Carl Brandon Society


The Carl Brandon Society is a group originating within the science fiction community "dedicated to addressing the representation of people of color in the fantastical genres such as science fiction, fantasy and horror... to foster dialogue about issues of race, ethnicity and culture, raise awareness both inside and outside the fantastical fiction communities, promote inclusivity in publication/production, and celebrate the accomplishments of people of color in science fiction, fantasy and horror."
The Society was founded in 1997 following discussions at the feminist science fiction convention WisCon 23 in Madison, Wisconsin. It was named after "Carl Brandon", a fictional black fan writer created in the mid-1950s by Terry Carr and Pete Graham. This also alludes to the James Tiptree, Jr. Award, named after the fictional male persona used by the writer long known as "James Tiptree, Jr.".
The Society maintains annuals lists of fantastical works published by writers of color.

CBS Parallax and Kindred Awards

Inaugurated in 2005, the Carl Brandon Parallax Award is a juried award given annually to a work of speculative fiction in English published that year, either short story or novel, written by an author who identifies as a person of color. The 2006 Parallax, the first to be awarded, went to Walter Mosley for his young adult novel 47.
Inaugurated in 2005, the Carl Brandon Kindred Award is a juried award given annually to a work of speculative fiction in English published that year, short story or novel, that deals with issues of race and ethnicity. Authors may be of any racial or ethnic group. The 2006 Kindred Award went to Susan Vaught for her young adult novel, Stormwitch.
Carl Brandon Parallax Award Shortlist for 2006
Carl Brandon Kindred Award Shortlist for 2006
The 2006 Carl Brandon Society Awards were presented during a ceremony at WisCon 30.

Octavia E. Butler Memorial Scholarship

The Octavia E. Butler Memorial Scholarship was established in Butler's memory in 2006 by the Society. Its goal is to provide an annual scholarship to enable writers of color to attend one of the Clarion writing workshops where Butler got her start. The first scholarship was awarded in 2007.