A number of Science Fiction Cons that are being cancelled is increasing. The latest one to succumb to Coronavirus is SFRA (Science Fiction Research Association). I was looking forward to the conference, hoping to attend my first SFRA conference is 2020. However this won’t happen this year. Let’s all hope and pray that things get better in a few months and we get back to normalcy.

Here is the official announcement from SFRA.

Dear SFRA,

Unfortunately I must write you today with the news that our planned meeting for July 2020 has been cancelled due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. While both the executive committee and the organizers were still deliberating over the best course of action, the final decision was made by Indiana University Bloomington, which has cancelled all events on its campus through the summer.

The executive committee would like to thank the conference’s local organizers, Rebekah Sheldon and De Witt Douglas Kilgore, for all their hard work in organizing this conference, and offer them the regret of the entire organization that we will not be able to meet with them at IU this year.

In terms of the financial health of SFRA, we want you to know that the outlook for the organization as a result of this cancellation is not dire; we will not directly lose any money on the cancelled conference itself. Given that historically our membership renewals congregate tightly around conference registration, however, we do anticipate a rather dramatic decline in member numbers for this year. We ask — and, we expect, will certainly ask again this summer and fall — that, if you are able, that you please consider renewing your membership with SFRA despite this cancellation.

Either way, we wish you all good health, safety, and security wherever you are in these strange times.

Gerry Canavan
SFRA President