The Carl Brandon Society needs your help!
Over the past year, the Carl Brandon Society (fostering diversity and the visibility of people of color in science fiction, fantasy, and related genres) has been working with a diverse group of very wonderful people to move from being an informal annual gathering of readers and writers of color at Wiscon to becoming a visible presence for people of color in science fiction, fantasy, and related genres. We have succeeded – but we still need your help.
The Carl Brandon Society Parallax and Kindred awards have been moving forward since last WisCon. The Kindred Award is for the best work published in the past year dealing with issues of race and ethnicity, while the Parallax Award is for best work published in the past year by a self-identified writer of color. And after the recent death of Octavia E. Butler, we wanted to do something to honor her legacy. This has taken the form of an endowed scholarship fund, which will help support writers of color attending Clarion or Clarion West writers’ workshops. And there’s the annual bibliography and reading guide to writers of color working in speculative fiction and related fields, the new Carl Brandon blog, website updates, and then there’s more, past that.
The long and the short of it is that we’re dancing as fast as we can, but in order to meet this challenge, we need an infusion of money right now. Nothing major, and we’re moving towards getting it all in place, but like every non-profit organization, we need to raise funds to make the difference in our work. Our goal right now is to raise $3000 by Wiscon, over Memorial Day weekend in Madison, Wisconsin. To do that, we need your help.
If you have the opportunity, and want to support diversity and the visibility of readers and writers of color in science fiction, fantasy, and related genres, please consider making a contribution. Visit us today at: The Carl Brandon Society and make a donation. Your help now will make it possible for us to continue our work now and into a better future.
NOTE: if you’re interested in participating in the ongoing work of the CBS, anyone can become a paid member.
Thank you!
For The Carl Brandon Society:
Candra K. Gill
Ian Hageman
MJ Hardman
Nalo Hopkinson
Victor Raymond
Nisi Shawl
Diantha Sprouse
