Japan has given a great deal to SF, fantasy and horror - and with the Genre for Japan auction, fans hope to give a lot back.
The sense of community among sci-fi, fantasy and horror readers has enabled a swift response to raise money for the Japan tsunami victims.
Over the years, Japan has been kind to the world of speculative fiction, gifting western writers the enduring tropes of rampaging monsters, giant robots, haunted video tapes and near-future technological singularities.
Now it's the turn of the science fiction, fantasy and horror communities to give something back following the devastating earthquake and tsunami that has left the country dealing with the possibility of nuclear disaster.
Genre for Japan is an online auction event put together by blogger Amanda Rutter, writer Louise Morgan, Solaris editor Jenni Hill, writer and blogger Ro Smith, and writer and editor Alasdair Stuart. Collectively, they're leaning on the SF/fantasy/horror industry (the word "genre" is increasingly taken to refer to those categories of literature, by the way) to pony up limited edition lots for the fans to bid on, with the cash going to the British Red Cross efforts in Japan. And for anyone still harbouring preconceptions about SF fandom, that's four women in a team of five ...
The auction is set to open just as a similar effort, Authors for Japan, brought the hammer down on a number of auctions that raised just shy of £11,000 for the British Red Cross.
The Authors for Japan lots, though they did include SF genre writers such as Paul Cornell, were more general - weighted, if anything, towards young adult writers and big-name romantic novelists such as Jill Mansell and Katie Fforde, who offered everything from critiques of would-be writers' work to dedications in their next novels. Genre for Japan, meanwhile, is the first concerted effort to tap into the internet-savvy and traditionally very involved SF/fantasy/horror community.
Jenni Hill, junior editor at Solaris books, said: "Authors, reviewers, editors, artists, scriptwriters and fans: the SFF community is a powerful force when it comes together on an issue. OK, so we're not always united when it comes to debates such as 'Is Lord of the Rings Better than Harry Potter?' or 'Did Han Solo shoot first?', but we're there when it really counts. Just look at the amount of charity work done by authors such as Terry Pratchett (advocate for the Alzheimer's Research Trust) and Neil Gaiman (Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, Haiti Earthquake Relief), and the enduring relationship between Doctor Who fandom and charities such as Comic Relief and Children in Need. Following the example of Authors for Japan, lots of us realised that we still had time, money, favours, great books and fantastic artwork to give away in aid of the British Red Cross tsunami appeal."
The speculative fiction community often gets a bit of stick for the vocal nature of its aficionados; for the way the publishing industry and fandom often seem to cosy up, with fans getting direct access to authors and editors particularly through the proliferation of social networking sites such as Twitter or Facebook. But it's that sense of community among the SF, fantasy and horror readers that has enabled this swift and hopefully meaningful response to the Japan situation to be put into place so quickly and fluidly.
Another criticism often levelled at the genre and its fans is that it is an imagination-led ghetto from the rest of the literary world; that it is, by the nature of its subject matter, distinctly "apart" from real life.
That's a nonsense argument and one for another day, but Genre for Japan has proved before a single bid has been entered that while the books might deal with flights of fancy, the writers, readers and publishers can hardly be accused of ignoring the world around them.
The auction proper opens on Monday 28 March - prizes include a year's supply of books from publisher Tor, signed artwork from Solaris books, and editing/critique services from professional authors and editors. And the organisers are still accepting pledges of lots from industry pros until this Friday. Perhaps you're reading this, Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, JK Rowling ... ?
©guardian.co.uk
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