SFRA 2021

The Future of/as Inequality

18 June – 21 June 2021

Virtual Host: Seneca College
Toronto, Canada – Held Online

Keynote Speaker:

Madeline Ashby
[Company Town, How to Future: Leading and Sensemaking in an Age of Hyperchange, Machine Dynasty series]

Keynote Speaker:

Dr. Joy Sanchez-Taylor
[Diverse Futures: Science Fiction and Authors of Color]

Keynote Speaker:

Dr. Lars Schmeink
[Biopunk Dystopias: Genetic Engineering, Society and Science Fiction; The Routledge Companion to Cyberpunk Culture, Cyberpunk, and Visual Culture]

Special Guest:

Aisha Matthews
[The MOSF Journal of Science Fiction; Director of Literary Programming for the Museum of Science Fiction’s annual Escape Velocity Conference]

SFRA 2021 Poster

Organizer and EC Statement on SFRA 2021

The Science Fiction Research Association recognizes and rejects the structural inequities that led the conference organizing board and executive committee to select a keynote lineup for its 2021 conference on the theme of the future of inequality that does not reflect the diversity of the field or of our membership. We are committed to addressing this error in three forms.

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First, with respect to the conference itself, we are seeking additional keynote speakers and will have an update on that soon.

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Second, we are seeking workshop leaders to help the organization work through its own ongoing relations of inequality, who, like the keynotes, will be compensated for their time and effort. We as the executive committee also commit to doing the labor necessary to ensure that the conference is equitable and inclusive in content and form, not simply in the realm of good intentions.

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Third, we will hold an open meeting at the conference on ways to implement new procedures to reform the way we select both the executive committee and our conference sites and themes to prevent anything similar from happening again.

We apologize to the community for the pall this fundamental and inexcusable error casts over our upcoming meeting and commit to transforming the organization to be a more diverse and inclusive space for all. Thank you to all those who spoke up and held us accountable. We hope this can be the start of necessary and generative conversations.

Overview

The Executive Committee of the Science Fiction Research Association invites travel grant proposals to attend and present at the annual conference of the Science Fiction Research Association. Maximum awards of $500 may be given. (In the past the SFRA has considered distance traveled primarily in terms of domestic vs. international travel. Starting with travel awards for the 2019 conference, the geographic criterion has been based on the estimated cost of travel, as one factor among many.)

While you do not need to be a current member of the organization to apply for this grant, please remember that you must be a member of SFRA to present at the conference. Grant checks will be presented to awardees during the conference funded by the grant.

Deadline for this year's grants: March 31st (notifications of awards will be sent around April 30th)

 

Please organize your proposal as follows:

  1. A cover page that gives the name of the applicant (please do not identify yourself or your institution in the rest of the proposal), mailing addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, distance from the conference; please note your willingness to accept partial funding. Submit your cover page as a separate document from the remainder of your proposal.
  2. The abstract for your paper (as submitted to the conference director).
  3. A grant proposal of no more than 300 words in which you explain:
    • the financial difficulty you face in attempting to attend the annual SFRA conference and
    • the professional growth you intend to receive by attending the conference.
  4. A realistic, detailed budget for your conference attendance. Be sure to list alternative funding resources you have already applied for and/or received money from.

 

Criteria for Selection

You may find the following criteria useful in preparing your proposal. The Executive Committee will use these to conduct reviews of all proposals.

  1. Need: The proposal demonstrates a significant need.
  2. Distance: The proposal demonstrates that the applicant will have to travel far distances to attend the conference.
  3. Contribution: The project being presented makes an original contribution to scholarship in the field.
  4. Professional Growth: The proposal articulates clear objectives for professional growth.
  5. Cost: Budget expenditures are reasonable and the applicant has also sought funding elsewhere.
  6. Dollars Available: The organization will attempt to award as many travel grants as possible while remaining fiscally responsible.

 

Restrictions

No individual or organization may submit more than one proposal for SFRA funding per calendar year (conference travel, research travel, or other grants); this does not prohibit an individual applying for conference travel funding from preparing a small grant application on behalf of a collective to which he or she belongs. The first consideration will go to those who have not received an award in the last three years.

 

Expectations of Award Recipients

Grant recipients will be expected to do the following:

  • Present at the SFRA Conference they are being funded to attend.
  • Submit a final written report of 1 to 2 pages to the secretary of the SFRA Executive Committee by September 30 of the calendar year in which they attend and present at the SFRA conference.

Questions should be directed to SFRA Secretary Sarah Lohmann.

Proposals should be submitted to the same, as Rich Text File or Portable Document Format attachments.

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