Category: From the President

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From the President

Hugh O’Connell

It’s hard to believe that I’m reaching the end of my three-year term as president and writing my last column for the SFRA Review. However, before signing off there’s still some last minute business to attend to. Up first, the SFRA has adopted its first official policy on AI usage for conference hosts and presenters (general statement on AI) as well as a set of values that explains the guiding principles (principles statement) that inform the general statement.  

Speaking of conference hosts and presenters, as members are working on their proposals for “Into the Slipstream: Watering Futures,” SFRA 2026 at Michigan State University, I’m excited to officially announce that the Executive Committee has just accepted a conference hosting proposal for SFRA 2027. For the first time in its history, the SFRA is heading to East Asia – Seoul, South Korea to be exact. More details will be forthcoming shortly, but members should start planning for July 2027! It’s an incredibly exciting opportunity for us as an organization as we continue to extend our global outreach efforts. 

Finally, speaking of the SFRA’s future, I’ll remind everyone to vote in the ongoing election for the next president and secretary. You can view the candidate statements here (you will need to sign-in to your account), and voting will close on Nov. 14^th.  

In closing, I would like to thank all of the members of the Executive Committee that I have had the privilege to serve with over the last three years (Gerry Canavan, Ida Yoshinaga, Tim Murphy, Chris Pak, Josh Pearson, Sarah Lohmann, Helane Androne, Kania Greer, and Gabriella Lee) and our web directors (Thomas Connolly and David Shipko). I’ve mentioned this before, but the SFRA is an entirely volunteer organization with no remuneration or monetary perks (everyone pays full membership rates and conference fees); we simply couldn’t exist without the commitment and time that these members have put in. The last three years have been a whirlwind of work and a great deal of travel: SFRA 2023 in Dresden with the GFF, 2024 in Tartu, and our return to North America with Rochester in 2025. Throughout this time, I’ve been lucky to not only work alongside an amazing Executive Committee, but also so many fabulous conference hosts at each of the universities (Moritz Ingwersen, Julia Gatermann, Jaak Tomberg, and Stefanie Dunning – alongside the many other volunteers). As I wrote in my initial candidate statement, coming into the ambit of the SFRA was the first time I ever felt at home in academia. I went from dreading conferences to looking forward to them, and I very much look forward to seeing everyone in East Lansing in 2026! 

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From the President

Hugh O’Connell

Last week (July 30^th–August 2^nd), science fiction scholars from around the world gathered virtually and in-person for the 2025 SFRA conference “Trans People Are (In) the Future,” hosted by the Susan B. Anthony Institute for Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies at the University of Rochester in New York. Remarkably, it was our first continental North American conference since 2018 (with 2019 taking place in Hawai’i). Every conference is an exercise in teamwork and immense coordination, and as this was my final conference as President, I want to make sure to thank everyone involved in making it such a success. First, my sincere thanks to the University of Rochester administration for their support and for welcoming us and making us feel at home. I especially need to thank the rest of the SFRA executive committee for all of the behind the scenes conference work that they do: our Immediate Past President, the unflappable Gerry Canavan, who continues to offer important guidance to the organization; Vice President Chris Pak, who stepped into his role halfway through the planning of the conference and dove headfirst into organizing the SFRA-sponsored panels for envisioning the future of the field and our organization; Secretary Sarah Lohmann who, among other things, organized the Travel Grants that helped members attend the conference; Treasurer Joshua Pearson who, like Chris, only came on at the start of the new year and has been working overtime to resolve multiple frustrating issues with our various payment systems; At-Large Officers Helane Androne and Kania Greer who organized the early career panels; and the SFRA’s new Web Director, David Shipko, who had to contend with a site that has for far too long been held together with the coding equivalent of duct tape and bubble gum.

