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THE AUSTRALIAN SCIENCE FICTION FOUNDATION |
P.O. Box 215 Forest Hill Vic 3131.
Email address: asffsecretary@optusnet.com.au
About the Foundation
The Chandler Award
The Norma K Hemming Award
The Wright Collection
Fan Funds
Amateur SF Competition
Joining the Foundation
USEFUL LINKS
Aussiecon 4 is coming in 2010! |
The Australian Science Fiction Foundation (affectionately known as the Foundation) was formally established in 1976, partially to carry on the work of Aussiecon, the first Australian World Science Fiction Convention.
Its main purpose is to sponsor and encourage the creation and appreciation of science fiction in Australia. The Foundation does that through the sponsorship and administration of writing workshops and short story competitions, seed loans to national conventions, and the publication of its newsletter, The Instrumentality. The Foundation has, since its inception, been a resource centre for everyone involved in Science Fiction in Australia.
The Foundation was the nucleus for the successful Aussiecon II bid and its members worked, along with many others, to run the 1985 Worldcon in Melbourne. In March 1988, the Foundation became an incorporated association.
The results of the Foundation's work can be seen at many conventions, for the Foundation lends seed money to get Natcons up and running. It also provides the funds for prizes in short story competitions. Help the Foundation carry on its good work - join now.
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In 1991 the Foundation set about establishing a new award for "Outstanding Achievement in Australian Science Fiction". In recognition of the contribution that science fiction writer A. Bertram Chandler made to Australian Science Fiction, and because of his patronage of the Foundation, the new award (after gaining the approval of Bert's widow Susan) is called the Chandler. Unlike the Ditmars, this award is decided upon by a jury and, although nominally an annual award presented in conjunction with the National Science Fiction Convention, is not necessarily presented every year.
The first Chandler Award was presented in 1992 to Van Ikin at the National Science Fiction Convention - SynCon '92. Subsequent winners were Merv Binns, George Turner, Wynne Whiteford, Grant Stone, Susan Batho(Smith-Clarke), Graham Stone, John Bangsund, John Foyster, Lucy Sussex, Lee Harding, and Bruce Gillespie.
Nominations for the Chandler Award are always open. Just drop a note to the Secretary via the post box or email.
Until now there has been no specifically ‘feminist’ award for SF in Australia. Following representations by the Western Australian Science Fiction Foundation (WASFF), ASSF has decided to sponsor and administer a jury award to be known as the Norma K Hemming Award. The award will mark excellence in the exploration of themes of race, gender, class and sexuality in science fiction produced either in Australia or by Australian citizens and first published in the calendar year preceding the year in which the award is given.
Norma Kathleen Hemming (1927-1960) is an Australian fan and author whose work was informed by her experiences as one of the few women active in science fiction in her time.
More
about this award, and Norma Hemming and her life and times
As a result of the generous donation Bill Wright, the Foundation has begun a memorabilia collection of fanzines, convention booklets, etc., some as early as from the 1950s. It is now housed at the Melbourne Science Fiction Club but may be accessed by fans. An audio/visual collection, such as the Anti-fan films, is also stored there. Any donations of films, photos, audio tapes are gratefully accepted.
More about the Wright Collection
The Foundation is pleased to announce that three fan funds have now taken advantage of using a sub-account under the ASFF's main account to avoid the difficulties and expense of having to set up new accounts each time the administrators change. Account fees are also negligible.
The Foundation is currently working on guidelines to offer conventions running the Amateur SF Competition that the Foundation funds. There would only be suggestions that may assist the committee, particularly if they haven't run one before. If anyone has some ideas that would be helpful please send them to the Foundation for consideration.
Fees:
There is a $5.00 joining fee, plus an annual membership fee of
$10.00. (For overseas members, the annual membership fee is $15, in
Australian dollars please.) Write, or email,
the secretary for a membership form, or download one!
SF Groups
Upcoming Conventions
SF Resources
AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY
CANBERRA SCIENCE FICTION SOCIETY meets on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of the month. It's a relaxed social society for the discussion of SF and fantasy. Membership $24 p.a. For more info write to: CSFS, PO Box 47, Civic Square, ACT 2608, or e-mail canberrascifi@hotmail.com.
NEW SOUTH WALES
FRIENDS OF SCIENCE FICTION meet monthly at the Granville Youth & Community Centre (Sydney). Meeting from 10am-6pm. $10 members, $15 non-members.http://fsf.net.au/
NEWCASTLE SPACE FRONTIER SOCIETY (NSFS) Regular meetings and social functions. Full details available at http://www.nssa.com.au/nsfs.
SPOCKSOC: A SF group run by students at the University of NSW Kensington, Sydney. http://www.spocksoc.unsw.edu.au
STARWALKING (NSW) holds meetings
at the Lidcombe Catholic Workers Club, 24 John St, Lidcombe, opposite
Lidcombe Railway station on the third Sunday of some months. http://sydskyforce.starwalking.net/
SYDNEY FUTURIANS: Contact address: P.O. Box 152 Bexley North, NSW, 2207. Usually meet on the 3rd Friday of the month (except for December) in the foyer of UTS building, Broadway at 6.55pm.
QUEENSLAND
QUEST Queensland Star Trekkers Fan Club usually meet at the PCYC Fortitude Valley on the second Sunday of the month (though this occasionally changes) . Contact Mary Kemp either by phone: 07 3290 4243 or by e-mail: jmkemp@bigpond. net.au. The club's snail mail address is still PO BOX 2084, Brisbane, QLD. 4001. Quest's new website will be up and running in the near future.
