Future of the SFRA Review Survey Results

June 14, 2011

Yesterday, I posted the results of the SFRA’s survey regarding the future of the SFRA Review. I believe that the results point toward a need for compromise between the necessity of digital publication and the desire for some members to have a print version. These are the results of the survey:

These are the results of the recent poll that the Executive Committee conducted to determine membership opinion on the future publication and distribution model for the organization’s official publication, the SFRA Review.

1) How would you prefer to receive the SFRA Review?

Online : 55 votes : 60%

Mail : 36 votes : 40%

Total : 91 votes

2) If the review were published online, what format would you prefer?

PDF : 45 votes : 51%

ebook : 27 votes : 30%

Blog : 14 votes : 16%

Wiki : 3 votes : 3%

Total : 89 votes

3) If the SFRA Review were published online, how often would you like to see it released?

Quarterly : 58 votes : 66%

Continuous : 30 votes : 34%

Total : 88 votes

The results from this poll as well as the many opinions expressed on the SFRA email list will be weighted at the annual business meeting held at the conference in Poland on July 7-10, 2011. You may download the graphed results as a PDF attached to this news post.

The results and a pdf with graphs are available here.

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Posted by Jason W Ellis

Did You Know That Many Back Issues of SFRA Review Are Available Online?

May 23, 2011

Did you know that you can find many issues of the SFRA Review, the official publication of the Science Fiction Research Association, online for free?

There are two online repositories for back issues of the SFRA Review. First, all issues from 2001 (beginning with issue #250) to the present are available for download in PDF format from the SFRA’s official website here. This is also the primary place to find new issues as soon as they are published.

Second, you can find many of the earliest issues of the SFRA Review at the University of South Florida Library’s Special and Digital Collections website here. They provide scanning and hosting services for (currently) 118 Newsletter/SFRA Review issues from 1974-2008.

The SFRA Review is a leading source for original scholarship, conversation, and reviews in the field of science fiction and fantasy. In more recent years, it has expanded into other media in a big way including teaching guides, research, and reviews of genre film and video games.

The SFRA is the oldest professional organization for the study of science fiction and fantasy in all media. The SFRA promotes scholarship, teaching, and professional discourse through awards, publication, and its annual conference.

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Posted by Jason W Ellis

The Postnational Fantasy Essays on Postcolonialism, Cosmopolitics and Science Fiction, Now Published and Available from McFarland!

April 13, 2011

UPDATE: The Postnational Fantasy now has its own page on dynamicsubspace.net here.

I am very pleased to announce the publication of The Postnational Fantasy: Essays on Postcolonialism, Cosmopolitics and Science Fiction, my first co-edited collection of essays with with my good friends and colleagues Masood Ashraf Raja and Swaralipi Nandi! Click here to purchase it directly from the publisher McFarland & Co or click here to purchase it from Amazon (they should receive copies soon).

Below, I have included the book jacket copy, editor biographies, and the table of contents.

The Postnational Fantasy: Essays on Postcolonialism, Cosmopolitics and Science Fiction

Edited by Masood Ashraf Raja, Jason W. Ellis and Swaralipi Nandi

Foreword by Donald M. Hassler

Print ISBN: 978-0-7864-6141-7

EBook ISBN: 978-0-7864-8555-0

notes, bibliographies, index

225pp. softcover 2011

Buy Now!

Price: $40.00

Available for immediate shipment

About the Book

In twelve critical and interdisciplinary essays, this text examines the relationship between the fantastic in novels, movies and video games and real-world debates about nationalism, globalization and cosmopolitanism. Topics covered include science fiction and postcolonialism, issues of ethnicity, nation and transnational discourse. Altogether, these essays chart a new discursive space, where postcolonial theory and science fiction and fantasy studies work cooperatively to expand our understanding of the fantastic, while simultaneously expanding the scope of postcolonial discussions.

