Skip navigation

Category Archives: IAFA

2023 IAFA Crawford Award and Shortlist Announced

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

2/7/2023

2023 IAFA Crawford Award and Shortlist Announced

 

The winner of the 2023 Crawford Award, presented annually by the International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts for a first book of fantasy published the prior year, is Simon Jimenez for his novel The Spear Cuts Through Water (Del Rey). Jimenez had previously published a well-received science fiction novel, The Vanished Birds (2020), but The Spear Cuts Through Water is his first fantasy book, making it eligible for the award.

The awards committee also named a shortlist including Maya Deane, Wrath Goddess Sing (William Morrow), Naseem Jamnia, The Bruising of Qilwa (Tachyon), Alex Jennings, The Ballad of Perilous Graves (Redhook), and Jacob Kerr, The Green Man of Eshwood Hall (Serpent’s Tail)

Participating in this year’s nomination and selection process were Cheryl Morgan, Karen Burnham, Niall Harrison, Liza Trombi, Candas Jane Dorsey, and Mimi Mondal. The award is administered by Gary K. Wolfe and will be presented at a banquet March 18, during the 44rd International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts in Orlando, Florida.

Also at the banquet, the IAFA Distinguished Scholarship Award will be presented to the conference’s guest scholar Isiah Lavender III.  The International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts, or ICFA, is held annually in Orlando, Florida.  This year’s conference, March 15-18, on the theme of Afrofuturism, will feature Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki as Guest of Honor.

Call for Fantasy Literature Division Head

The International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts is accepting applications for the position of Division Head of the Fantasy Literature (FL) Division. (Please see the 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 a majority vote of the Board. The term is for three years. The incoming FL Division Head will begin full Division Head duties immediately following the conference in March of 2023. The Division Head term runs for three years.

The incoming FL Division Head will begin their term in March of 2023 and end the term in March of 2026.

Division Heads may have an opportunity to extend their term.

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 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 March 1, 2023.

Fantasy Literature (FL) – The Fantasy Literature division welcomes critical scholarship on all aspects of fantasy literature (broadly defined to mean anything from genre fantasy to magic realism), including, but not restricted to, criticism on works by fantasy authors writing in English, interdisciplinary approaches to the genre, and scholarship on fantasy theory.

Reminder: Call for Nominations for 1st VP and PIO

There are still a few days left to nominate or self-nominate someone for two open IAFA board positions:

First Vice President

The IAFA requests nominations for individuals interested in becoming our First Vice President. Nominees must be members in good standing. Before nominating someone, please make sure they are a member and willing to stand for election. Self-nominations are welcome.

The First Vice President is a member of the Executive Board, elected by majority vote of the IAFA members who participate in the election, serves a three-year term unless otherwise stipulated, and may be re-elected.

The First Vice President coordinates the ICFA Program, overseeing the work of the Division Heads and scheduling paper sessions for the Annual Conference Program. The First Vice President also consults with the President and Second Vice President concerning appearances by special guests in panels, readings, and lectures, and with the Conference Director about physical arrangements such as AV equipment, room assignments, etc. The First Vice President substitutes for the President when necessary. The First Vice President also oversees the IAFA Graduate Student Award, including the following: advertising the award, organising the prize committee, and collecting and forwarding submissions to the committee for a blind reading process.

Nominations should be sent to Dale Knickerbocker, the IAFA Immediate Past President, at knickerbockerd@ecu.edu. Nominations will close on December 8, 2022.

Candidates will be contacted by the IAFA Immediate Past President and asked to submit their Candidate Statement by December 9, 2022. Voting begins in December and finishes in January. The person elected will take office at the end of the 2023 ICFA. Questions about the position should be directed to the current 1st VP, Valorie Ebert, at iafa.1vp@fantastic-arts.org.

Public Information Officer

The IAFA requests nominations for individuals interested in becoming our Public Information Officer (PIO). Nominees must be members in good standing. Before nominating someone, please make sure they are a member and willing to stand for election. Self-nominations are welcome.

The PIO is a member of the Executive Board, elected by majority vote of IAFA members who participate in the election, serves a three-year term unless otherwise stipulated, and may be re-elected.

The PIO edits and distributes promotional materials and forms publicity liaisons with other organizations, where appropriate. The PIO maintains and regularly updates the website and blog, creates and distributes information from the Board–such as Calls for Papers and election material–and contributes photos and promotional copy to the IAFA website. The PIO maintains and regularly updates social media feeds, responds to inquiries via social media, and monitors the IAFA’s public image on social media. The PIO takes Executive Board minutes, disseminates them, archives them, and makes them available for archival use. The PIO is the recorder of motions and amendments at official meetings. The PIO maintains the IAFA electronic archive.

