The Science Fiction Foundation is a

Registered Charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a ch ...

established 1970 in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

by George Hay and others. Its purpose is to "promote

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

and bring together those who read, write, study, teach, research or archive science fiction in Britain and the rest of the world." Science fiction writers

Arthur C. Clarke Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (16 December 191719 March 2008) was an English science-fiction writer, science writer, futurist, inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host. He co-wrote the screenplay for the 1968 film '' 2001: A Spac ...

and

Ursula K. Le Guin Ursula Kroeber Le Guin (; October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018) was an American author best known for her works of speculative fiction, including science fiction works set in her Hainish universe, and the '' Earthsea'' fantasy series. She was ...

were founding patrons; current patrons are

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gra ...

and Professor

David Southwood David John Southwood (born 30 June 1945) is a British space scientist who holds the post of Senior Research Investigator at Imperial College London. He was the President of the Royal Astronomical Society from 2012–2014, and earlier served as the ...

. Until 1995, the SFF was based in the North East London Polytechnic in Barking, Essex, UK (now the

University of East London , mottoeng = Knowledge and the fulfilment of vows , established = 1898 – West Ham Technical Institute1952 – West Ham College of Technology1970 – North East London Polytechnic1989 – Polytechnic of East London ...

). For much of this period the Director of the Foundation was Malcolm Edwards, who later moved to Gollancz, and then Orion.

Activities

SFF publishes the journal '' Foundation: The International Review of Science Fiction'' three times a year and occasional critical works under the general title ''Foundation Studies in Science Fiction''. It owns and supports the Science Fiction Foundation Collection, the largest research library of its type in Europe, and currently one of the special collections at the Sydney Jones Library of the

University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

. The SFF provides a scientific speaker for the annual

Eastercon Eastercon is the common name for the annual British national science fiction convention. The convention is organised by voluntary self-organising committees, rather than a permanent entity. Organisation Groups of fans (typically 5–8 in n ...

, under the general title of the George Hay Memorial Lecture. It also supplies two judges for the annual

Arthur C. Clarke Award The Arthur C. Clarke Award is a British award given for the best science fiction novel first published in the United Kingdom during the previous year. It is named after British author Arthur C. Clarke, who gave a grant to establish the award i ...

. The SFF and the

British Science Fiction Association The British Science Fiction Association Limited is an organisation founded in 1958 by a group of British academics, science fiction fans, authors, publishers and booksellers, in order to promote the writing, criticism, and study of science fiction ...

hold their annual general meetings jointly in either May or June.About
SFF. Confirmed 2019-03-29.

References

External links

Science Fiction Foundation"Science Fiction Hub"
University of Liverpool Special Collections & Archives {{Authority control Science fiction organizations Organizations established in 1970 1970 establishments in England English science fiction Foundations based in England University of East London University of Liverpool