Basic Conference Info

SFRA 2006 fast approaches. We are proud of our guest line up and look forward to a fun and illuminating conference with all involved.

Here's a preview of conference events:

• An opening night session with all the guest writers that will address this year's theme, "When Genres Collide"
• A panel on global warming with Guest of Honor Norman Spinrad, chaos theorist and literature professor John "JP" Briggs, and science teacher Andy Sajor
• A presentation by Distinguished Guest Participant Joan Slonczewski
• An artists panel on illustrating the fantastic, with artists Michael Whelan, Abe Echevarria and Tom Kidd
• Author readings
• Ongoing author and artist signings
• A huge bookroom with all kinds of treasures begging to be bought and hauled home
• Late night screenings of science fiction, sci-fi and horror flicks

A Call for Papers Reminder

Deadline for essay proposal submissions extended to May 1^st.

Just a reminder: if you haven't sent a paper topic, please do so soon. Deadline for submissions is April 15. We'll try to be flexible and accept papers after the due date, but we also need to anchor the panels and need your prospectuses to do so.

Please send one or two paragraph abstracts to sfra2006@yahoo.com ASAP.

Send 150-200-word essay (or panel) proposals to: sfra2006@yahoo.com

Readers of science fiction are well aware of the intense cross-pollination of SF and other genres. Science fiction has frequently dovetailed with fantasy and dark fantasy. Even in hard SF, readers often encounter variations of "ghosts" and "gods" in the stories. With the ever-evolving cyberpunk movement, the rise of slipstream fiction and mysteries that hover on the cusp of mainstream even as they move into cyberpunkish territory, the boundaries between science fiction and related genres seem to be increasingly blurred.

With this in mind, the theme of SFRA 2006 will be "When Genres Collide." Papers on books that challenge traditional interpretations of science fiction are encouraged. We also welcome essays that reinforce the distinctive nature of science fiction, especially the interplay between science fiction and the natural, physical and social sciences (cloning, global warming, resource management, gender, race and species relations, for example). Other possible topics might include authors who have often burred boundaries in their stories (think of Norman Spinrad, Harlan Ellison, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Bruce Sterling, for example), fresh interpretations of classic writers (Arthur C. Clarke and Robert A. Heinlein, for instance, in spite of their hard SF roots), and writers that move between science fiction and fantasy (Nancy Kress, Nalo Hopkinson, R. Garcia y Robertson, Ray Bradbury, Anne McCaffrey, Octavia Butler, Connie Willis, and Brian W. Aldiss).

Further, we invite papers on the growing YA SF offerings. SF has long appealed to young people's sense of adventure. Many adult SF fans discovered the genre via Heinlein or Andre Norton. Contemporary writers are now reaching techno-savvy generation raised on a steady diet of global crises. William Sleator, M. T. Anderson, Garth Nix, Isobelle Carmody, Neal Shusterman and others have successfully jumped generic boundaries while never losing sight of young people's fascination with whimsy and horror.

Deadline for proposals: April 15, 2006

Proposals postmarked or e-mailed after April 15 will be considered only if the program is not yet full.

Papers that address the conference theme and works of the guest authors will be considered for inclusion in a volume titled When Genres Collide: SFRA 2006, to be published within a year of the conference by Fine Tooth Press.

Hotel Info

Be sure to contact the Crowne Plaza Hotel in White Plains (914-682-0050) to make your room reservations. Mention the Science Fiction Research Association Conference (hotel code F-R-A) to receive the special discounted room rate. We have arranged for you to use the discount room rate three days before and three days after the conference, should you wish to come into the area a little early or stick around a few days (remember that New York City is only a half-hour away by train).
Important: you must make your hotel reservation by June 1st in order to receive the discount rate.

Airport Info

Westchester County Airport is probably your best bet in terms of proximity to the conference. If you secure a flight into Westchester Airport, you'll probably be about 20 minutes from the hotel.

La Guardia Airport is further out (about 30-35 minutes away) but you can catch various forms of transportation from there too.

We do not advise you to fly into JFK for the conference. It's too far out, too confusing and completely impractical, given your final destination.

Conference Registration Form

Please print the conference registration form found here [PDF], fill it out and mail it to the address on the form, along with payment.

Thank you again. We look forward to greeting you in person in a few weeks.

Oscar De Los Santos and Tom Morrissey