Nominations should be sent to Dale Knickerbocker, the IAFA Immediate Past President, at knickerbockerd@ecu.edu. Nominations will close on December 8, 2022.

Candidates will be contacted by the IAFA Immediate Past President and asked to submit their Candidate Statement by December 9, 2022. Voting begins in December and finishes in January. The person elected will take office at the end of the 2023 ICFA. Questions about the position should be directed to the current PIO, Skye Cervone, at iafa.pio@fantastic-arts.org.

IAFA Executive Board

Call for Nominations: IAFA 1st Vice President and Public Information Officer

First Vice President

The IAFA requests nominations for individuals interested in becoming our First Vice President. Nominees must be members in good standing. Before nominating someone, please make sure they are a member and willing to stand for election. Self-nominations are welcome.

The First Vice President is a member of the Executive Board, elected by majority vote of the IAFA members who participate in the election, serves a three-year term unless otherwise stipulated, and may be re-elected.

The First Vice President coordinates the ICFA Program, overseeing the work of the Division Heads and scheduling paper sessions for the Annual Conference Program. The First Vice President also consults with the President and Second Vice President concerning appearances by special guests in panels, readings, and lectures, and with the Conference Director about physical arrangements such as AV equipment, room assignments, etc. The First Vice President substitutes for the President when necessary. The First Vice President also oversees the IAFA Graduate Student Award, including the following: advertising the award, organising the prize committee, and collecting and forwarding submissions to the committee for a blind reading process.

Nominations open on  October 25, 2022 and close on November 25, 2022. Nominated candidates will be asked to submit their Candidate Statement to IAFA Immediate Past President Dale Knickerbocker at knickerbockerd@ecu.edu by 25 November 2022. Voting begins in December and finishes in January. The person elected will take office at the end of the 2023 ICFA. Questions about the position should be directed to Valorie Ebert at iafa.1vp@fantastic-arts.org.

 

Public Information Officer

The IAFA requests nominations for individuals interested in becoming our Public Information Officer (PIO). Nominees must be members in good standing. Before nominating someone, please make sure they are a member and willing to stand for election. Self-nominations are welcome.

The PIO is a member of the Executive Board, elected by majority vote of IAFA members who participate in the election, serves a three-year term unless otherwise stipulated, and may be re-elected.

The PIO edits and distributes promotional materials and forms publicity liaisons with other organizations, where appropriate. The PIO maintains and regularly updates the website and blog, creates and distributes information from the Board–such as Calls for Papers and election material–and contributes photos and promotional copy to the IAFA website. The PIO maintains and regularly updates social media feeds, responds to inquiries via social media, and monitors the IAFA’s public image on social media. The PIO takes Executive Board minutes, disseminates them, archives them, and makes them available for archival use. The PIO is the recorder of motions and amendments at official meetings. The PIO maintains the IAFA electronic archive.

Nominations open on October 25, 2022 and close on November 25, 2022. Candidates will be contacted  by the IAFA Immediate Past President and asked to submit their Candidate Statement to knickerbockerd@ecu.edu by November 25, 2022. Voting begins in December and finishes in January. The person elected will take office at the end of the 2023 ICFA. Questions about the position should be directed to Skye Cervone at iafa.pio@fantastic-arts.org.

Announcing the New Director of Creative Programming

Dear IAFA Members:

I’m very pleased to share that Dr. Samantha Baugus will now be serving the IAFA as our new volunteer Director of Creative Programming.

The Director of Creative Programming (a new role) assists the Second Vice President with building programming items for the creative track. The job’s primary duties involve corresponding with invited creatives to help build discussion panels for the conference. The person in this role also helps build and manage the invited creative RSVP system, creates draft author reading sessions, and recruits/assigns hosts for creative track sessions. In recognition of the work involved, the volunteer who serves in this role receives complimentary ICFA registration and special event tickets.

