Jonathan Lethem, in a 1998 essay in the Village Voice entitled "Close Encounters: The Squandered
Promise of Science Fiction", suggested that the point in 1973 when Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's
Rainbow was nominated for the Nebula Award and was passed over in favor of
Clarke's Rendezvous with Rama, stands as "a hidden tombstone marking the death of the hope that
SF was about to merge with the mainstream."[240] In the same year science fiction author and
physicist Gregory Benford wrote: "SF is perhaps the defining genre of the twentieth century,
although its conquering armies are still camped outside the Rome of the literary citadels."[241]
Community[edit]
Authors[edit]
See also: List of science fiction authors
Science fiction is being written, and has been written, by diverse authors from around the world.
According to 2013 statistics by the science fiction publisher Tor Books, men outnumber women by
78% to 22% among submissions to the publisher.[242] A controversy about voting slates in the
2015 Hugo Awards highlighted tensions in the science fiction community between a trend of
increasingly diverse works and authors being honored by awards, and reaction by groups of authors
and fans who preferred what they considered more "traditional" science fiction.[243]
Awards[edit]
Main article: List of science fiction awards
Among the most significant and well-known awards for science fiction are the Hugo
Award for literature, presented by the World Science Fiction Society at Worldcon, and voted on by
fans;[244] the Nebula Award for literature, presented by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of
America, and voted on by the community of authors;[245] the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for
Best Science Fiction Novel, presented by a jury of writers;[246] and the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial
Award for short fiction, presented by a jury.[247] One notable award for science fiction films and TV
programs is the Saturn Award, which is presented annually by The Academy of Science Fiction,
Fantasy, and Horror Films.[248]
There are other national awards, like Canada's Prix Aurora Awards,[249] regional awards, like
the Endeavour Award presented at Orycon for works from the U.S. Pacific Northwest,[250] and special
interest or subgenre awards such as the Chesley Award for art, presented by the Association of
Science Fiction & Fantasy Artists,[251] or the World Fantasy Award for fantasy.[252] Magazines may
organize reader polls, notably the Locus Award.[253]
Conventions[edit]
Main article: Science fiction convention
Writer Pamela Dean reading at the Minneapolis
convention known as Minicon in 2006
Conventions (in fandom, often shortened as "cons", such as "comic-con") are held in cities around
the world, catering to a local, regional, national, or international membership. [254][52][255] General-
interest conventions cover all aspects of science fiction, while others focus on a particular interest
like media fandom, filking, and so on.[256][257] Most science fiction conventions are organized
by volunteers in non-profit groups, though most media-oriented events are organized
by commercial promoters.[258]
Fandom and fanzines[edit]
Main articles: Science fiction fandom and Science-fiction fanzine
Science fiction fandom emerged from the letters column in Amazing Stories magazine. Soon fans
began writing letters to each other, and then grouping their comments together in
informal publications that became known as fanzines.[259] Once in regular contact, fans wanted to
meet each other and organized local clubs.[259][260] In the 1930s, the first science fiction
conventions gathered fans from a wider area.[260]
The earliest organized online fandom was the SF Lovers Community, originally a mailing list in the
late 1970s with a text archive file that was updated regularly.[261] In the 1980s, Usenet groups greatly
expanded the circle of fans online.[262] In the 1990s, the development of the World-Wide
Web exploded the community of online fandom by orders of magnitude, with thousands and then
millions of websites devoted to science fiction and related genres for all media.[263]
The first science fiction fanzine, The Comet, was published in 1930 by the Science Correspondence
Club in Chicago, Illinois.[264][265] One of the best known fanzines today is Ansible, edited by David
Langford, winner of numerous Hugo awards.[266][267] Other notable fanzines to win one or more Hugo
awards include File 770, Mimosa, and Plokta.[268] Artists working for fanzines have frequently risen to
prominence in the field, including Brad W. Foster, Teddy Harvia, and Joe Mayhew;
the Hugos include a category for Best Fan Artists.[268]
Elements[edit]
Plaque at Riverside, Iowa, to honor the "future birth" of Star
Trek's James T. Kirk
Science fiction elements can include, among others:
Temporal settings in the future, or in alternative histories[269]
Space travel, settings in outer space, on other worlds, in subterranean earth,[270] or
in parallel universes[271]
Aspects of biology in fiction such as aliens, mutants, and enhanced humans[272][273]
Predicted or speculative technology such as brain-computer interface, bio-
engineering, superintelligent computers, robots, and ray guns and other advanced
weapons[272][274]
Undiscovered scientific possibilities such as teleportation, time travel, and faster-than-
light travel or communication[275]
New and different political and social systems and situations, including utopian,
[270]
dystopian, post-apocalyptic, or post-scarcity[276]
Future history and evolution of humans on Earth or on other planets[277]
Paranormal abilities such as mind control, telepathy, and telekinesis[278]
