SFWA Announces Election and Referendum Results

The Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) has published the outcome of their recent Board election and Referendum.

Effective July 1, 2023, the SFWA Board of Directors will be made up of the following members:

  • Jeffe Kennedy, President 
  • John Murphy, Vice President 
  • Jasmine Gower, Secretary 
  • Erin Hartshorn, Chief Financial Officer 
  • Directors-at-Large Monica Valentinelli, Jordan Kurella, Christine Taylor-Butler, Chelsea Mueller, and Phoebe Barton

Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, who ran as a write-in for SFWA Director-at-Large, was not elected.

Departing the SFWA Board on June 30 will be directors Remy Nakamura and José Pablo Iriarte.

REFERENDUMS. Previously, genre writers of poetry and translators of fiction could not use those portions of their paid work as part of their catalog when applying to join SFWA or to upgrade their membership classification. But SFWA members have just voted to approve two resolutions to accept those qualifications:

(I) Paid SFF and related genre poetry sales shall be considered for the purposes of determining eligibility for membership in SFWA.

(II) Payment for SFF and related genre translation work shall be considered for the purposes of determining eligibility for membership in SFWA by the translator.

The SFWA Board says, “We’ll publicly announce when the organization is ready to begin taking applications that include poetry and translated works.”  

2020 SFWA Officer Election Results

Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) have released the outcome of the latest officer elections, however, not the vote counts.

The results as certified by the Elections Committee and the Executive Director are as follows. For the Director-at-Large positions, runner-ups have been listed in alphabetical order.

Vice President: Tobias S. Buckell

Chief Financial Officer: Nathan Lowell 

Director-at-Large thru 2021:

(W) James Beamon

Runners-up:

  • Lou Antonelli
  • Tobias S. Buckell
  • Traci Castleberry
  • N.K. Jemisin
  • Cat Rambo
  • Monica Valentinelli 

Director-at-Large thru 2022: 2 Open Positions (winners and runners-up listed alphabetically)

(W) Phoebe Barton

(W) Monica Valentinelli

Runners-up:

  • Lou Antonelli
  • Lou J. Berger
  • Jonathan P. Brazee
  • Tobias S. Buckell
  • Brenda Clough
  • Arinn Dembo
  • John Forrest
  • Esther Friesner
  • Charles E. Gannon
  • Clayton E. Kroh
  • Craig Martelle
  • Cat Rambo
  • John Scalzi
  • Steven H Silver
  • Chuck Tingle
  • Jeremiah Tolbert
  • William Alan Webb
  • Walter Jon Williams
  • Christie Yant

SFWA’s Board for the 2020-2021 term, starting July 1st, 2020 will consist of: 

President: Mary Robinette Kowal

Vice President: Tobias S. Buckell

CFO: Nathan Lowell

Secretary: Curtis C. Chen

Directors-at-Large (term ending 2021): 

Sarah Pinsker
Jeffe Kennedy
James Beamon

Directors-at-Large (term ending 2022):

Phoebe Barton
Monica Valentinelli 

That one of the directors-at-large seats for the term ending 2022 was filled by a write-in candidate can be inferred from Lou Antonelli’s statement that there had been only one candidate for those two seats and his appeal for SFWAns to write in his name.

“An Astounding 90 Years of Analog Science Fiction and Fact” Symposium Videos Online

Over 100 scholars, writers, editors, fans, and City Tech students and faculty participated in the Fourth Annual City Tech Science Fiction Symposium on “An Astounding 90 Years of Analog Science Fiction and Fact” held December 12.

The New York City College of Technology in Brooklyn hosted a combination of scholarly presentations, an editors’ roundtable, writers events, and a keynote address by SF writer Mike Flynn. And they invite you to view the day’s proceedings in this collection of “Videos from the Fourth Annual City Tech Science Fiction Symposium, An Astounding 90 Years of Analog Science Fiction and Fact”.

Keynote Address by Mike Flynn

  • Introduction:   Trevor Quachri

Opening Remarks

  • Justin Vazquez-Poritz, Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, New York City College of Technology
  • Jason W. Ellis, Assistant Professor of English, New York City College of Technology

Editors Panel

  • Moderator: Frank Wu.
  • Panelists: Stanley Schmidt, Trevor Quachri, Emily Hockaday

Marginalized Voices and Feminist Futures

  • Moderator: Lisa Yaszek
  • Marleen Barr, “Rachel Rodman’s “The Evolutionary Alice” As Fractured Feminist Fantasy”
  • Adam McLain, “Visualizing Gendered Voice in Ninety Years of Astounding and Analog
  • Marie Vibbert, “Visible Women in Astounding and Analog

Writers Panel

  • Moderator: Emily Hockaday
  • Panelists: Phoebe Barton, Leah Cypess, Jay Werkheiser, Alison Wilgus, Frank Wu

Critical Issues in Analog SF

  • Moderator: Lavelle A. Porter
  • Sharon Packer, “Simian Cinema, Darwinian Debates, and Early Analog SF Stories”
  • Stanley Schmidt, “Humor in Analog
  • Edward Wysocki, Jr., “Just the Facts: Articles in Campbell’s Astounding and Analog

Teaching with SF Collections

  • Moderator: Lucas Kwong
  • Jason W. Ellis, “Introduction to the City Tech Science Fiction Collection”
  • Zachary Lloyd, “Interdisciplinary Approaches to Teaching with Science Fiction”

Celebrate Analog’s 90th Anniversary

“An Astounding 90 Years of Analog Science Fiction and Fact: The Fourth Annual City Tech Science Fiction Symposium,” takes place on Thursday, December 12. Held in conjunction with City Tech College in Brooklyn, this daylong symposium is free and open to the public. It convenes at 285 Jay Street, Room A105 and runs from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.

The event will feature papers from distinguished academics, readings from Phoebe Barton, Leah Cypess, Alison Wilgus, Frank Wu, Jay Werkheiser, and a keynote speech from Michael Flynn. Stanley Schmidt, Trevor Quachri, and Emily Hockaday will also participate on an editorial panel. Copies of the official 90th anniversary issue will be given away. The full program for the day can be found here.

City Tech will provide breakfast and lunch, so they ask interested parties to please RSVP (even tentatively) for headcount. RSVP here.