The Carl Brandon Society is an organization originating within the science fiction community. Their mission "is to increase racial and ethnic diversity in the production of and audience for speculative fiction." Their vision is "a world in which speculative fiction, about complex and diverse cultures from writers of all backgrounds, is used to understand the present and model possible futures; and where people of color are full citizens in the community of imagination and progress." The Society was founded in 1997 following discussions at the

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

science fiction convention Science fiction conventions are gatherings of fans of the speculative fiction subgenre, science fiction. Historically, science fiction conventions had focused primarily on literature, but the purview of many extends to such other avenues of ex ...

WisCon 23 in

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States * Madison (footballer), Brazilian footballer Places in the United States Populated places * Madi ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. It was named after "Carl Brandon", a fictional black fan writer created in the mid-1950s by

Terry Carr Terry Gene Carr (February 19, 1937 – April 7, 1987) was an American science fiction fan, author, editor, and writing instructor. Background and discovery of fandom Carr was born in Grants Pass, Oregon. He attended the City College of S ...

and Pete Graham.History of the Carl Brandon hoax
/ref> This also alludes to the

James Tiptree, Jr. Award The Otherwise Award, originally known as the James Tiptree Jr. Award, is an American annual literary prize for works of science fiction or fantasy that expand or explore one's understanding of gender. It was initiated in February 1991 by science ...

, named after the fictional male

persona A persona (plural personae or personas) is a strategic mask of identity in public, the public image of one's personality, the social role that one adopts, or simply a fictional Character (arts), character. It is also considered "an intermediary ...

used by the writer long known as " James Tiptree, Jr.". The Society maintains annuals lists of fantastical works published by writers of color. in 2023 the society was award a Special Locus Award for "Developing Diversity In Genre Communities".

CBS Parallax and Kindred Awards

Source: Inaugurated in 2005, the Carl Brandon Parallax Award is a juried award given to works of speculative fiction created by a self-identified person of color. The 2005 Parallax, the first to be awarded, went to

Walter Mosley Walter Ellis Mosley (born January 12, 1952) is an American novelist, most widely recognized for his crime fiction. He has written a series of best-selling historical mysteries featuring the hard-boiled detective Easy Rawlins, a black private in ...

for his

young adult In medicine and the social sciences, a young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence, sometimes with some overlap. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages ...

novel ''47''. Inaugurated in 2005, the Carl Brandon Kindred Award is a juried award given to any work of speculative fiction dealing with issues of race and ethnicity; nominees may be of any racial or ethnic group. The 2005 Kindred Award went to Susan Vaught for her young adult novel, ''Stormwitch''. The awards were not given for years from 2012 to 2018, but resumed with awards for 2019. Carl Brandon Parallax Award Shortlist for 2006 *

Ashok Banker Ashok Kumar Banker (born 7 February 1964 in Mumbai, India) is an author and screenwriter. His writing spans crime thrillers, essays, literary criticism, fiction and Indian mythology. The author of several well-received novels including a trilo ...

: "Prince of Ayodhya" (Penguin India) * Tobias S. Buckell: "Toy Planes" (''Nature'', Oct. 13, 2005) *

Octavia E. Butler Octavia Estelle Butler (June 22, 1947 – February 24, 2006) was an American science fiction writer who won several awards for her works, including Hugo, Locus, and Nebula awards. In 1995, Butler became the first science-fiction writer to recei ...

: "Fledgling" (Seven Stories Press) * Daliso Chaponda: "Trees of Bone" (''Apex Science Fiction and Horror Digest'', #3) * Marcia Douglas: "Marie-Ma" (''Femspec'', Vol. 6, #1) *

Hiromi Goto Hiromi Goto (born December 31, 1966 Chiba-ken, Japan) is a Japanese-Canadian writer, editor, and instructor of creative writing. Life Goto was born in Chiba'ken, Japan in 1966 and immigrated to Canada with her family in 1969. They lived on the ...

: "Nostalgia" (''Nature'', Sept. 1, 2005) * N. K. Jemisin: "Cloud Dragon Skies" (''Strange Horizons'', Aug. 1, 2005) * A. H. Jennings: "Owasa" (''Farthing'', July, 2005) *

Alaya Dawn Johnson Alaya Dawn Johnson (born 1982) () is an American writer of speculative fiction. Career Apart from short fiction, Johnson has published two urban fantasy novels about "vampire suffragette" Zephyr Hollis set in an alternate 1920s New York City, and ...

