World SF: An Organization of SF Professionals
An organization founded in Dublin in September 1976 by Harry Harrison and others. Initially, it seemed to have a bit of an anti-American tinge, but this wore off in time. It appears to have been intended as a pro organization (unlike SFWA, apparently) and as an organization which represented SF internationally (unlike the Worldcon, apparently). It was open to anyone who made money from SF, not just writers.
(To be honest, it seems to have been in large part an excuse for a party with East Bloc writers whose governments would not let them travel to conventions for fun, but would allow them to go to a Serious International Conference.)
Its name was (apparently deliberately) confusingly close to that of the World Science Fiction Society which created problems for the Worldcon. WSFS's Standing Committee (which at the time was charged with protecting WSFS's service marks, objected, but Harrison and others pushed back with their pro clout and personal charisma and at Aussiecon Two in 1985 were about to get the WSFS Business Meeting to overrule the Standing Committee when Don Eastlake managed to get the resolution changed so that WSFS acknowledged their right to use the name "World SF: An Organization of SF Professionals" rather than the "World SF" they wanted. Since the longer name made it clear that they were not WSFS, there was no longer a serious conflict and the matter ended. (See File 770 59, p. 18 for a discussion of events at the Aussiecon BM.)
It lasted until 2002, but its influence was insignificant and it mainly seems to have focused on holding an annual meeting and some awards.
| Club |
| 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! |
If applicable, please include category Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe, Ireland, NZ, UK, US, ROW or World.