The IAFA posted a call for volunteers for this role back in June, but we did not receive any applications for the position. Dr. Baugus, who previously served as the Student Caucus Representative on the Executive Board, subsequently volunteered to serve as Director of Creative Programming. Please join me in welcoming Samantha to this important new role! =)

Best,

David Higgins
IAFA Second Vice President

CFP: The 44th International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts, Afrofuturism

The 44th International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts

Afrofuturism

Guest of Honor: Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki

Guest Scholar: Isiah Lavender III

March 15-18, 2023

Orlando Marriott Lakeside Hotel

 

The theme of the 2023 ICFA will be “Afrofuturism.” If Afrofuturism is rising, as the title of Isiah Lavender III’s groundbreaking study of the literary movement proclaims, or is already risen like Africa itself, as the title of Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki’s jointly edited anthology asserts, it does so as part of a groundswell across fantastic modes, genres and media. From the cosmic artistry of Sun Ra, and iconic visionaries speaking from and for estranged and defamiliarized spaces such as Olaudah Equiano, W.E.B. DuBois, Chinua Achebe, Samuel R. Delany, Octavia E. Butler, Herbie Hancock, Earth, Wind and Fire, Ben Okri, Michelle Cliff, Maryse Condé, Stafford L. Battle, Tananarive Due, Steven Barnes, N.K. Jemisin, Nalo Hopkinson, Tobias L. Buckell, and Nisi Shawl, to fast-rising stars such as Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, Wanuri Kahiu, Fanuel Leul, Sheree Renée Thomas, Zelda Knight, Manzi Jackson, P. Djeli Clark, Mame Boukouma Diene, Deji Bryce Olukotun, C.L. Clark, Rivers Solomon, Tade Thompson, Dilman Dila, Olatunde Osunsanmi, Justina Ireland, and Tlotlo Tsamaase, the 44th Annual ICFA will celebrate the fantastic imaginations of creators from Africa and its Global Diaspora, crossing linguistic and other identity and communicative boundaries and borders to arrive at Afrofuturism’s unifying, edifying, uplifting, and often terrifying revelations.

 

Topics may address, but need not be limited to:

 

  • Representations of African-ness in space and time
  • Afrofuturism among Othered futurisms
  • Depictions of relations in the process of power-shifting by African and Diaspora creatives and scholars addressing race, gender, class, ethnicity, traditional versus colonial nationalities, and/or mechanisms of exclusion, exploitation, appropriation, or reparation, among other topics
  • Exploring traditional, colonial and de-colonialist nationalities, ethnicities and boundary-defined affiliations
  • Reclaiming and proclaiming by proto-claiming
  • Problematics of representations of African-ness by non-African-descent creators
  • Gatekeeping, stereotyping, eurocentrism, and the demand for Realism in African and Diaspora works in scholarship and publishing
  • Being African or Diaspora in publishing: challenges and best practices regarding acceptance, revision and rejection of works, marketing, finding an agent, getting paid
  • New technologies and platforms shaped by Afrofuturism’s creatives, scholars and fans, challenging Eurocentric conceptions of futurism
  • Global applications of an Afrofuturist lens
  • Chattel enslavement and its legacies, as represented in Afrofuturism
  • Globalizing and negotiating identities
  • An African and Diaspora canon
  • Masking, unmasking and empowerment
  • Monstrous, demonic and shapeshifting Afrofuturism
  • Afrofuturism troubling, querying and/or challenging concepts of utopias and dystopias
  • Pandemics, plagues, poxes, and Afrofuturism: the spread of colonizing, eugenicist, genocidal, and/or resistance infections
  • Afrofuturism in languages other than the colonial
  • Globalized neoliberalism
  • Politics, ideologies and revolution

 

We welcome proposals for individual papers and for academic sessions and panels on any aspect of Afrofuturism in any media. We encourage work from creatives, institutionally affiliated scholars, independent scholars, international scholars who work on the fantastic in languages other than English, and students.

 

Proposals not related to the conference theme are also welcome.

 

Submit abstracts here: https://forms.gle/67JJZeKoSWMyhRvQ8

Abstracts due: October 31st

 

ICFA 44 Guest of Honor – Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki

 

Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki is an African speculative fiction writer, editor and publisher from Nigeria. He has won the Nommo award for Best Speculative Fiction by an African, twice, for Short Story and Novella, as well as the Nebula, Otherwise and British Fantasy Awards. He is the first African to have won the Nebula Award for Best Novelette and be a Hugo finalist as well, in the same category. He’ll be the first Black writer to be a Hugo award best editor short form finalist alongside Sheree Renee Thomas and the first BIPOC to be a finalist in both the Hugo Award Editing and Fiction categories in the same year. He has also been a finalist for the Locus, Sturgeon, British Science Fiction and World Fantasy award. His fiction and non-fiction have appeared in Tordotcom, Asimov’s, Uncanny Magazine, Apex Magazine, Strange Horizons, Galaxy’s Edge, Tordotcom, NBC and more.