Table of Contents

Foreword by DONALD M. HASSLER

Introduction by MASOOD A. RAJA and SWARALIPI NANDI

Part I: Postcolonial Issues in Science Fiction

1. Science Fiction as Experimental Ground for Issues of the Postcolonial Novel by MICHELE BRAUN

2. Truth Is Stranger: The Postnational “Aliens” of Biofiction by KAREN CARDOZO and BANU SUBRAMANIAM

3. Forms of Compromise: The Interaction of Humanity, Technology and Landscape in Ken MacLeod’s Night Sessions by ADAM FRISCH

4. The Language of Postnationality: Cultural Identity via Science Fictional Trajectories by CHRIS PAK

Part II: The Nation and Ethnicity in Science Fiction

5. The “Popular” Science: Bollywood’s Take on Science Fiction and the Discourse of Nations by SWARALIPI NANDI

6. Postcolonial Ethics and Identity in Mike Resnick’s Kirinyaga by JENN BRANDT

7. The Frontier Myth and Racial Politics by ÁNGEL MATEOS-APARICIO MARTÍN-ALBO

8. Dystopia and the Postcolonial Nation by SUPARNO BANERJEE

Part III: Towards a Postnational Discourse

9. Body Speaks: Communication and the Limits of Nationalism in Octavia Butler’s Xenogenesis Trilogy by KATHERINE R. BROAD

10. Engineering a Cosmopolitan Future: Race, Nation, and World of Warcraft by JASON W. ELLIS

11. When “Nation” Stops Making Sense: Mexican and Giorgio Agamben’s “State of Exception” in Children of Men by STACY SCHMITT RUSNAK

12. Fantastic Language/Political Reporting: The Postcolonial SF Illocutionary Force Is with Us by MARLEEN S. BARR

About the Contributors

Index

About the Editors

Masood Ashraf Raja is an assistant professor of Postcolonial literature and theory at the University of North Texas, and editor of Pakistaniaat: A Journal of Pakistan Studies. Jason W. Ellis is an English literature Ph.D candidate at Kent State University and holder of an M.A. in science fiction studies from the University of Liverpool. Swaralipi Nandi is an English literature Ph.D candidate at Kent State University, whose research focus is postcolonial literature and theory.

Also read the announcement on Masood Raja’s blog here.

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Posted by Jason W Ellis

Deadline for SFRA 2011 Submissions is Friday, April 15

April 11, 2011

A friendly reminder: Please send Pawel Frelik your abstracts and register to attend the annual Science Fiction Research Association’s conference, which will take place this year in Lublin, Poland on July 7-10. All of the details can be found here. See you all there!

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Posted by Jason W Ellis

Science Fiction Research Association Executive Committee Moves into the Futuristic Present with Skype

April 8, 2011

Today, SFRA President Ritch Calvin convened our second executive committee meeting over Skype thanks to Treasurer Patrick B. Sharp obtaining a video conference day pass so that we could all share voice and video with one another. Also in attendance were Secretary Susan George and Vice President Jason W. Ellis (me).

I am very happy with how successful our second executive committee meeting was today. Our first meeting was convened by a conference call, which was as equally productive, but not nearly as interactive and congenial as a four-way video chat.

I am glad to be a part of a the current executive committee of the SFRA, and I am also gratified to say that each of the SFRA’s elected officials are giving the organization their best effort to continue the SFRA’s upward trajectory as a preeminent professional organization for studying, discussing, and teaching speculative genre fiction across media.

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Posted by Jason W Ellis

SFRA and Other Professional Work

March 27, 2011

Today is the last day of Kent State’s Spring Break, but I feel like I have accomplished a few good things during this week off from teaching.

As SFRA Vice President, I am responsible for growing the membership rolls of the organization. As part of that work, I have been sending out conference fliers and membership sign-up forms to conferences in the U.S. and abroad. I am particularly interested in bringing more international members into the organization during the next two years. We have always been an international organization, but I believe that social media and the Internet will further collapse impediments to communication and discussion which will allow for greater participation across borders. To fulfill this vision, I have been using the SFRA social media platforms to get the word out about the organization and our annual meeting. I am also working on a new plan that may elevate the wider recognition of the organization through publication of the work and achievements of our members that is already present online but not aggregated into an easily accessible site.