And, of course, I need to give a huge thank you to conference host Stefanie Dunning. After a series of false starts, Stefanie stepped in at the 11^th hour to make sure that there would in fact be an SFRA conference this year when I was beginning to fear that it wouldn’t happen. Not only did Stefanie just begin a new job last fall as Director of the Susan B. Anthony Institute, but she managed to organize a conference in less than half the time that it usually takes—all while learning to navigate a new institution. I can’t imagine what a trial by fire it has been. I also need to thank Jane Bryant, the Program Manager for the Institute, for all of the extraordinary organizational work that they’ve done. Finally, I would be severely remiss if I didn’t extend my sincere gratitude to all of the tech, facilities, catering, and custodial staff for all of their labor. So much of their work goes unseen; however, it’s directly responsible for allowing all of us to experience the fantastic facilities, to do our work, and to enjoy ourselves and each other’s company.

This year’s conference theme was necessarily multivalent in its aims. On one hand, it served as a critical lens for and intervention into sf studies. Many presentations delved into texts and subgenres that center those who are all too often marginalized within sf production. Similarly, other scholars peered under the hood of sf studies itself, noting its exclusionary tendencies, as well as its possibilities and proclivities for liberation. In these ways, many of the presenters looked at the way that sf provides a means for speculating and imagining about our collective future, opening up radical new possibilities over and against the narrowly humanist and heteronormative fetters that shackle the imagination. This important work of ruthless critique opens up new perspectives and alter-futures that empower our present and assess our failings. As our keynote speakers, Ryka Aoki and Rivers Solomon attested, these interventions are vital especially at a time when so many of our seemingly ready-made futures have been revealed as not only bankrupt, but truly inimical.

Indeed, while a powerful critical lens for our scholarly work, over and over again we were reminded that this theme continuously slips out of the speculative register and functions more importantly as a non-speculative statement of fact: despite our current administration’s efforts, trans people will be in the future, just as they were in the past, and are in the present. This is not to dismiss the increasing precarity and danger their lives are in, but instead to continue to insist on their rights for equity and equality, both socially and politically. And in this sense, as far too many obvious statements of fact seem to be these days, the conference theme served as a provocation: a stand against erasure and oppression, against the transphobia, homophobia, racism, misogyny, and ceaseless exploitation that define our system and that make it so physically and materially difficult—yet therefore imperative—to hold this conference here, now. So finally, the SFRA would like to thank everyone who joined us in-person and virtually to share their work on this important conference theme, who continue to push sf studies beyond its limits and towards better, more inclusive and critically-informed horizons, thus culturally and materially attesting to the multiple ways that Trans People Are (In) the Future.

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From the President

Hugh O’Connell

It’s been a chaotic shitstorm here in the US over the last few months, with continual attacks on higher education, our international colleagues and students, our LGTBQIA+ colleagues and students, and pretty much anyone else doing any sort of work that doesn’t accord with our current administration’s whims. These are unprecedented times for the SFRA, at least for the current Executive Committee. From within this maelstrom, we’ve been doing our best to keep the SFRA running as smoothly as possible for the entirety of our membership.

For example, you may have noticed that we are implementing some different protocols this year around the conference and the dissemination of information about presenters and their work in relation to the program. In this light, we’ll ask you to please also be mindful this year about sharing comments about and images of others’ work or presentations on social media. It’s disappointing to have to say this, because the sharing comes from a good place and it helps extend our community, but some presenters may be in precarious situations. We’ve already been fielding questions and concerns around this area, and hopefully it goes without saying, but our membership’s safety and dignity is our top priority. We are therefore also working on a policy for anyone who needs to switch their presentation from in-person to virtual. You should be hearing more about that from the organizers soon.

Given everything that is going on in higher education at the moment, now is perhaps a good time to ask yourselves: what kind of an organization do we want to have, not only to weather this storm, but heading into the future beyond it? The daily short-range tasks and the more long-range planning of the SFRA are carried out by the elected Executive Committee (comprised of the Immediate Past President, President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, and two At-Large officers). At the start of 2026, we will be turning over two significant leadership roles on the Executive Committee: the President and the Secretary. Coming up later this summer into early fall, we’ll be holding elections. In the meantime, we are seeking any and all interested candidates, and if you are curious about either position, no prior experience is necessary. All we ask is for a candidate statement that outlines your interest in and vision for the position (previous candidate statements can be found here). We publish the candidate statements here in the SFRA Review in the summer and run the elections in the fall.

