ISFiC, or "Illinois Science Fiction in Chicago", is a non-profit organization best known for running the
Windycon
Windycon is a science fiction convention held in Lombard, Illinois, on the weekend closest to Veterans Day.
ISFiC, the parent corporation that runs Windycon,Pavlac, RossWhat's an ISFiC ISFiC Web Site, retrieved, 2015-11-10 was founded in 1973 in ...
science fiction convention
Science fiction conventions are gatherings of fans of the speculative fiction genre, science fiction. Historically, science fiction conventions had focused primarily on literature, but the purview of many extends to such other avenues of expre ...
.
ISFiC was formed in 1973 as a coalition of the various
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
clubs in
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, United States. In addition to being the parent organization for an annual convention, it would also serve as a clearing house for fan activities in
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
. The founders of the organization included Larry Propp, Mark and Lynne Aronson, Ann Cass,
Jon
Jon is a shortened form of the common given name Jonathan, derived from "YHWH has given", and an alternate spelling of John, derived from "YHWH has pardoned".Joni Stopa and
Mike
Mike may refer to:
Animals
* Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum
* Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off
* Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and docume ...
and Carol Resnick.
Each summer, ISFiC holds a small picnic, named Picnicon after the generally accepted science fiction naming conventions.
ISFiC Press
In 2004, ISFiC started up a small press, ISFiC Press. Their first book was
Robert J. Sawyer
Robert James Sawyer (born April 29, 1960) is a Canadian science fiction writer. He has had 24 novels published and his short fiction has appeared in ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'', ''Amazing Stories'', '' On Spec'', ''Nature'', and numerou ...
's ''Relativity''. It was released on November 12, 2004, and included an introduction by Mike Resnick, an afterword by Valerie Broege and a cover by Jael. They have published additional books annually, with works winning the Aurora Award and being nominated for the Hugo Award.
ISFiC Writers Contest
In addition to sponsoring Windycon, ISFiC also sponsors an annual writing contest for new authors. The first winner of the ISFiC Writers Contest was Richard Chwedyk in 1986. Chwedyk would go on to win the Nebula Award.
The winners of the ISFiC Writers Contest include
*1986: Richard Chwedyk, "Getting Along with Larga"
*1987: Eugenia M. Hayden, "The Library"
*1988: Richard Chwedyk, "A Man Makes a Machine"
*1989: No winner
*1990: Robin Leigh Michaels, "Ailin’s Castle"
*1991: Vanessa Crouther, "Soul to Take"
*1992: Sheila Insley, "Make-Up Magic"
*1993: C.T. Fluhr, "Dead Chute"
*1994: Emmett Gard Pittman, "Packers"
*1995: William McMahon, "In Memoriam"
*1996: C.T. Fluhr, "All Through the House"
*1997: David W. Crawford & Carol Johnson, "Little Girl Lost"
*1998: Susan L. Wachowski, "Grandpa"
*1999: Sharon L. Nelson, "Passing Through"
*2000: No winner
*2001: No winner
*2002: No winner
*2003: John D. Nikitow, "True Worth"
*2004: Chris Krolczyk, "Orbital One"
*2005: No winner
*2006: Francisco Ruiz, "Ad Alienos"
*2007: Joe McCauley, "Ivan and the Plate of Fried Chicken"
*2008: No winner
*2009: John M. Cowan, "Oracle"
*2010: Mary Mascari, "Lost and Found"
*2011: Mary Mascari, "The Pod"
*2012: No award
*2013: Liz A. Vogel, "Windy Van Hooten’s Was Never Like This"
*2014: Siobhan Duffey, "Under the Hill"
*2015: M. Aruguete, "Catamount"
*2016: Siobhan Duffy, "The Furrier"
*2017: No award
*2018: No award
*2019: John M. Cowan, "Dead Man Stalking""ISFiC Writers' Contest," ''Windycon 2019 Program Book'', ISFiC, 2019, p.25.