Pemmi-Con, as the first NASFiC in Canada, is proud to highlight the Canadian SF community. This page is just the tip of the iceberg! We hope you will be inspired to come to Pemmi-Con and dive in.

Libraries

The Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation & Fantasy is one of the world’s leading research collections of speculative fiction and popular culture. 80,000+ items cover speculative fiction including science fiction, fantasy, horror and magic realism. The Merril Collection is part of the Toronto Public Library.

The Merril Collection was founded by the famous SF author and editor Judith Merril.

The late Lorna Toolis was Head of the Merril Collection from 1986 to 2017. Lorna Toolis is a Pemmi-Con Guest of Honour.

Television Shows About Libraries

Shelved is being called Canada’s Abbott Elementary. Its creator couldn’t be happier

Associations and Awards

SF Canada was founded in 1989 as Canada’s National Association for Speculative Fiction Professionals, and was Incorporated as SF Canada in 1992.

SF Canada exists to foster a sense of community among Canadian writers of speculative fiction, to improve communication, to foster the growth of quality writing, to lobby on behalf of Canadian writers, and to encourage the translation of Canadian speculative fiction. SF Canada supports positive social action.

The Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association (CSFFA) is the home of the Prix Aurora Awards and CSFFA Hall of Fame.

Since 1980, the Prix Aurora Awards celebrate the best of Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy, thanks to the nominations and votes of fans.

Since 2014, the CSFFA Hall of Fame honours Canadians who have made great contributions to the genre of Science Fiction and Fantasy.

Créé en 1979, le Congrès Boréal est le principal événement consacré aux littératures de science-fiction et de fantastique au Québec. Il s’adresse aux lecteurs, éditeurs, ainsi qu’aux auteurs professionnels et amateurs. De nombreux prix littéraires sont décernés durant sa tenue.

Les Prix Boréal-Aurora visent à reconnaître ce qui s’est fait de mieux en imaginaire d’ici, et sont remis chaque année au Congrès Boréal. Ils sont les seuls prix du Canada francophone à être décernés directement par le public des lecteurs dans les genres de la science-fiction et du fantastique.

Le prix Solaris est remis chaque année par la revue du même nom à une nouvelle inédite. Il s’adresse aux auteurs canadiens qui écrivent en français, dans les domaines de la science-fiction, du fantastique et de la fantasy.

Créé en 2013, le prix Hommage visionnaire de la science-fiction et du fantastique québécois vise à célébrer les auteurs majeurs de la science-fiction et du fantastique québécois qui, depuis les 40 dernières années, ont su produire des œuvres d’ampleur et de qualité exceptionnelles. Un nouvel auteur est honoré tous les deux ans.

Prix des Horizons imaginaires — À l’initiative du Collège Marianopolis (Montréal), ce prix intercollégial permet à des cégépiens de développer leur goût pour la lecture et de stimuler leur jugement critique, grâce à la découverte de cinq oeuvres qui rendent bien compte de la production actuelle des littératures de l’imaginaire francophones d’ici.

Depuis 1984, le prix Jacques-Brossard de la science-fiction et du fantastique vise à récompenser l’auteur de la meilleure production annuelle pour adultes dans le domaine de la science-fiction, du fantastique et de la fantasy.

The Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic is a juried award which celebrates exceptional writing in three categories: adult, young adult and short story. The awards are presented each fall to the best Canadian speculative fiction novel, book-length collection, or short story published any time during the previous calendar year.

The Sunburst Award is currently on hiatus. But check out the archive. It has all the Sunburst Award winners and shortlists from 2001 to 2020.

Magazines and Publishers

On Spec Magazine is one of Canada’s longest-running journals of Speculative writing. Established in Edmonton in 1989, and published by the Copper Pig Writers’ Society, On Spec has won numerous Aurora Awards, and helped to launch the careers of many Canadian writers. A quarterly journal, On Spec is available in both print and digital form. Visit the website here. 

Neo-opsis Science Fiction Magazine is produced out of Victoria, BC, Canada.

Neo-opsis Science Fiction Magazine won the Aurora Award in the category of Best Work in English (Other) in 2007 and in 2009.

EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing / Tesseract Books encourages, produces and promotes thought-provoking and well written science fiction and fantasy literature.

EDGE publishes the Tesseracts series of anthologies of Canadian Speculative Fiction.

Polar Borealis Magazine is an Aurora Award-winning non-profit semi-professional SF fiction magazine which costs nothing and is free to anyone who wants to read it.

Polar Starlight Magazine is the Magazine of Canadian Speculative Poetry. It is an non-profit semi-professional SF fiction magazine which costs nothing and is free to anyone who wants to read it.