Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, or SFWA is a nonprofit organization of professional science fiction and fantasy writers in the United States. It was founded in 1965 by Damon Knight under the name Science Fiction Writers of America, Inc. As of 2014, it has about 1,800 professionally published writer members worldwide. As an organization, SFWA acts as an advocate to effect important changes within the publishing industry, especially among publishers of science fiction and fantasy, by promoting author-friendly copyright legislation, equitable treatment of authors, and fair contract terms.

SFWA activities include informing science fiction and fantasy writers on professional matters, protecting their interests, and helping them deal effectively with agents, editors, anthologists, and producers in print and non-print media; encouraging public interest in and appreciation for science fiction and fantasy literature; sponsoring, editing, and disseminating writings, papers, books, pamphlets, and other publications which exemplify science fiction and fantasy literature of high quality; conducting conferences, public discussion groups, forums, lectures, and seminar programs; and furnishing services connected with this stated purpose.

SFWA's website can be found here.

History
Science Fiction Writers of America, Inc. was founded in 1965 by a group of writers associated with the Milford Conference and headed by Damon Knight. Later, the name of the organization was changed to Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, although the acronym SFWA was not changed. According to Todd McCaffrey, the organization immediately "acquired great status in its efforts to help J.R.R. Tolkien get fair recompense in America for pirated sales of The Lord of the Rings."

For many years it had a strong online presence on General Electric's GEnie online service, eventually taking over GEnie's Science Fiction RoundTable and turning it into the official online home of SFWA.

Awards
SFWA prsents the following awards:


 * Nebula Awards: Annual awards for best short story, novelette, novella, and novel published during the previous year.
 * Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award: Awarded for lifetime achievement in science fiction or fantasy.
 * Bradbury Award: Presented annually for best dramatic presentation.
 * Author Emeritus: Awarded to a senior writer whose major impact was long ago or overlooked.
 * Andre Norton Award: Presented for best young adult novel. Named in honor of Andre Norton.
 * Kevin O'Donnell, Jr. Award for service to SFWA
 * Solstice Award: Recognizes lifetime contributions to the science fiction and fantasy field.

The SFWA Bulletin
The SFWA Bulletin is a quarterly magazine that SFWA members receive as part of their membership, but it is also available (by subscription) to non-members. The Bulletin carries nonfiction articles of general interest to writers, especially science fiction and fantasy writers.

The Forum
The Forum is a quarterly publication that functions as SFWA's internal newsletter for members. As such, it is not available to non-members.

The SFWA Blog
SFWA also publishes short essays and other content relevant to writers on the SFWA Blog.