The International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts (IAFA), founded in 1982, is a nonprofit association of scholars, writers, and publishers of science fiction, fantasy, and horror in literature, film, and the other arts. Its purpose is to promote and recognize achievement in the study of the fantastic.
Its principle activities are (1) the organization of the International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts (ICFA), which was first held in 1980, (2) the organization of the Virtual International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts (VICFA) held first in 2021, (3) the publication of the Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts (JFA), a peer-reviewed journal for scholarship within the field of the fantastic which has been published regularly since 1990, and (4) the production of a news blog and other social media that publish information of interest to the membership.
Membership in the IAFA is open, but almost all members are scholars, teachers, and graduate students in the field of Science fiction studies, Fantasy literature, Horror literature, or are authors.
The Virtual International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts (VICFA)
November 5th-11th, 2023
Theme: AAAA! - AI, Algorithms, Automata and Art
Guests of Honor:
Steven Barnes, Annalee Newitz, and
Martha Wells
Guest Scholars:
Alec Nevala-Lee, Jennifer Rhee, and Wole Talabi
The 45th International Conference for the Fantastic in the Arts
Guests of Honor: Mary Turzillo and C. E. Murphy
Guest Scholars: Woppa Diallo and Mame Bougouma Diene
March 13-16, 2024
Orlando Airport Marriott Lakeside
Please visit our sister organization, Gesellschaft für Fantastikforschung.
The Gesellschaft für Fantastikforschung (GFF) [Association for Research in the Fantastic] is the first academic association in the German-speaking world committed to furthering research on the fantastic in art, literature and culture. It strives to broaden scholarly and cultural insight in this area. To that end, the association publishes its membership journal "Zeitschrift für Fantastikforschung" twice a year as well as its own book series "Beiträge zur Fantastikforschung". In addition, an annual conference provides the opportunity for a membership assembly, taking place in different locations each year.