SFRA President (the President serves one three-year term and then a subsequent three-year term as Immediate Past President)

The President does a lot to shape the direction of the SFRA, as they are often setting the agenda and overseeing both short-term and long-term planning. I’m copying the official by-law language for the President below; however, as the outgoing President, I’d be happy to speak with anyone about the position in more detail:

“The president shall be chief executive of the association; they shall preside at all meetings of the membership and the Executive Committee, have general and active management of the business of the association, and see that all orders and resolutions of the Executive Committee are carried out; the president shall have general superintendence and direction of all other officers of the association and shall see that their duties are properly performed; the president shall submit a report of the operations of the association for the fiscal year to the Executive Committee and to the membership at the annual meeting, and from time to time shall report to the Executive Committee on matters within the president’s knowledge that may affect the association; the president shall be ex officio member of all standing committees and shall have the powers and duties in management usually vested in the office of president of a corporation; the president shall appoint all committees herein unless otherwise provided.”

After fulfilling their three-year term, each President then serves for another three years as the Immediate Past President (IPP), acting as a sounding board for the current president and helping to provide some institutional knowledge and continuity for the organization as a whole.

SFRA Secretary (the Secretary can serve one or two three-year terms)

The second position is for the Secretary, who helps keep the SFRA’s records, oversees the travel grant process, and manages relationships with the journals, among other responsibilities. I’m copying the official by-law language for the Secretary below:

“The secretary shall attend all sessions of the Executive Committee and all meetings of the membership and record all the votes of the association and minutes of the meetings and shall perform like duties for the Executive Committee and other committees when required. At any meeting at which the president is to preside, but is unable, and for which the vice president is unable to preside, the secretary shall preside. The secretary shall give notice of all meetings of the membership and special meetings of the Executive Committee and shall perform such other duties as may be prescribed by the Executive Committee or the president. In the event the secretary is unable to attend such meetings as may be expected, the Executive Committee may designate some other member of the association to serve as secretary pro tem.”

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From the President

Hugh O’Connell

It’s been a rather busy start to 2025 for the SFRA. First up, we had the election of two new Executive Committee members. Please welcome Chris Pak (Vice President) and Joshua Pearson (Treasurer). As long-time members of the sf scholarly community, many will already by familiar with Chris and Josh from their numerous publications, conference presentations, and previous service to the SFRA and other sf-related organizations. Alongside Josh and Chris, we also have a brand new (and much needed!) web director: David Shipko. Many thanks to David for volunteering for the position!

I want to take a moment to personally thank our outgoing VP, Ida Yoshinaga, and outgoing Treasurer, Tim Murphy, for their dedication and service to the SFRA. Both have been instrumental in shaping the SFRA, as we’ve worked to move on from the Covid-19 years and continue the mission of the organization. Ida has worked tirelessly to bolster the SFRA’s Country Representatives program to help meet our goal of diversifying the SFRA and increasing its outreach. Tim helped to oversee two international conferences (which took a lot of creative accounting work!) and has helped to secure our accounts after some recent horrifying fraudulent activity (which he got reversed!). It’s been a real pleasure working with them over the last couple of years.

As the new year begins, we’ve also re-opened the membership portal for renewals and new memberships. This year you may notice an increase in membership costs. Unfortunately, due to rising journal costs and general inflation, for the first time in as long as the current board can remember, we find ourselves needing to raise costs in order to keep the SFRA financially afloat. We always strive to keep costs and overhead as low as possible and didn’t make this decision lightly, but we were faced with some sharp increases, particularly in relation to the cost of journals. As always, all money generated by the SFRA goes towards basic operation costs, and to our membership in the form of travel grants, “support a scholar grants,” and our yearly awards (any member can review our yearly expenses via the yearly Treasurer’s report published in The SFRA Review). The Executive Committee receives no remuneration of any kind (we each pay our own membership costs and pay all of our own conference costs), so we appreciate what it means to raise these rates.

Related to opening the membership renewals, we’ve heard from some members that they’ve run into issues with the PayPal portal. Josh and David are currently looking into this. While most members have been able to renew without any complication, if you are having a problem, please reach out to us directly (all of our contact info can be found under the “About” link on sfra.org or by clicking here).