It took a few days, but I just completed my application packet for a research fellowship. If I am awarded this fellowship, it will significantly add to the fourth chapter of my dissertation by allowing me to access sources that I cannot obtain in Ohio.

Now, I will return to my dissertation’s theory chapter as I sit in my study carrel at the Kent State Library.

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Posted by Jason W Ellis

Short Zombie Film Announcement, The Black Earth, Shooting in WI

March 25, 2011

My friend and film-making colleague James Warbington sent out a press release today for a short zombie film that he is shooting in Wisconsin. James combines southern sensibilities with his expansive imagination to create interesting film narratives, and I believe that he demonstrates his abilities in his upcoming film The Black Earth. I have worked with James on a number of projects including two 48-Hour Film Festivals in Atlanta (once he was the producer/director and once I acted as producer/director) and he and his wife Camille recorded the 2009 Science Fiction Research Association Conference in Atlanta for me. You may read more about his upcoming film The Black Earth in the press release below:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CONTACT:

Director & Writer: James T. Warbington

Production Company: Black Scorpion Films, LLC

Executive Producer: Kevin Wayne Film Studios

Producer: Family Curse Productions

warbrookfilms@gmail.com

www.theblackearthmovie.com

Short “Zomedy” Zombie Comedy to be filmed in Black Earth, Wisconsin

Madison, Wisconsin March 25th 2011. James T. Warbington in association with Kevin Wayne Film Studios, Black Scorpion Films, LLC and Family Curse Productions has announced the short film tentatively titled “The Black Earth” to be filmed in it’s name sake, Black Earth, Wisconsin in June 2011.

“The Black Earth” is the story of two country boys and their family. The two cousins are considered the Black Sheep and outcast of the town. As they spend their free time imitating stunts they have seen on television and known for having a beer or two they become the unlikely heroes that save the day. As the tourist run in fear, they laugh in the face of the undead, turn up a beer and the radio and get to protecting Black Earth from the undead invasion. The short film to be used as a stepping stone to secure the additional funding to film the feature length.

The title and location was inspired by a visit to Black Earth on ancestor search. After visiting the town and realizing it’s charm, not only did the tentative title spawn from it, it was decided it was an excellent place to film as well. Director and Writer James T. Warbington explained while scouting locations “It (Black Earth) is a wonderful town and everyone has been extremely accepting to what we want to accomplish there.”

Kevin Wayne Studios is the executive headquarters for Black Scorpion Films, LLC, based out of Birmingham, Alabama has filmed 4 feature length films as well as many short films and been a solid member of Sidewalk independent Film Festival in Alabama. Kevin Wayne Film Studios is currently in post production of the film “Company M: a mob of soldiers” as well as pre-production of the feature length “Bloodtype”. Family Curse Productions has been executive producers of 2 short films and is currently in pre-production of the feature length “The Beast” in Huntington, Pennsylvania. James T. Warbington, with over a decade of experience in professional sports, live theater as well as directed and been cinematographer on many Black Scorpion Films, LLC and Family Curse projects will be heading up “The Black Earth” short film in Wisconsin.

We hope to prove once again to all film makers that Wisconsin is a great place for the film industry.

For more information about the film, please visit www.theblackearthmovie.com.

Also you can contact for any information: warbrookfilms@gmail.com.

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Posted by Jason W Ellis

SFRA Immediate Past President Lisa Yaszek Featured in Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine

March 23, 2011

SFRA Immediate Past President Lisa Yaszek is featured in the current issue of Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine in an Office Space article by Van Jensen:

Georgia Tech and science fiction are a natural fit, with the campus being a center for cutting-edge research in science and technology. No surprise then that Tech is a perfect setting for Lisa Yaszek, an associate professor and director of undergraduate studies in the School of Literature, Communication and Culture. Yaszek has devoted her career to speculative fiction — literature that examines the frontier of science and society. She has authored three books on the subject, served as president of the Science Fiction Research Association and is an editor of the science fiction studies journal Extrapolation. She shares some of her favorite sci-fi works and her vision of building a science fiction center at the Institute.

via Lisa Yaszek: Sci-fi Sage | Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine.

