Welcome to Dr. Welch's mini-Guide to SF

About Fantasy and Science Fiction:

In the beginning (or at least until the middle of this century) fantasy and science fiction were second-rate literary genres. For the most part the enjoyment of fantasy and science fiction was limited to those of us who liked to read and then it was often done behind closed doors.

In the 1920's the legendary editor Hugo Gernsback formally began to define science fiction as a literary genre of its own. Even though aspects of science fiction had been around for centuries (e.g. Frankenstein, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court) it was not thought of as a separate genre until the '20's and '30's. The field was further refined by John W. Campbell in the '40's and '50's who showed that there was more to science fiction than the space battles and bug-eyed monsters (BEMs) of Space Opera.

Today there is certainly more to science fiction and fantasy. Not only do many readers of science fiction produce their own amateur publications called fanzines, but science fiction and fantasy have become very big in the media. The science fiction and fantasy media has certainly come a long way since the schloky B-movies of the '50's through '70's and while a fair number of the movies of today fit this category, science fiction and fantasy have become big draws in the box office with such offerings as Star Trek, Star Wars, The Terminator, and Dragonheart. Television has also seen its fair share of success with such recent shows as Babylon 5 and The Adventures of Hercules.

The science fiction and fantasy community is far from passive entertainment. While many choose to just read or watch others are more active. Many are involved with the amateur fanzines and others with conventions.

The pinnacle of success in the science fiction and fantasy community is the Hugo Award named for Hugo Gernsback which is voted on by the attendees of the annual World Science Fiction Convention. There are awards given for authors, artists, dramatic presentations, and fan (amateur) activity.

The distinction between what is "fantasy" and what is "science fiction" is hotly disputed. It is unlikely that someone will ever develop an iron-clad definition for sorting the two out. I generally require that science fiction have aspects of future or unusual technology as a story factor and that fantasy have magic or some type of supernatural creatures. The line, though, can be quite blurred where stories use both (e.g. Anne McCaffrey's Pern and Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover). In any case I am reminded of the following quote:

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
Arthur C. Clarke

Conventions:

In the good old days of pulp science fiction, fans were few and far between. While they often traded fanzines and letters they had very little mechanism to discover each other except through the fanzine listings in the science fiction magazines. At some point a group of fans decided that they'd like to get together and meet each other in a family reunion type setting. Thus, was born the science fiction convention.

Conventions have evolved considerably over the years with each having its own focus and atmosphere. They range in size from small local gatherings of 100 or less to larger regional and international conventions drawing over 5000. And while many conventions have a very relaxed schedule others are highly structured with many programming tracks and large media events. Many try to bring in special guests of interest to those who would be attending such as authors, artists, and media stars.

What better opportunity is a fan going to get to sit down with a famous author and get an autograph or just chat. And while this might often be the reason that a fan attends their first convention it is not the special guests, but rather the friends they meet that brings them back year after year. To many the science fiction community has become an extended family.