He edited and published the first ever Year’s Best African Speculative Fiction anthology, a Hugo, WFA, Locus, and BFA finalist, and the non-fiction anthology, Bridging Worlds: Global Conversations on Creating Pan-African Speculative Literature in a Pandemic. He co-edited the British Fantasy award-winning Dominion anthology and the Africa Risen anthology, which has a starred review from Publishers Weekly and Booklist. He guest-edited the collections window of Interstellar Flight Press, is the founder of Jembefola Press and the Emeka Walter Dinjos Memorial Award for Disability in Speculative Fiction. He co-organized the Discon 3 African stream and 2021 Nommo Award ceremony, and is a Guest of Honour at the 2022 Can*Con. He is the first African-born Black writer and the youngest writer to be Guest of Honor at the International Conference for the Fantastic in the Arts 44 taking place in 2023. You can find him on Twitter https://twitter.com/penprince_ and his latest works on his website https://odekpeki.com/2022/09/11/2022-awards-eligibility-post-list/.

Please follow these links to immerse yourself in the works of Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki:

“Destiny Delayed” in the May/June issue of Asimov’s – https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Kl0Iks1M8xk-zMC-FE3Xl3FsNf8Ce4f9/view?usp=drivesdk

Bridging Worlds anthology:

Bridging Worlds: Global Conversations On Creating Pan-African Speculative Literature In a Pandemic

Too Dystopian for Whom? A Continental Nigerian Writer’s Perspective
https://www.uncannymagazine.com/article/too-dystopian-for-whom-a-continental-nigerian-writers-perspective/

Africa Risen anthology pre-order: https://publishing.tor.com/africarisen-shereereneethomas/9781250833006/

 

Guest Scholar – Dr. Isiah Lavender III

 

Isiah Lavender III is Sterling-Goodman Professor of English at the University of Georgia, where he researches and teaches courses in African American literature and science fiction. His books include Race in American Science Fiction (Indiana UP, 2011), Black and Brown Planets: The Politics of Race in Science Fiction and Dis-Orienting Planets: Racial Representations of Asia in Science Fiction (UP of Mississippi, 2014 and 2017 respectively), Afrofuturism Rising: The Literary Prehistory of a Movement (Ohio State UP, 2019), and Literary Afrofuturism in the Twenty-First Century (Ohio State UP, 2020), co-edited with Lisa Yaszek. His interview collection Conversations with Nalo Hopkinson is forthcoming from UP of Mississippi in early 2023. He is currently hard at work on The Routledge Handbook of CoFuturisms, co-edited with Bodhisattva Chattopadhyay, Grace Dillon, and Taryne Jade Taylor as well as his manuscript-in-progress, Critical Race Theory and Science Fiction. If you would like to know more about Dr. Lavender, check out https://narrativeencounters.aau.at/how-reading-shapes-us-isiah-lavender/

 

The title of his ICFA Guest Scholar presentation shall be “Imaginary Amendments and Executive Orders: Race in United States Science Fiction.”

 

For a list of the IAFA Divisions and Division Heads, see https://iaftfita.wildapricot.org/Division-Heads.

 

For information about the IAFA BIPOC Caucus, see https://iaftfita.wildapricot.org/BIPOC-Caucus.

 

For information about the IAFA Student Caucus, see https://iaftfita.wildapricot.org/Student-Caucus.

 

For more information, visit our website https://iaftfita.wildapricot.org/.

 

Follow us on Twitter @IAFA_TW. Our conference hashtag is #ICFA44.

“Like” us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FantasticArts/.

To learn more about our Guests of Honor, please see: https://www.fantastic-arts.org/2022/icfa-44-guest-of-honor-and-guest-scholar/

 

ICFA 44 will feature the debut of some new registration categories. “Underfunded” rates have been added at the student price for anyone without the means to attend ICFA otherwise. Several registration levels now have an optional version called “Supporting Rates.” These are a new option that allows some registrants to help the IAFA support the registrations of underfunded attendees. Those selecting this option will be listed and thanked in the conference program (except for the Late Registration Supporting Rate, which will be listed on the errata paper).

3rd Call for October Volunteers!

As our October VICFA is drawing near, we are still looking for volunteers willing to help as tech support during the upcoming virtual conference. We have received 13 generous offers of help, but given the number of concurrent streams and our wish not to overburden the volunteers, we need more!

The conference is scheduled for the weekend of October 7-9 (9 a.m. – 9 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time). At least partial availability during that time window is required.

Volunteers need to be:
available for the aggregate of at least 4 hours over the three days of the conference
comfortable with using Zoom and helping others with it.

All volunteers will receive training before the conference.

