Speculative Fiction Group (
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
: گروه ادبیات گمانهزن) formerly known as Fantasy Academy (
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
:آکادمی فانتزی) is a
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
literature group whose main representation media is the website Fantasy Academy (www.fantasy.ir). Speculative Fiction Group (SFG) is composed of a group of writers, researchers, translators and fans of science-fiction, fantasy, horror fiction, and detective literary genres. The group is the governing body of the
Persian Speculative Fiction Art and Literature Award,
Shegetzar online magazine,
Persian Speculative Encyclopedia, and ''Persian SF&F Fanzine''.
The group has an English portal for its main site and has established a
MediaWiki
MediaWiki is a free and open-source wiki software. It is used on Wikipedia and almost all other Wikimedia websites, including Wiktionary, Wikimedia Commons and Wikidata; these sites define a large part of the requirement set for MediaWiki ...
-based encyclopedia of science fiction and fantasy.
History
SFG started as a
fanzine
A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''-zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by fan (person), enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) ...
club named Zirabious in early 2004, and in 2005, after renaming itself to Fantasy Academy, changed its approach to a more academic path and became the sole reference for Persian
speculative fiction
Speculative fiction is a term that has been used with a variety of (sometimes contradictory) meanings. The broadest interpretation is as a category of fiction encompassing genres with elements that do not exist in reality, recorded history, na ...
, specially
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 unive ...
, since there was no group or organization working in this area. In 2010, the group reformed again to separate the fan base from academic activities, and all fan activities moved to a new website called
Fanzine
A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''-zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by fan (person), enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) ...
(Persian: فنزین).
Officially established in 2004, the group was founded on an earlier local private group called Seventh Dimension. Fantasy Academy has developed in several aspects. Primarily, the main focus of the group was to introduce and localize the two main subgenres of
speculative fiction
Speculative fiction is a term that has been used with a variety of (sometimes contradictory) meanings. The broadest interpretation is as a category of fiction encompassing genres with elements that do not exist in reality, recorded history, na ...
:
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
and
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 unive ...
. However, other subgenres, including
horror fiction
Horror is a genre of fiction which is intended to frighten, scare, or disgust. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror, which is in the realm of speculative fiction. Literary historian J ...
, have since been added.
Group structure
SFG is a combination of several subgroups, each of them devoted to specific activities. All groups work independently in their area.
Main aim
The official aim of the group is to maintain effective support to the speculative genre developed and published in the
Persian language
Persian (), also known by its endonym Farsi (, ', ), is a Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subdivision of the Indo-European languages. Persian is a pluricentric language predominantly spoken and ...
. The group also tries to introduce and support all new Persian writers and intellectuals in this genre.
Head and coordinator
Each group of the body has its own coordinating members. However, the person who represents the group holds the title of "chief editor", an official member of the group who is chosen by the members casually for an indefinite term. The current chief editor is
Mehdi Bonvari.
Major subgroups
*
Shegeft-zar Magazine (
wonderland): electronic monthly magazine run by members and an editor.
*
Fanzine): gathering place for people who love the genre.
*
English Portal: run by one of the Academy members, this group tries to translate literature products from Persian to English.
*
Persian Speculative Art and Literature Award: conducts the group's annual ceremony and is responsible for the
Persian Speculative Fiction Short Story Contest Persian Speculative Art and Literature Award is an annual literary award for Persian media in the field of speculative fiction printed in Persian language. This award is governed by a board of trustees and considered a branch of SFG ( Speculative F ...
.
Persian Speculative Fiction Short Story Contest
This is an annual award presented by the Persian Fantasy Academy. The award is given to the best short story of the year in the field of science fiction, horror fiction, or fantasy. The winner is selected from all participants of the yearly contest. The contest starts in winter every year and ends in the spring, and the results are announced during the summer. All submitted stories must be written in
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
but the authors may be of any nationality.
The first award was given in 2004, and the jury members all belonged to the Persian Fantasy Academy Group.
The following year, the group invited well-known and notable authors, critics, and translators of Persian literature to join the committee. Among these were:
Média Kashigar,
Reza Alizade,
Mitra Eliati
''Mitra'' ( Proto-Indo-Iranian: ''*mitrás'') is the name of an Indo-Iranian divinity from which the names and some characteristics of Rigvedic Mitrá and Avestan Mithra derive.
The names (and occasionally also some characteristics) of these ...
,
Arash Hejazi Arash Hejazi ( fa, آرش حجازی), born 1971 in Tehran, Iran, is an Iranian physician, novelist, fiction writer and translator of literary works from English and Portuguese into Persian. He is also an editor in Caravan Books Publishing House (I ...
,
Peyman Ghasemkhani
Peyman Qasemkhani ( fa, پیمان قاسمخانی, born 20 January 1967) is an Iranian film screenwriter, director and actor.
Early life
He was born on 20 January 1967. He graduated from Ahvaz University in 1985.
Personal life
He was marri ...
,
Shahram Eghbal Zadeh Shahram ( persian, شهرام) is a masculine Persian given name.
The name is made of two parts, 'shah' meaning king and 'ram' meaning doe (female deer). The meaning behind a "king of female deer" implies a benevolent ruler who cares for their sub ...
,
Vida Eslamie
Vida means “life” in Spanish and Portuguese. It may refer to:
Geography
* Vida (Gradačac), village in Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Lake Vida, Victoria Valley, Antarctica
* U.S. settled places:
** Vida, Montana
** Vida, Oregon
** Vida, Missou ...
, and
Mehdi Yazdani Khoram Mehdi () is a common Arabic masculine given name, meaning "rightly guided". People having the name Mehdi are in general originating from Iran mostly and sometimes India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Azerbaijan, France, Morocco, Algeria, ...
.
Persian Speculative Fiction Art and Literature Award
This is a yearly event which takes place in July. Awards granted for the best
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 unive ...
or
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
works and achievements of the previous year.
The award is accompanied with a great convention of all speculative fiction proponents and is the main event of its field in
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
.
Award categories
* Best
Sf&f short story selected by the jury.
* Best
Sf&f translator
* Best
Sf&f publisher
* Most active person in
Sf&f literature
{{Expand section, date=December 2009
External links
Official website
Science fiction organizations
Persian literature