Misplaced Pages

#289710

23-461: The first recorded Canadian works of science fiction or proto-science fiction include Napoléon Aubin 's unfinished serial, Mon Voyage à la Lune , a satirical Moon voyage published in 1839, and James De Mille 's novel, A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder , published posthumously in 1888. Another early instance is the 1896 work Tisab Ting, or, The Electrical Kiss , a pseudonymous first novel by an Ida May Ferguson of New Brunswick under

46-527: A Presbyterian minister. Citations Prix Aurora Awards The Aurora Awards ( French : Prix Aurora-Boréal ) are a set of primarily literary awards given annually for the best Canadian science fiction or fantasy professional and fan works and achievements from the previous year. The event is organized by Canvention and the awards are given out by the Canadian SF and Fantasy Association and SFSF Boreal Inc. Originally they were known as

69-551: A large volume of animation, notably specializing in 3D animation. Canadian science fiction films of note include: Napol%C3%A9on Aubin Napoléon Aubin (9 November 1812 – 12 June 1890), christened Aimé-Nicolas, was born from a Swiss family in Chêne-Bougeries , a district of Geneva , at the time a territory of France. He was a journalist, writer, publisher, scientist, musician and lithographer. Little

92-589: A range of activities and interest in the genre. Merril began hosting quarterly gatherings of authors in a loose group called "Toronto Hydra", a tradition she had brought from the New York SF community. In 1977, the Ottawa Science Fiction Society was founded, providing a venue for writers such as Charles R. Saunders and Charles de Lint through their club fanzine Stardock , as well as sponsoring Maplecon in its early years. In

115-596: A union between Canada and the United States. Aubin was married to Marie Luce Emilie in 1841, and had a son, Eugénie Aubin, who was born in 1853. In 1866, Aubin returned to Montreal in 1866, where he became a member of the Canadian Institute of Montreal in 1869. From 1875 until his death in 1890, he served as Honorary Consul to Switzerland in Montreal. A Calvinist by faith, his funeral was conducted by

138-622: A variety of isolated sources, including A. E. van Vogt , the fantasy works of John Buchan , the poetry of Phyllis Gotlieb , and a handful of other writers. In the late 20th century, political upheaval in the United States brought such talents as Spider Robinson and Judith Merril to Canada. In 1973, the World Science Fiction Convention was held again in Toronto , bringing a new generation of interest to writers like Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens . This led to

161-558: Is known about the youth of Napoléon Aubin. He left school when he was about 16. The son of Pierre Louis Charles Aubin and Elisabeth Escuyer, he emigrated to New York in 1829 where he was to be a pastor in Biddeford , Maine . In 1835 he moved to Montreal , and then again to Quebec City , later that year. Aubin served as editor for numerous newspapers and magazines, including Le Canadien , L'Ami du peuple , de l'ordre et des lois (Law and Order), and La Tribune . In 1865, he launched

184-736: The Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Awards which was shortened to CSFFA and nicknamed the Casper Awards based on that acronym, but this name was changed to the Aurora Awards in 1991, because the Aurora is the same in English and French. The categories have expanded from those focused on literary works to include categories that recognize achievements in comics, music, poetry, art, film and television. Originally,

207-596: The Rebellion of 1837 . In 1847, he published Manifeste adressé au peuple du Canada par le Comité constitutionnel de la réforme et du progrès (A Manifesto Addressed to the People of Canada by the Constitutional Committee for Reform and Progress), where he supported the ideas of Louis-Joseph Papineau . Notably, while on a trip to the U.S. he met Ulysses S. Grant , where they discussed the possibility of

230-796: The cyberpunk subgenre with his novel Neuromancer . In Quebec, Élisabeth Vonarburg and other authors developed a related tradition of French-Canadian SF. The Prix Boreal was established in 1979 to honour Canadian science fiction works in French. The Prix Aurora Awards (briefly preceded by the Casper Award) were founded in 1980 to recognize and promote the best works of Canadian science fiction in both French and English. Regular annual science fiction conventions, notably Ad Astra , brought fans and writers together to further broaden awareness and appreciation of science fiction literature in Canada. By

253-506: The pseudonym "Dyjan Fergus". Set in late 20th century Montreal , it features an "electrical genius": a "learned Chinaman" who woos and wins a Canadian wife through his superior scientific knowledge as embodied in "the Electrical Kiss". It is of interest mainly because of its early publication date and female authorship; a microfiche reprint was issued in 1980. In 1948, the 6th World Science Fiction Convention , also called Torcon,

SECTION 10

#1732791921290

276-577: The 1950s. CTV produced The Starlost at the CFTO studios in Scarborough. In the early 1990s, Toronto and Vancouver became prominent centres of television and film production, with shows like Forever Knight and RoboCop , then The X-Files raised the profile of Canadian science fiction television much higher, although only Forever Knight was itself set in Canada. By the late 1990s, a significant fraction of science fiction and fantasy on television