Finally, two last pieces of news. First up, the acceptance letters for the 2025 conference in Rochester have gone out via email and the registration portal is active on our site. To register for the site, you will first need to be an active member (you can renew or join here) and you will need to be signed into your account to access the conference registration portal. Finally, the chair for the Innovative Research Award, John Rieder, is seeking nominations.

As always,if you have an event that you’d like to bring to rest of the SFRA membership’s attention through its email lists or social media sites, or you have other ideas or concerns about the work the organization is doing, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at hugh.oconnell@umb.edu or our new Outreach Officer, Anastasia Klimchynskaya (anaklimchynskaya@gmail.com). We’d love to hear from you!

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From the President

Hugh O’Connell

As we head into the late fall, this is just a reminder that the SFRA website goes into hibernation mode, and we shut down new memberships and membership renewals until January 1^st. However, while the site goes into hibernation, much of the organization’s work kicks into high gear: committees will be starting up work to consider the best student presentation at the last conference; most innovative essay, best review in the SFRA Review, and best first sf-related monograph published in the last year; and lifetime awards for service to the field and to research for this year’s conference awards banquet. There’s also plenty of behind the scenes planning for the upcoming conference and talks with potential hosts for future conferences. So, while we may a little quiet in terms of communications with the membership, we are all working away on the things that keep us running!

Speaking of keeping us running, we also have elections coming up we have for the Vice President and Treasurer. You can see their statements in this issue or on the website. Voting will open on December 1^st and close on December 30^th (members in good standing will receive a reminder email when the voting officially opens). Finally in related news, I’m very excited to announce that we have a new Web Director: David Shipko. So we’re almost back up to full operational status!

Upcoming Events:

Looking ahead, the 2025 conference in Rochester, New York hosted organized by Stefanie Dunning and Hosted by the Susan B. Anthony Institute: The Program for Gender, Women’s and Sexuality Studies is shaping up to be a fantastic return to North America for the SFRA. It’s hard to believe that the last conference in North America was in 2019 (Hawai’i) and the last conference in the continental US was 2018 (Milwaukee). Stefanie is planning some pretty unique events for this conference, including a student sf film competition focused on the conference theme, a keynote by Ryka Aoki and another exciting keynote that we’ll hopefully be able to announce soon, a student sf short film contest, and a masquerade/costume/LARP ball for the penultimate night of the conference. So plan for a pretty unique conference as we return stateside for the first time in five years! On a similar note, the Executive Committee will soon start work on organizing the SFRA-sponsored early career and DEI panels; please feel free to contact us with any suggestions for things that you’d like to see in these panels. Looking even further ahead, we’re hoping to be in the US for 2026 as well (we’ve had productive conversations with 2026 hosts), and to return to a more stable three year cycle of two North American conferences followed by a non-North American conference.

Finally, if you have an event that you’d like to bring to rest of the SFRA membership’s attention through its email lists or social media sites, or you have other ideas or concerns about the work the organization is doing, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at hugh.oconnell@umb.edu or our new(ish) Outreach Officer, Anastasia Klimchynskaya (anaklimchynskaya@gmail.com). We’d love to hear from you.

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From the President

Hugh O’Connell

The strange rhythms of the academic “summer break” seem to compel me to continuously turn in these Janus-faced reports: at once looking back to the last conference, now fading into the past, while simultaneously looking ahead to the new academic year and the next conference on the horizon.

First up, looking backwards.

It’s hard to believe that the “Transitions” SFRA 2024 conference in Tartu, Estonia was nearly three months ago. It was great to see so many of our sf colleagues online and in-person, and it’s a tribute to the hosts, presenters, and special guests that I still feel like I’m living in the ideas that we workshopped and discussed together. With that in mind, I’d like to take this opportunity to once again thank Jaak Tomberg, Lisanna Lajal, the students that ran the tech, and the university administration for all of their support and for making us feel so welcome, digitally and personally, in Tartu. The conference brought together over 175 participants from all over the globe in a series of a highly successful, fully hybrid panels and presentations. It was a stunning example of the global reach that sf studies fosters and the recent tech developments that help bring such a global undertaking to fruition. While I didn’t envy some of my more far-flung colleagues joining panels at 4am their local time, it was remarkable how well integrated the hybrid panelists and attendees were.

