S. Worthen | Weblog

Someone optimistically chirped at me, online, that more women than ever are involved in sf now!

I'm quite willing to believe that more women are *visibly* involved in aspects, especially higher-status aspects, of sf than before, where "sf" includes not only authors, but also editors, publishers, translators, illustrators, critics, reviewers, scholars, convention organizers, magazine editors and authors, and fans, among others.

But I'm reflexively hesitant to believe we now necessarily live in the best of all possible worlds moment when the most women are involved in "sf" in one way or another, the implicit result of progressivist developments.

Even if the early decades may look initially unpromising (but how involved were their partners/wives/daughters?), how was the wider community doing in the '90s? The '80s? The '70s?

It somehow seemed like an urgent task today to sit down and figure out the entire history of GoHs for the BSFA/SFF joint AGMs.

2002 [SFF:] M. John Harrison, BSFA: Gwyneth Jones
2003 SFF: Kim Newman, BSFA: Ian Watson
2004 BSFA: Paul McAuley, [SFF?:] Alastair Reynolds, Liz Williams
2005 SFF: Karen Traviss, BSFA: Ian McDonald
2006 SFF: Steven Baxter, BSFA: Juliet McKenna. Also, Bruce Sterling.
2007 SFF: Francis Spufford, BSFA: Jon Courtenay Grimwood
2008 SFF: Geoff Ryman, BSFA: Peter Weston
2009 SFF: Paul Kincaid, BSFA: Nick Harkaway
2010 SFF: Rob Shearman, BSFA: Malcolm Edwards
2011 SFF: Mike Ashley, BSFA: Tricia Sullivan

So, questions:

1. Was 2002 the first joint AGM/mini-convention?


2. Whose guests were whose (i.e. BSFA or SFF) in 2002? (M. John Harrison, Gwyneth Jones)


3. Whose guests were whose in 2003? (Ian Watson, Kim Newman)


4. Whose guests were whose in 2004? (Paul McAuley, Alastair Reynolds, Liz Williams - assuming it divides down into specific guests per organization.)


5. Whose guests were whose in 2006? (Steven Baxter, Bruce Sterling, Juliet McKenna - assuming it divides down into specific guests per organization.)

This weekend, a science fiction author asked me why I know so many science fiction authors personally.

I gave a long-winded answer at the time because I had never thought about it before. But really - it's just because I've been around sf fandom long enough. Fandom is full of writers. Many are unpublished, and over the years, more of them will have their works published. Many of them are widely published and just like hanging around conventions or pubs or other sfnal social venues. They're part of the community to whatever degree each is comfortable participating in it, just as much as anyone else with a stake in the subject, whether readers, editors, translators, publishers, artists, or anyone else.

P.S. I was tempted to entitle this "science fiction authors are human beings too".

I'm going to be part of a panel on "Science Fiction and Religion" this coming Saturday in Bradford, as part of the British Science Festival, along with Una McCormack, Chris Beckett, and Steven French.

Details are here. Attendance is free, but requires pre-booking.

[Poll #1763420]

( Context... )

For tamaranth, as a followup to our Not-the-Clarke-Award discussion, and anyone else who has read Generosity:

( Do NOT read unless you have finished reading Richard Power's Generosity! )

I keep thinking about the geography of the world of Generosity too, but that's another post.

Ian Sales has compiled a list of 91 'science fiction mistressworks', a complement to the Gollancz Masterworks series.

( Read More... )

oursin has compiled a list of other possible authors/works who could have been included in the list as well.