: "Shard of Glass" (''Strange Horizons'', Feb. 14, 2005) *Ahmed Khan: "The Meaning of Life and Other Clichés" (''Another Realm'', March, 2005) *

Gail Nyoka Gail may refer to: People *Gail (given name), list of notable people with the given name Surname * Jean-Baptiste Gail (1755–1829), French Hellenist scholar * Max Gail (born 1943), American actor * Sophie Gail (1775–1819), French singer and ...

: ''Mella and the N'anga: An African Tale'' (Sumach Press) *

Nnedi Okorafor Nnedimma Nkemdili "Nnedi" Okorafor (formerly Okorafor-Mbachu; born April 8, 1974) is a Nigerian American writer of science fiction and fantasy for both children and adults. She is best known for her ''Binti Series'' and her novels '' Who Fears ...

: ''Zahrah the Windseeker'' (Houghton Mifflin) *

Nisi Shawl Nisi Shawl (born 1955) is an African American writer, editor, and journalist. They are best known as an author of science fiction and fantasy short stories who writes and teaches about how fantastic fiction might reflect real-world diversity o ...

: "Wallamelon" (''Aeon Magazine'', #3) *

Vandana Singh Vandana Singh is an Indian science fiction writer and physicist. She is a Professor of Physics and Environment at the Department of Environment, Society and Sustainability at Framingham State University in Massachusetts. Singh also serves on th ...

: "The Tetrahedron" (''Intranova'', March 15, 2005) Carl Brandon Kindred Award Shortlist for 2006 *Tobias Buckell: "Toy Planes" (''Nature'', Oct. 13, 2005) *Octavia E. Butler: ''Fledgling'' (Seven Stories Press) *Daliso Chaponda: "Trees of Bone" (''Apex Science Fiction and Horror Digest'', #3) *

Marg Gilks Marg or MARG may refer to: People * Elwin Marg (1918–2010), American optometrist and neuroscientist * Harald Marg (born 1954), German canoer * Marg Downey (born 1961), Australian comedian * Marg Helgenberger, American actress * Marg Moll (1884 ...

: "Before the Altar on The Feast of All Souls" (''Tesseracts 9'') *

: ''47'' (Little, Brown) *

Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu Nnedimma Nkemdili "Nnedi" Okorafor (formerly Okorafor-Mbachu; born April 8, 1974) is a Nigerian American writer of science fiction and fantasy for both children and adults. She is best known for her ''Binti Series'' and her novels ''Who Fears ...

: ''Zahrah the Windseeker'' (Houghton Mifflin) *

Liz Williams Liz Williams (born 1965) is a British science fiction writer, historian and occultist. ''The Ghost Sister,'' her first novel, was published in 2001. Both this novel and her next, ''Empire of Bones'' (2002) were nominated for the Philip K. Dick ...

: "La Gran Muerte" (''Asimov's Science Fiction'', April 2005) The 2006 Carl Brandon Society Awards were presented during a ceremony at WisCon 30. Carl Brandon Parallax Award Shortlist for 2007 *Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu: "The Shadow Speaker" Carl Brandon Kindred Award Shortlist for 2007 *

Minister Faust Malcolm Azania (born 1969), is a Kenyan-Canadian novelist, teacher, writer, and journalist. He is primarily known by his pen name, Minister Faust. In addition to writing science fiction, he is a playwright, journalist, teacher, and poet. He has al ...

: "From the Notebooks of Doctor Brain" Carl Brandon Parallax Award Shortlist for 2008 *

: "Distances" Carl Brandon Kindred Award Shortlist for 2008 *

Tananarive Due Tananarive Priscilla Due ( ) (born January 5, 1966) is an American author and educator. Due won the American Book Award for her novel '' The Living Blood'' (2001), and the Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel, the Shirley Jackson Award for Best ...

: "Ghost Summer" Carl Brandon Parallax Award Shortlist for 2009 *

: "Half World" Carl Brandon Kindred Award Shortlist for 2009 *

Justine Larbalestier Justine Larbalestier ( ; born 23 September 1967) is an Australian writer of young adult fiction best known for her 2009 novel, '' Liar''. Personal life Larbalestier was born and raised in Sydney. She now alternates residence between Sydney and ...

: "Lair" Carl Brandon Parallax Award Shortlist for 2010 *

Karen Lord Karen Lord (born 22 May 1968) is a Barbadian writer of speculative fiction. Her first novel, ''Redemption in Indigo'' (2010), retells the story "Ansige Karamba the Glutton" from Senegalese folklore and her second novel, ''The Best of All Possi ...