I also want to offer my congratulations to this year’s award winners: Lisa Yaszek, Rebekah Sheldon, Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock, Mingwei Song, David Welch, and Vicky Brewster. I hope that everyone will take a couple of minutes to look at the awards sections of this issue of the SFRA Review.

Next up, looking ahead.

If you were at the conference, or paying attention to SFRA social media accounts, you probably caught wind that we announced that the SFRA conference will be returning to North America for 2025 (somewhat unbelievably for the first time, practically speaking, since 2018!). I have some bad news and some good news on this front. Unfortunately, due to administrative issues beyond their control, our organizers at the University of Delaware recently learned that they would have to pull the plug on the previously announced “Material Futures” conference for SFRA 2025. Given the amount of planning that they had already put into the conference, the Ex Com want to thank Ed and Siobhán for all of their hard work on the SFRA’s behalf.

On a brighter note, we were lucky that a new host was able to come in at the last minute and make sure that we have a location for the conference. SFRA 2025 will now be hosted and organized by Stefanie Dunning, the Director of the Susan B. Anthony Institute: The program for Gender, Women’s and Sexuality Studies at the University of Rochester in New York. More details will be coming soon, but the theme is set to be: “‘Trans People are (in) the Future’: Queer and Trans Futurity in Science Fiction,” with the conference to take place in late July or early August 2025. We are very excited for this theme, which we know resonates powerfully for our membership. Indeed, Stefanie remarked that one of the reasons that she was so keen on hosting the conference is because sf studies is at the forefront of many of these issues.

Finally, if you have an event that you’d like to bring to rest of the SFRA membership’s attention through its email lists or social media sites, or you have other ideas or concerns about the work the organization is doing, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at hugh.oconnell@umb.edu or our new Outreach Officer, Anastasia Klimchynskaya (anaklimchynskaya@gmail.com). We’d love to hear from you.

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From the President

Ida Yoshinaga

Continuing from last issue’s column, I want to reach out about more ways to get involved at the organizational level of the SFRA. The daily (and yearly) tasks of the SFRA are largely carried out by the elected Executive Committee (comprised of the Immediate Past President, President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, and two At-Large officers). Coming up later this summer into early fall, we’ll be holding elections for the Vice President and Treasurer positions. If you are interested in either position, no prior experience is necessary. All we ask is for a candidate statement that outlines your interest in and vision for the position (previous candidate statements can be found here). We publish the candidate statements here in the SFRA Review in the summer and run the elections in the Fall.

SFRA Vice President (the VP serves 1 term of three years):

The Vice President does a lot to shape the makeup of the SFRA, as they have the special remit to work on recruitment. For example, over the last couple of years, the VP has instituted and run the Country Representative Program in order to help increase and grow the SFRA’s international reach and influence. They’ve also been involved in shaping the annual conference through organizing DEI and Early Career Scholar presentations and workshops (and on this note, please see current VP Ida Yoshinaga’s column in this issue). Through these efforts, the VP helps to build the membership while also fostering connections and points of contact across new and existing members. I’m copying the official by-law language for the VP below:

“The vice president shall be vested with all the powers and shall perform all the duties of the president during the absence of the latter and shall have such other duties as may, from time to time, be determined by the Executive Committee. At any meeting at which the president is to preside, but is unable, the vice president shall preside. The vice president shall have special responsibility for membership recruitment for the SFRA (working along with the secretary, the web director, and the outreach officer).”

SFRA Treasurer (the Treasurer can serve up to 2 terms at three years per elected term):

The second position of Treasurer holds a soft spot for me, as it’s where I got my start serving on the Executive Committee. Alongside the usual tasks of making sure the bills are paid and lights kept on, one of the more rewarding aspects of the Treasurer position, in my experience, is in giving back to the membership through travel grants and other awards. Sometimes there is simply no better service work than giving people money. While it can sound daunting, because we are a relatively small organization, the Treasurer position requires no real experience with budgets or complex financial skills. I had no prior experience to draw on, and no one looking at my high school and undergrad math grades would’ve ever expected me to occupy the role! I’m copying the official by-law language for the VP below:

“The treasurer shall be the chief financial officer of the association and have charge of all receipts and disbursements of the association and shall be the custodian of the association’s funds. The treasurer shall have full authority to receive and give receipts for all monies due and payable to the association and to sign and endorse checks and drafts in its name and on its behalf. The treasurer shall deposit funds of the association in its name and such depositories as may be designated by the Executive Committee. The treasurer shall furnish the Executive Committee an annual financial report within 60 days of the fiscal year; the fiscal year shall end on December 31. At any meeting at which the president is to preside, but is unable, and for which the vice president and secretary are unable to preside, the treasurer shall preside.”

