Baltimore Science Fiction Society
The BSFS, a club in Baltimore, Maryland, was founded on January 5, 1963, in the back of a Trailways bus by six people (one of whom was Jack Chalker) returning from a meeting of the Baltiwash club WSFA. It began running Balticon in 1967, but the club died on October 12, 1968. It is associated with BWAWA and WSFA.
Balticon continued, and after Balticon 8, Sue Wheeler, Martin Deutsch and others re-founded BSFS in 1974 with mostly new members. It was incorporated in Maryland and granted tax-exempt status and thereafter ran Balticon.
There was a previous club in the Baltimore area in the early 1950s: the Baltimore Science Fiction Forum, and there was also the Baltimore SFL in the area in the 1930s which lasted into the early ’40s.
Clubhouse[edit]
Starting in late 1991, the club acquired the BSFS Clubhouse, located at 3310 E. Baltimore St., Baltimore, Maryland. It was rebuilt over the years by a team led by Martin Deutsch.
As of 2024, the club library had total of 18,225 unique items shelved in the BSFS Building and 133 storage boxes. Sue Wheeler heads the library committee.
Awards[edit]
BSFS gives these awards annually at Balticon:
Links[edit]
- Website.
- History.
- “Balticon: As fans beam down, Baltimore Science Fiction Society celebrates 50 years.”
| Club | 1963— |
| This is a club page. Please extend it by adding information about when and where the club met, when and by whom it was founded, how long it was active, notable accomplishments, well-known members, clubzines, any conventions it ran, external links to the club's website, other club pages, etc.
When there's a floreat (Fl.), this indicates the time or times for which we have found evidence that the club existed. This is probably not going to represent the club's full lifetime, so please update it if you can! |
