Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, SFWA

Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Now Add Comic Writers

Published Tue, 12 May 2020 12:06:09 -0500

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc is a nonprofit organization of professional science fiction and fantasy writers founded in 1965. Members are best known for voting every year in the Nebula Awards. Now that will also include comic book writers.

Previously restricted to authors of prose, screenplays and stageplays, in a membership election held in recent weeks, members were also asked if they should admit comic book writers to their organisation. The question was asked "should SFWA allow writing of graphic novels and comics in science fiction, fantasy, horror, and related genres to be used as qualification for membership?" The response was overwhelming, 95.18% for Yes and a measly 4.82% for No. Just writers though, not artists.

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America also work as guild, informing writers on professional matters, protecting their interests, and helping them deal effectively with agents, editors, anthologists, and publishers, promoting the genre and conducting conferences, public discussion groups, forums, lectures, and seminars.

They gained initial status in their efforts to help J.R.R. Tolkien get recompense in the US for pirated sales of The Lord of the Rings, just the kind of thing that might appeal to comic book writers these days. Their Writer Beware website has a mission is to track, expose, and raise awareness of the prevalence of fraud and other questionable activities in and around the publishing industry. They also maintain an extensive database of complaints on questionable literary agents, publishers, independent editors, writers' services, contests, publicity services, and others, and offers a free research and information service for writers. It looks like that could now include quite a number of comic book folk, given past behaviour over the decades. I look forward to getting a few e-mails asking for details.

They also operate an Emergency Medical Fund, established to assist eligible writers who have unexpected medical expenses, a Legal Fund established to create loans for eligible member writers who have writing-related court costs and other related legal expenses, and an Estate Project which maintains a list of the estates of deceased SFWA member writers and coordinates with living member writers to make arrangements for their future estates. The Estate Project also accumulates information about authors' archives for member writers, living or dead.

Dues range from $90 for Associate membership up to $115 for Affiliate membership. Might it have an influx of comic book writers any day now?