Of course, I’m just scratching the surface here, and if you have any questions about these positions, then please feel free to contact me (hugh.oconnell@umb.edu) or the current officers. We’ll be happy to chat with you about any of the positions. Or alternately, if you’re in Estonia for the conference, please feel free to find me to chat in person!

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From the President

Hugh O’Connell

I want to use my column this issue to talk about some ways to get more involved with the SFRA. We have a number of positions at the organizational level—appointed and elected, immediate and forthcoming—that we are looking to fill. Coming up for immediate appointment are the positions of Web Director and Outreach Officer (information about each position below). A little further down the line, we’ll be sending out official calls for candidates to run for the elected Executive Committee positions of Vice President and of Treasurer. The SFRA is an entirely unpaid volunteer run organization, and we are dependent on our members’ enthusiasm and generosity with their time and skills to keep the wheels turning. So, if you are someone that is looking to get more involved in running and shaping the organization (or you know someone that might be), please take some time to look over and share the various call for volunteers below.

Positions for Immediate Appointment

SFRA Web Director (unpaid volunteer, appointed position)
The web director position is particularly pressing as our current web director is unfortunately moving on from the position imminently. Here is how the SFRA bylaws describe the role of the web director:

The office of the web director shall be responsible for the maintenance of the SFRA website. The web director will report to the Executive Committee and will update the contents and format of the website as deemed appropriate by the Executive Committee. The web director will be appointed by the Executive Committee, and will serve an open-ended term, which can be terminated by either the web director or the Executive Committee. The web director shall not be a member of the Executive Committee.

Our current web director provided this list of the usual tasks performed by the position:

• Assisting users with any technical issues relating to logins and memberships
• Uploading any new or updated content for the website
• Updating the expiration dates on the membership at the end of each year
• Adding new pages and memberships each year for the annual SFRA conference
• Implementing a voting system (for example, using MailPoet) for any SFRA membership votes
• Keeping site plugins and the WordPress version up-to-date

SFRA Outreach Officer (unpaid volunteer, appointed position)

The second position of outreach officer has remained unfulfilled since its creation. Here is how the bylaws describe the outreach officer:

The outreach officer will organize, in coordination with the vice president, the various internet and social media outlets, in order to publicize and further the goals and mission of the organization. They will also be responsible for seeking opportunities for collaboration and outreach with other scholarly organizations, especially organizations that serve populations that have historically been underrepresented in SFRA. The outreach officer will be appointed by the Executive Committee and will serve a three-year term, which can be terminated by either the outreach officer or the Executive Committee. The outreach officer shall not be a member of the Executive Committee.

If you have questions about either position, please, reach out—and we would love to see your application. Working with the SFRA has been one of the highlights of my academic career. The sense of camaraderie and openness is highly rewarding. If you are interested in serving as the next web director or the outreach officer for the organization, please send a (short!) letter of interest and a CV to hugh.oconnell@umb.edu.

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From the President

Hugh O’Connell

It’s hard to believe that the combined SFRA/GFF conference at TU-Dresden wrapped up over two months ago. My mind is still reeling from the various talks, panels, and roundtables I was able to attend virtually. While my own virtual attendance was a consequence of Covid-19 and quarantining in a hotel only a few miles from the actual going-ons, the move to hybrid conferences has certainly allowed for greater access and sharing of ideas across the board. The ability of the “Disruptive Imaginaries” team to integrate streaming so seamlessly into the conference—especially in those places where it hadn’t initially been planned for ahead of time, as in my personal case—was game changing. And please watch your inboxes for a forthcoming survey about the conference experience (whether virtual or in-person).