299-794: The 1990s, Canadian science fiction was well established and internationally recognized; mainstream authors such as Margaret Atwood began including SF in their repertoire. SF Canada , Canada's National Association of Speculative Fiction Professionals, was established in 1992. Some of the most famous Canadian writers of science fiction include Margaret Atwood , John Clute , Charles de Lint , Cory Doctorow , James Alan Gardner , William Gibson , Ed Greenwood , Tanya Huff , H. L. Gold , Nalo Hopkinson , Guy Gavriel Kay , Judith Merril , Spider Robinson , Robert J. Sawyer , Karl Schroeder , Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens , A. E. van Vogt , and Robert Charles Wilson . The Canadian Broadcasting Company began producing science fiction as early as

322-514: The CSFFA at the previous year's Canvention. For a category to not have an award given for it, usually there has to be less than three eligible nominees in that category before the start of voting, or enough people have voted for the No Award option on the ballot, and this wins a majority. The voting uses the instant-runoff voting method, where the voters rank their choices and the lowest scorer

345-797: The CSFFA gave out both the English-language and French-language versions of the awards, with the French-language version known as the Prix Aurora . However, the French-language section of the awards is now known as the Prix Aurora-Boréal and was created through an agreement between SFSFBI and the CSFFA in November 2010, which combined the independent Prix Boréal and the Prix Aurora into a single award affiliated to

368-531: The Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association, who pay an annual fee of $ 10. Publishers cannot vote during the nomination or shortlist ballot, but can submit works by authors they represent without paying a fee. The Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association (CSFFA) and the SFSFBI give out the Aurora and Aurora-Boréal Awards for the best science fiction and fantasy works in each of

391-523: The English-language award. The awards are selected by member vote, in a similar style to that of the Hugo Awards . The first award was granted in 1980 at Hal-Con 3 , in Halifax, Nova Scotia , which was in turn the first convention to be named Canvention, a name which rotates to the convention hosting the awards that year in addition to its regular name. Voting for the awards is done by members of

414-435: The categories. CSFFA handle the anglophone Aurora Awards and the SFSFBI handle the francophone Aurora-Boréal Awards, though both organizations co-sponsor the other award. Nominees are only valid if they were produced or completed in the previous calendar year. For the Aurora Awards, the official nominees are chosen by the awards committee from all of the works that have received at least 5 nominations by CSFFA members throughout

437-695: The early 1980s, the Ontario Science Fiction Club was set up by Robert J. Sawyer , while the Bunch of Seven became the first known science fiction writing circle in Canada, helping the success of authors like S. M. Stirling and Tanya Huff , which later led to the Cecil Street Irregulars which included writers like Cory Doctorow . De Lint, Huff and Guy Gavriel Kay became notable for using Canadian settings in science fiction and fantasy, and William Gibson pioneered

460-521: The paper Les veillées du père Bonsens . A satirist, he wrote works in support of the Patriote movement, publishing his stories in Le Fantasque , a magazine he himself founded. He spent 53 days in prison for publishing a poem by Joseph-Guillaume Barthe , Aux exilés politiques canadiens . Aubin considered himself a liberal and a democrat, and in line with Étienne Parent , chose not participate in

483-422: The year, and then the shortlist is voted on by every member of the CSFFA. This is obtained through a $ 10 membership fee, and can be voted in person with a voting card at the annual general meeting of the CSFFA at that year's Canvention, or online through a portal set up by the CSFFA. A member must have been a member for at least 1 month before Canvention to be eligible for voting. The deadlines for voting are set by

SECTION 20

#1732791921290

506-656: Was held in Toronto . Although it was organized by members of a local science fiction fandom group called "The Derelicts" and chaired by local fan Edward "Ned" McKeown, the Guests of Honor, Robert Bloch (pro) and Bob Tucker (fan), were both Americans. Among those in attendance were Forrest J Ackerman , Bloch, Leslie A. Croutch , E. Everett Evans , James "Rusty" Hevelin , David H. Keller , Judith Merril , Sam Moskowitz , Chad Oliver , George O. Smith , Will Sykora , Tucker, and Donald Wollheim . Like many aspects of Canadian culture , Canadian science fiction emerged from

529-546: Was produced in Canada. In the early 2000s, due to changes in tax laws, production companies shifted much of their operations from Toronto to Vancouver. Some of the most popular science fiction movies and TV shows seen around the world are made primarily or entirely in Vancouver & Toronto which are both often called Hollywood North , or elsewhere in Canada. Quebec produces shows in French . Canadian studios also produced

#289710