I’m happy to see Lisa getting props for her work in the Alumni Magazine, and I am also glad to see the Science Fiction Research Association mentioned and linked in the article online (it is also in the print version on pages 26-27). Lisa also reports significant happenings at Tech: a SF reading room at the library and the construction of an online SF encyclopedia and research portal. She says, “Our goal has always been to build on our resources and create a center for sci-fi.”

Georgia Tech is a wonderful place of learning that supports interdisciplinary research and teaching. Science Fiction research is an important part of that cooperation, because SF is at the interstices of science, technology, and culture. Besides the work that Lisa and other professors do there, Tech also features a growing special collection in the library: the Bud Foote Science Fiction Collection. It goes without saying that Georgia Tech is in my top 10 places that I would like to work in the future.

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Posted by Jason W Ellis

Have You Considered Joining the Science Fiction Research Association (SFRA)?

March 22, 2011

The Science Fiction Research Association (SFRA), founded in 1970, is one of the leading groups dedicated to examination and discussion of the popular culture of science fiction and fantasy in literature, film, art, and video games, and we always hold the door open for new members to join us in professional discussion online and at our annual conference as well as in scholarly publication in the SFRA Review. As a member, you become a part of an international community of scholars and fans who share their expertise for personal enjoyment and professional development. Additionally, our members have many opportunities for personal development by contributing to the organization through service, publication, and participation. You can be a part of this dynamic group, too!

Our members are among the top experts in the academy and fandom alike, because we do not restrict membership to university faculty. Our member rolls include writers, librarians, booksellers, filmmakers, and invested fans.

With an annual membership, you gain these material benefits in addition to the personal benefits of professional development, collaboration, and discussion: 4 issues of the SFRA Review, 3 issues of the journal Extrapolation, and 3 issues of Science Fiction Studies. Additionally, members may participate in the active SFRA listserv discussion list, submit reviews and essays to the SFRA Review for potential publication, and present papers or conduct panels at our annual conference, which meets at a different city each year (once internationally outside of the U.S. every three years). An individual membership costs only $80/year, and a student membership costs only $60/year!

Our 2011 meeting will be held in Lublin, Poland with the theme, “Dreams Not Only American: Science Fiction’s Transatlantic Transactions.” Visit the official website here for information on submitting a paper proposal, travel arrangements, and accommodation.

It is never too late to join the oldest professional organization that supports teaching and research in the science fiction and fantasy fields in all media. You too can join the SFRA by visiting our official website here.

If you have questions about the SFRA, its mission, or how to participate, please email SFRA Vice President Jason W. Ellis at dynamicsubspace@gmail.com.

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Posted by Jason W Ellis

SFRA Off to a Good Start This Year

January 23, 2011

This past week, I had two productive conversations with SFRA folk by phone.

First, I talked with R. Nicole Smith, the SFRA’s new Publicity Director on Wednesday evening. She is taking over my old job since I am now the vice president of the organization. Nicole is an enthusiastic addition to the SFRA team, and I know that she will do very good things in her new role. I told her about the things that I had done and would like to do with publicizing the SFRA, and she shared some of her own interesting ideas with me.

Then yesterday, I had a conference call with president Ritch Calvin, immediate past president Lisa Yaszek, treasurer Patrick Sharp, and secretary Susan George (Susan–I almost wrote Susan Calvin–my mind is on Asimov today). This was the SFRA executive committee’s first formal conversation on the pressing issues of the organization. Ritch did a superb job orchestrating the conversation, and we got much accomplished in one hour. We will continue our work using Skype in the coming months as a measure of fiscal responsibility and part embracing new, enabling technologies for collaboration and communication. It is an exciting time for the SFRA, and I am glad to be a part of it. You can read about our meeting in the next issue of SFRA Review.

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Posted by Jason W Ellis

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