While it’s on my mind, I also want to take this opportunity to once again offer my thanks to TU-Dresden and all of their staff for welcoming and taking care of us both online and in-person. To our cohosts the GFF—we couldn’t have asked for a better organization to partner with. To the rest of the SFRA Executive Committee (especially Sarah Lohmann, SFRA Secretary, and former President Keren Omry for stepping-in and taking care of so many of the myriad tasks on the ground in Dresden that I couldn’t). And finally, a rousing thanks and congratulations to Moritz Ingwersen, Julia Gatermann, and the rest of their team for pulling off so smoothly and expertly such a spectacularly engaging and successful hybrid, dual-sponsored conference of over 300 in-person and online presenters. I honestly don’t know how they did it; but I’m sure as hell glad they did. I also want to offer my heartfelt congratulations to the award winners (Steven Shaviro, Paweł Frelik, Nora Castle (honorable mention), Shelley S. Streeby, Emily Midkiff, Dennis Wilson Wise, Jeremy Brett (honorable mention), and Josie Holland. I hope that everyone will take a couple of minutes to look at the awards sections of this issue of the SFRA Review and read over the committees’ and recipients’ remarks.

With Dresden in the rearview mirror, it’s now time to start looking forward to SFRA 2024 “Transitions,” already rapidly approaching on the horizon (May 7^th – 11^th). The conference, hosted by Jaak Tomberg and his team at the University of Tartu in Estonia, promises to be just as exciting. Along with the usual conference-style programming, SFRA 2024 will take place concurrently with the Tartu International Literary Festival Prima Vista “Futures Better and Worse” whose programming includes a bevy of literary and cultural artists from around the globe. Due to the logistics of planning and travel, the conference proposal deadline is a little earlier than usual on November 24^th. Please see the conference website at sfra2024.ut.ee and make sure to get those proposals in; you aren’t going to want to miss this one!

Speaking of events that that you won’t want to miss, if you have an event that you’d like the SFRA to distribute through its email lists or social media sites, or you have other ideas or concerns about the work the organization is doing, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at hugh.oconnell@umb.edu. I’d love to hear from you.

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From the President

Hugh O’Connell

The dreaded date of August 1st looms heavy. That period when time compression kicks in, and all those research projects and new syllabi that we had “all summer” to work on will now be crammed into the final waning weeks and days of summer break. However, amongst the scramble to finish that work we swore that we wouldn’t put off—again—this year, we can look forward to the upcoming combined SFRA/GFF “Disruptive Imaginations” conference at TU-Dresden. Along with all of the research presentations and special events organized by the fantastic team of Julia Gatermann and Moritz Ingwersen, everyone should check out Vice President Ida Yoshinaga’s column in this issue for a rundown of the special panels and events sponsored by the SFRA Executive Committee (including programming that specifically addresses early career scholars and Equity/Diversity/Inclusion).

And perhaps this is a good time to offer some other calendrical reminders. Typically, at this point in August, I’d be using this President’s column to reflect on the end of the conference. However, following the theme of this year’s conference in Dresden, “disruption” is working its way through the usual SFRA calendar. The SFRA’s annual conference traditionally takes place in mid-to-late June, after many of us have turned in final grades and projects and are looking for a well-deserved break and chance to catch up with our friends and colleagues. However, this is a reminder that not only this year’s but also next year’s conferences are bucking this tradition as we continue to partner with some of our European colleagues. So, while it may feel odd since we haven’t had our 2023 conference yet, we should however also be planning for a quick turnaround, as the 2024 conference has been penciled in for the second week of May. This may be a difficult time for some of us in the US to get away (a quick look reveals that it coincides with my last week of spring classes), but it will certainly be worth it. While we will hopefully be presenting more details about this timing at the Dresden conference, part of the reason for this earlier 2024 conference date is to coincide with the “Futures Better and Worse” literary festival, which features a number of events and writers that will be of interest to the SFRA membership. So, please be on the lookout for more information at the conference and then through the usual lists and social media sites!

Speaking of events that are of interest to SFRA members, if you have an event that you’d like the SFRA to distribute through its email lists or social media sites, or you have other ideas or concerns about the work the organization is doing, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at hugh.oconnell@umb.edu. I’d love to hear from you.

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