VISIONS WRITERS GROUP offers meeting and critiquing for SF, Fantasy and Horror writers in QLD. Monthly meetings from 11am -2 pm, first Sunday of the month (except Jan and Dec) at Queensland State Library, Rm 2D, 2nd Floor. Brisbane. $10 joining fee, and $4 per meeting. There website is http://visionwriters.org. You can also join their virtual group (great for writing tips and general SF info) at http://groups.yahoo.com/ group/vision-writers.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
OUT THERE "You find a lot of queer things in space" is a social club for gay SF fans, mostly over 30, that meets monthly in Adelaide. Phone Rod on 0402027891 for more details.
VICTORIA
AUSTREK, the Star Trek fan club in Victoria which has been going strong for more than 30 years meet on the 1st Saturday of every month from 2pm at the Northcote Town Hall, Melbourne. http://www.austrek.org/
DR WHO CLUB OF VICTORIA has been going for over 25 years. Their newsletter - Sonic Screwdriver - publishes news, reviews & gossip on Dr Who as well as publishing fanfic & pictures 6 times a year. $35 for a family membership) which gets you 7 issues of the newsletter. They meet at the Northcote Town Hall several times a year. http://www.vicnet.net.au/~dwcv/
FEDERATION SQUARE (Melbourne) SF & Fantasy genres book reading group. Free to attend, Meet on the 2nd Saturday of every month from 11.30am at Café Beer Delux in Federation Square. E-mail books@fedsquare. com.
MELBOURNE SCIENCE FICTION CLUB, Meet most Friday nights at 74
Melville Road, West Brunswick 3055. Membership to the MSFC is $30 single, or
$40 family/household or overseas, and $20 for interstate per annum.
http://www.vicnet.net.au/~msfc/
*SFFiG* SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY in GEELONG http://au.groups. yahoo.com/ group/SFFiG/ Irregular meets announced via email. Discussions, trivia & games, news and more!
SPACED OUT: a science fiction club for gays, lesbians and associated
communities meets in Melbourne. $5 joining fee, then $20 annual membership. ($15
concession.) to Spaced Out Inc. PO Box 363, Preston, Vic. 3072. Non-profit
SF club offering monthly meetings, "Diverse Universe" newsletter
and "Solar
Spectrum" annual anthology.
http://www.spacedoutinc.org/
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
The DR WHO CLUB OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA is regenerating. They will meet on the first Saturday of each month 12.30-5pm at The Collins St Centre, Cnr Shaftesbury Ave and Collins St, South Perth. Club stalls, info, afternoon tea and entertainment. See their temporary website: www.comedydownunder .com/westlodge/ .
JAFWA is Perth's largest and oldest anime group. They offer screenings in the Jones lecture theatre, Curtin University from 5pm on any Saturday that isn't the first Saturday of the month. http://jafwa. asn.au/
SUPANOVA: (media/comics/authors events) SYDNEY 26-28 June 2009, The Dome, Olympic Park, Sydney, PERTH: 3-5 July 2009, Claremont Showgrounds, Perth. See http://supanova.com.au
ANTICIPATION, the 2009 Worldcon will be in Montreal, CANADA 6-10 August, 2009. GoHs: Neil Gaiman, Elisabeth Vonarburg, Tom Doherty, David Hartwell and Taral Wayne, Artist GoH Ralph Bakshi. Author Julie Czerneda will be Master of Ceremonies. http://www.anticipationsf.ca/
CONTINUUM 5. Continuum 5 Galaxies by Gaslight, Friday 14 to Sunday 16th August 2009. GoH Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Membership at 31/1/2009 will be $120, $10 discount for members of an SF & F club, gaming club, or 2009 convention. Ether Conference Centre, Mercure Hotel Welcome 265-281 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne . Postal address: Continuum 5 GPO Box 603, Melbourne, VIC 3001. http://www.continuum.org.au/
MANIFEST (Melbourne Anime Festival) 21-23 August 2009. Melbourne Showgrounds. http://www.manifest.org.au/
ANIMANIA: Anime and Manga festival SYDNEY 5-6th September (Venue to be announced). BRISBANE 9th May, Holiday Inn & 19th Sept (Venue tba) See http://www.animania.net.au/2009/ for more details.
ARMAGEDDON EXPO, Melbourne, 17-18 October, Melbourne Exhibition Centre. See http://www.armageddonexpo.com/
AUSSIECON 4 (2-6 September, 2010) - Postal address Australia in 2010, GPO Box 1212 Melbourne, Australia. 3001. US AGENT: Mark Linneman, PO Box 221878, Sacramento, CA 95822 USA, UK Agents Eve & John Harvey, European Agent: Vince Docherty. http://aussiecon4.org.au/
THE AUSTRALIAN SCIENCE FICTION BULLSHEET - All the news of what's happening in SF in Australia and around the world. http://bullsheet.sf.org.au/
METEOR INCORPORATED is an Australian organisation seeking to securely preserve Australia's great SF and Fantasy collections of books, magazines and other memorabilia when the current owners can no longer maintain their collection. Meteor Inc was formed in 2007 as a not-for-profit incorporated organisation to raise funds to set up a permanent science fiction institution and research collection in Australia. The repository will be based on donations of the great SF and fantasy collections of Australia. Meteor Inc plans to buy premises and set up a fully functioning library and research facility. http://www.meteor.org.au/
Last Update: 16 June 2009.