SFera is a

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 ...

society A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Soci ...

from

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. It was founded in 1976, thus marking the beginnings of organised

science fiction fandom Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or fandom of people interested in science fiction in contact with one another based upon that interest. SF fandom has a life of its own, but not much in the way of formal organization (although ...

in the region. SFera is the official organiser of

SFeraKon SFeraKon is a science fiction convention that takes place in Zagreb, Croatia every year at the end of April. Organised by SFera, it is the largest and the longest running science fiction convention in southeastern Europe. The first SFeraKon unde ...

, an annual Croatian

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 ...

. Since 1995, it also publishes annual collections of science fiction stories of Croatian authors. The founder of the collection series and its first editor was

Darko Macan Darko Macan (born 1966) is a Croatian writer and illustrator who has created and collaborated on comics, essays and science fiction and fantasy. He is also an editor. Biography Born in Zagreb, where he still lives, he has a degree in history an ...

. SFera's own fanzine, ''Parsek'', has been published since 1977. Although Croatia today has number of science fictions societies and conventions, as well the annual short fiction anthologies, SFera remains the major national society. Since mid-1970s, its members and founders - among them Krsto A. Mažuranić, Damir Mikuličić, Neven Antičević, Ivica Posavec - were included in organisation of almost every major initiative in Croatian science fiction, including the ''Sirius'' monthly magazine (awarded two times as the best European science fiction magazine, in 1980 and 1984), which was founded and partially edited by SFera's members, then the ''Futura'' magazine, which was edited by Krsto A. Mažuranić, and also various attempts at local science fiction publishing, as well many fandom activities. Today, when it's not a publisher or an organiser, SFera remains the patron or initiator of various science fiction activities in Croatia, especially small press publishing as science fiction literary journal ''Ubiq'', the series of books by winners of the SFERA Award (''Biblioteka SFERA''), or the anthology of the Croatian science fiction stories 1976-2006 ''Ad Astra''. The major Croatian science fiction portal (and its online fanzine
NOSF
is also run by the SFera members.

SFERA Award

Introduced in 1981, the SFERA Award is the only national award for the SF genre in Croatia. Until 1991, the award was given for the area of the whole former

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

and its recipients were, among others,

World Fantasy Award The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year at the eponymous ann ...

winner Zoran Živković, for his two-tome ''Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'', Predrag Raos,

Igor Kordej Igor Kordej (referred to as Igor Kordey in American and French publications; born 23 June 1957) is a Croatian comic book artist, illustrator, graphic designer and scenographer of international reputation. Early life Igor Kordej graduated at ...

Darko Suvin Darko Ronald Suvin (born Darko Šlesinger) is a Yugoslav-born academic, writer and critic who became a professor (now emeritusDavid JohnstonConvocation: Honorary degrees and emeritus professorships McGill Reporter, Volume 33, No. 05, November ...

, and Aleksandar Žiljak.

SFeraKon

The annual Croatian science fiction convention, SFeraKon, is held in Zagreb since 1979, nowadays usually in the last week of April. It's the longest-running and the biggest annual science fiction convention in South-Eastern Europe, usually attended by 600-800 people. SFeraKon was initiated by the First Exhibition of Science Fiction (''Prvi sajam naučne fantastike''), held in Zagreb and Belgrade in 1972, organised by the Zagreb student gallery ''SC'', the American Library of Zagreb, and the Belgrade Student Cultural Centre (SKC). In 1986, SFeraKon was actually held as the

Eurocon Eurocon is an annual science fiction convention held in Europe. The organising committee of each Eurocon is selected by vote of the participants of the previous event. The procedure is coordinated by the European Science Fiction Society. The first ...

convention under the name ''Ballcon''. The 1992 Eurocon was also meant to be held in Zagreb, but the venue was changed to

Freudenstadt Freudenstadt (Swabian: ''Fraidestadt'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is capital of the district Freudenstadt. The closest population centres are Offenburg to the west (approx. 36 km away) and Tübingen to the eas ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, because of the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

. The 1998 SFeraKon was also the 1998 Euroconference. The guests of the convention, among others, were Frederik Pohl,

Jack Williamson John Stewart Williamson (April 29, 1908 – November 10, 2006), who wrote as Jack Williamson, was an American science fiction writer, often called the "Dean of Science Fiction". He is also credited with one of the first uses of the term '' gen ...

