sf Societies

by Lorna, March 2001

icsf is not the only science fiction society around. I know it's a shock... Here are a small selection of other clubs, either because they're big and official, because they're societies recommended by members, or simply because I came across they're website when I was wandering around. If you have any other societies you'd like to recommend please let the webeditors know.

The British Science Fiction Association has lots of info on their site. For £21 a year you can receive their fanzines and newsletters and they also hold monthly meetings at a pub in London.

Cambridge University Science Fiction Society, they too have a library, a committee and a newslettery thing. The site isn't exactly pretty, but it seems to have a lot of stuff. They also seem to be developing a virtual word where the transistor was never developed.

The main Who society, this one has branches throughout the country which hold events and the site has lots of info on it. It costs £21 per year for which you get a copy of the newsletter each month.

These guys are even more scarily like us than cusfs, they have a quotes list, library and something scary labelled Goats - You thought you'd seen it all. We're here to prove you haven't.

Society for the BBC show Blakes' 7 and has over 1500 members world-wide. The club is a fan club run for fans by fans and is not part of the BBC,but they do get on well (apparently). It costs £12 to join (if you're in the UK), for which you get 3 newsletters.

Oxford University Speculative Fiction Group, these guys usually turn up to Picocon and in fact have assimilated a couple of our alumni. They've got a newsgroup thingy, photo archive and other random stuff, don't be scared off by the unpretty site. They've also got links to the other Oxford university sf clubs.

The University of London Science Fiction Association. These guys are based at ULU and have weekly meetings where they watch videos and have discussions.

The official society for the appreciation of Robert Rankin. They produce a newsletter, merchandise and occasional events. It costs £5 per year to receive 4 newsletters and a badge (woo!).

The Tolkien Society is an international organisation registered in the U.K. as an educational charity. Their aim is to encourage and further interest in the life and works of J.R.R. Tolkien. This site has information about JRR Tolkien, the books he wrote, his life, books others have written about him, the Society and its events, and a host of other items.

The Official Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy Appreciation Society. In their own words - "We are fans of the universe that Douglas Adams created in a radio series, book, TV series, computer game, towel, website, and hopefully film (sometime in the year 2000). You can find out information about us, including membership information, and some of the hoopy things we do."

An extensive list of UK student sf societies, has website links and contact details, although many are very out of date. Run by Alex McLintock, icsf ChairThing in 1992.