: "Redemption in Indigo" Carl Brandon Kindred Award Shortlist for 2010 *Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu: "Who Fears Death" Honor Shortlist for 2010 * N. K. Jemisin: "The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms" *

Anil Menon Anil Menon is an Indian computer scientist and writer of speculative fiction. He has authored research papers and edited books on evolutionary algorithms. His research, in collaboration with Kishan Mehrotra, Chilukuri Mohan, and Sanjay Ranka, ...

: "The Beast with Nine Billion Feet" *

Charles Yu Charles Chowkai Yu (; born January 3, 1976) is an American writer and lawyer. He is the author of the novels '' How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe'' and '' Interior Chinatown'', as well as the short-story collections ''Third C ...

: "Standard Loneliness Package" Carl Brandon Parallax Award Shortlist for 2011 * Tenea D. Johnson: "Smoketown" Carl Brandon Kindred Award Shortlist for 2011 * Andrea Hairston: "Redwood and Wildfire" Honor Shortlist for 2011 *

Zen Cho Zen Cho is a Malaysian fantasy author based in Birmingham, United Kingdom. She is known for her ''Sorcerer to the Crown'' series. She was the joint winner of the Crawford Award in 2015 for her short story collection ''Spirits Abroad''. Biograp ...

: “The House of Aunts” *

: “Rising Lion – The Lion Bows” *Minister Faust: "The Alchemists of Kush" *Tenea D. Johnson: "Revolution" *

Yoon Ha Lee Yoon Ha Lee (born 1979 in Houston, Texas) is an American science fiction and fantasy writer, known for his '' Machineries of Empire'' space opera novels and his short fiction. His first novel, '' Ninefox Gambit'', received the 2017 Locus Award ...

: “Ghostweight” * An Owomoyela: “All That Touches the Air” *

: “Black Betty” * JoSelle Vanderhooft: "Steam-Powered: Lesbian Steampunk Stories" The 2011 Carl Brandon Awards were presented at

Arisia Arisia is a Boston-area, volunteer-run science fiction convention, named for a planet in the Lensman novels by E. E. "Doc" Smith. The name was chosen in response to an older Boston-area con, Boskone, which took the typical ending for a conv ...

, January 17–20, in Boston MA, USA. Through 2012–2018, the Carl Brandon Award ceremonies went on hiatus. Carl Brandon Parallax Award Shortlist for 2019 *

Akwaeke Emezi Akwaeke Emezi is a Nigerian fiction writer and visual artist, best known for their novels ''Freshwater'' (2018), '' Pet'', and the ''New York Times'' bestselling work ''The Death of Vivek Oji''. Emezi is a generalist who writes speculative ficti ...

: "Pet" Carl Brandon Kindred Award Shortlist for 2019 * Michele Tracy Berger: "Doll Seed" Parallax Honor Shortlist for 2019 *Alex Jennings: “Mister Dog” *

Indrapramit Das Indrapramit Das (also known as Indra Das) is an Indian science fiction, fantasy, and cross-genre writer, critic, and editor from Kolkata. His fiction has appeared in several publications including ''Clarkesworld Magazine'', '' Asimov’s Science F ...

: “Kali_Na” * Jaymee Goh: “The Freedom of the Shifting Sea” *

Rebecca Roanhorse Rebecca Roanhorse (born 23 September 1971) is an American science fiction and fantasy writer from New Mexico. She has written short stories and science fiction novels featuring Navajo characters.Kerry Lengel"Navajo legends come to life in Rebecca ...

: “Harvest” *

Craig Laurence Gidney Craig may refer to: People and fictional characters *Craig (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters * Craig (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Clan Craig, a Scottish clan Places United States ...

: "A Spectral Hue" *

Suyi Davies Okungabowa Suyi (, also Romanized as Sūyī) is a village in Zalaqi-ye Gharbi Rural District, Besharat District, Aligudarz County, Lorestan Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country i ...

: "David Mogo: God Hunter"

Octavia E. Butler Memorial Scholarship

The

Memorial Scholarship was established in Butler's memory in 2006 by the Society. Its goal is to provide an annual scholarship to enable writers of color to attend one of the

Clarion Clarion may refer to: Music * Clarion (instrument), a type of trumpet used in the Middle Ages * The Register (music), register of a clarinet that ranges from B4 to C6 * A Trumpet (organ stop), trumpet organ stop that usually plays an octave abov ...

writing workshops where Butler got her start. The first scholarship was awarded in 2007.

References

{{reflist

External links

Carl Brandon Society official site
Science fiction organizations Science fiction awards