over 100 members by its first anniversary.

References
  1. Kevin R. Smith (2020). Paperback Inferno Index. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  • Weston, Peter: "Behind the Scenes: Origins", Vector #250, November/December 2006.
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