, Harry Harrison,

Joe Haldeman Joe William Haldeman (born June 9, 1943) is an American science fiction author. He is best known for his novel '' The Forever War'' (1974). That novel and other works, including '' The Hemingway Hoax'' (1991) and '' Forever Peace'' (1997), hav ...

, Brian W. Aldiss,

James Gunn James Francis Gunn Jr. (born August 5, 1966) is an American filmmaker and executive. He began his career as a screenwriter in the mid-1990s, starting at Troma Entertainment with ''Tromeo and Juliet'' (1997). He then began working as a directo ...

Bob Shaw Robert Shaw (31 December 1931 – 11 February 1996) was a science fiction writer and fan from Northern Ireland, noted for his originality and wit. He won the Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer in 1979 and 1980. His short story "Light of Other Days" ...

, Richard D. Nolan,

Sam Lundwall Sam Thore Jerrie Lundwall (born 24 February 1941), published as Sam J. Lundwall, is a Swedish science fiction writer, translator, publisher and singer. He translated a number of science-fiction-related articles and works from Swedish into English ...

, Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri, Gianfranco Viviani, Gerald Webb, Martin Easterbrook,

Robert Silverberg Robert Silverberg (born January 15, 1935) is an American author and editor, best known for writing science fiction. He is a multiple winner of both Hugo and Nebula Awards, a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame, and a Gr ...

Karen Haber Karen Haber (born January 9,"She came upon the story somehow, was startled and amused to find that she shared a birthday with its protagonist (...) Her name was Karen Haber (...) Today was her birthday, the seventh of January": introduction to "Ca ...

Guy Gavriel Kay Guy Gavriel Kay (born November 7, 1954) is a Canadian writer of fantasy fiction. The majority of his novels take place in fictional settings that resemble real places during real historical periods, such as Constantinople during the reign of Jus ...

Walter Jon Williams Walter Jon Williams (born October 28, 1953) is an American writer, primarily of science fiction. Previously he wrote nautical adventure fiction under the name Jon Williams, in particular, ''Privateers and Gentlemen'' (1981–1984), a series of hi ...

Lois McMaster Bujold Lois McMaster Bujold ( ; born November 2, 1949) is an American speculative fiction writer. She is an acclaimed writer, having won the Hugo Award for best novel four times, matching Robert A. Heinlein's record (not counting his Retro Hugos). Her n ...

George R. R. Martin George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948), also known as GRRM, is an American novelist, screenwriter, television producer and short story writer. He is the author of the series of epic fantasy novels ''A Song ...

Ken MacLeod Kenneth Macrae MacLeod (born 2 August 1954) is a Scottish science fiction writer. His novels ''The Sky Road'' and ''The Night Sessions'' won the BSFA Award. MacLeod's novels have been nominated for the Arthur C. Clarke, Hugo, Nebula, Locus, an ...

, Michael Iwoleit,

Michael Swanwick Michael Swanwick (born 18 November 1950) is an American fantasy and science fiction author who began publishing in the early 1980s. Writing career Swanwick's fiction writing began with short stories, starting in 1980 when he published "Ginungagap ...

, Bruce Sterling, Richard K. Morgan, and R. Scott Bakker, while the 2010 guest of honour will be Ian McDonald.

References

External links

SFera official home page

The SFERA Award

List of SFERA award winners
{{in lang, hr

Science fiction fandom Science fiction organizations Croatian science fiction Culture in Zagreb Organizations established in 1976

SFERA Award

SFeraKon

See also

References

External links