Volunteers who are participating in the October 2022 VICFA will have their conference fee waived. Those who are not presenting during VICFA but want to help will receive ICFA 44 T-shirts (to be picked either in March 2023 at the conference or mailed after the conference).

If you’re interested in helping IAFA in this manner, please fill in the Google Form https://forms.gle/vc4XyagH1eBNhdSa9 by September 16. If you have any questions, feel free to contact the IAFA President, who is also wearing the hat of the VICFA Coordinator, at p.frelik@uw.edu.pl .

#IAFAGlobalFantastic

2nd Call for VICFA Volunteers!

Following our previous post, we have received several generous offers of help, but we need more hands on deck!

IAFA is inviting members willing to volunteer as tech support during the upcoming virtual conference (also known as VICFA). The conference is scheduled for the weekend of October 7-9 (9 a.m. – 9 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time). At least partial availability during that time window is required.

Volunteers need to be:

available for the aggregate of at least 4 hours over the three days of the conference
comfortable with using Zoom and helping others with it.

All volunteers will receive training before the conference.

Volunteers who are participating in the October 2022 VICFA will have their conference fee waived. Those who are not presenting during VICFA but want to help will receive ICFA 44 T-shirts (to be picked either in March 2023 at the conference or mailed after the conference).

If you’re interested in helping IAFA in this manner, please fill in the Google Form https://forms.gle/vc4XyagH1eBNhdSa9 by September 15. If you have any questions, feel free to contact the IAFA President, who is also wearing the hat of the VICFA Coordinator, at p.frelik@uw.edu.pl .

Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FantasticArts/

Follow us on Twitter @IAFA_TW

#IAFAGlobalFantastic

Call for Volunteers for VICFA 2022

The IAFA is inviting members willing to volunteer as tech support during the upcoming virtual conference (also known as VICFA). The conference is scheduled for the weekend of October 7-9 (9 a.m. – 9 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time). At least partial availability during that time window is required.

Volunteers need to be:

available for the aggregate of at least 4 hours over the three days of the conference
comfortable with using Zoom and helping others with it

All volunteers will receive training before the conference.

Volunteers who are participating in the October 2022 VICFA will have their conference fee waived. Those who are not presenting during VICFA but want to help will receive ICFA 44 T-shirts (to be picked either in March 2023 at the conference or mailed after the conference).

If you’re interested in helping IAFA in this manner, please contact the IAFA President, who is also wearing the hat of the VICFA Coordinator, at p.frelik@uw.edu.pl by September 15 .

IAFA Program Book Editor — Call for Applications

The IAFA is soliciting applications for the position of the Program Book Editor to edit the fall Virtual ICFA (VICFA) program and the ICFA conference program book. This appointment will be for one-year, with the possibility to renew indefinitely. Experience with IAFA culture is considered an asset for the position. Professional experience with layout and similar design work is a must. Those applying should have access to their own design software (InDesign or equivalent). The content for the book will be provided by the IAFA officers, and the files used in design of previous program books will be made available to help assist in the production of the new one. At the time of appointment, the IAFA will provide a detailed outline to the Program Book Editor of what should be included in the program book and in what order it should be printed.

The duties of the Program Book Editor include:

  • for the Fall VICFA, prepare a PDF program with information provided by the Board,
  • for the March ICFA, work with the Membership Coordinator to develop templates for the book in a professional design program (i.e., InDesign, Quark, or equivalent),
  • using these templates, and information provided by the First and Second Vice Presidents about the conference’s guests and program schedule, produce camera-ready copy for the production of this book,
  • with art provided by the Second Vice President, design the cover of the book,
  • submit the program book layout for approval to the IAFA Board by February 15 2023, and make any adjustments as required by the Board after this review,
  • continue to update the book with cancellations and other errata up to the time of printing; in consultation with the First Vice President maintain an errata sheet once the book has gone to print,
  • produce an index for this book, with individuals listed by name and session number, and include this index in the final book,
  • investigate appropriate vendors for printing the book in a cost-effective manner and arrange for the printing and delivery of the book to the hotel in numbers as specified by the Registration/Membership Coordinator.

The IAFA will pay a stipend of $500 for this work. Those interested in applying should submit

  • a cover letter, which provides details of professional layout and design experiences, as well as information about the candidate’s history with the IAFA;
  • a portfolio of previous design work;
  • a CV outlining relevant professional and academic experience.

Applications should be sent to Pawel Frelik, IAFA President, at p.frelik@uw.edu.pl.

The closing date for applications is September 15, 2022. An appointment will be made by the end of September.