Science Fiction Writers of America, or
SFWA (pronounced "siff-wah" or "seff-wah"), was founded in
1965 by Damon Knight. The organization has since changed its name to
Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc., but continues to use the acronym SFWA after a very brief flirtation with the acronym SFFWA.
SFWA is a non-profit association of science fiction and fantasy writers. Most members live in the United States. Membership is limited to professionally published authors; the minimum qualification is the sale of one novel or dramatic script, or three short stories to venues with certain minimum circulations or pay rates. The "America" in the organization's title refers to the fact that authors (regardless of nationality or residence) must be published in the U.S.A. in order to qualify as SFWA members. SFWA boasts approximately 1,200 members as of
2001.
SFWA awards the Nebula award each year for the best short story, novelette, novella, novel, and script. It also awards the Andre Norton award each year for Best Young Adult novel, the Bradbury award for best screenplay, the Author Emeritus award to a senior writer who is publishing little or whose work is overlooked, and the Grand Master Award for a lifetime's achievement in science fiction or fantasy.
SFWA maintains a web site that has a lot of information for writers. One popular feature of the site is
Writer Beware , which catalogues various publishing-related scams and has alerts about author mills.
Presidents
* Damon Knight (1965-1967)
* Robert Silverberg (1967-1968)
* Alan E. Nourse (1968-1969)
* Gordon R. Dickson (1969-1971)
* James E. Gunn (1971-1972)
* Poul Anderson (1972-1973)
* Jerry Pournelle (1973-1974)
* Frederik Pohl (1974-1976)
* Andrew J. Offutt (1976-1978)
* Jack Williamson (1978-1980)
* Norman Spinrad (1980-1982)
* Marta Randall (1982-1984)
* Charles Sheffield (1984-1986)
* Jane Yolen (1986-1988)
* Greg Bear (1988-1990)
* Ben Bova (1990-1992)
* Joe Haldeman (1992-1994)
* Barbara Hambly (1994-1996)
* Michael Capobianco (1996-1998)
* Robert J. Sawyer (1998)
* Paul Levinson (1999-2001)
* Norman Spinrad (again) (2001-2002)
* Sharon Lee (2002–03)
* Catherine Asaro (2003–2005)
* Robin Wayne Bailey (2005- )
See also
* The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Volume One, 1929-1964
* Atlanta Nights
External links
*
SFWA's official web site Category:Organizations based in the United States
Category:Science fiction organizations
