British Science Fiction Association
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| Abbreviation | BSFA |
|---|---|
| Predecessor | Science Fiction Association (SFA) |
| Formation | 1958 |
| Purpose | An organisation of readers, authors, booksellers & publishers for the appreciation and promotion of science fiction in every form. |
| Location | |
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Chair
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Donna Bond |
| Website | bsfa.co.uk |
The British Science Fiction Association was founded in 1958 by a group of British science fiction fans, authors, publishers and booksellers, in order to encourage science fiction in every form. It is an open membership organisation costing £29 per year for UK residents and £20 for the unwaged. The first president of the BSFA was Brian Aldiss. Stephen Baxter is the current President. The BSFA currently publishes two magazines, sent to all members:
Matrix was the news magazine, but ceased publication.
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 years judging panel of the Arthur C. Clarke Award.
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".
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