How did Broad Universe come about?
It certainly didn’t arise from a vacuum. Our Oort cloud included Wiscon, the feminist science fiction/fantasy convention held in Madison, Wisconsin since 1977. And Sisters in Crime, founded in 1986. And Women Writing the West, founded in 1994. The big spark happened during a panel at Wiscon in May 2000 where the work of Sisters in Crime and Women Writing the West was discussed. Among many other activities, the two organizations have newsletters, books-in-print catalogs, tables at bookseller conventions, listservs, chat rooms, and annual conventions. We in the SF/F/H universe have already done a lot, creating a convention (Wiscon) and an award (The James Tiptree Memorial Award), which have done much to promote women’s interests in the genres. However, we at Broad Universe feel that more can be done. Using Sisters in Crime and Women Writing the West as a template, Broad Universe intends to improve the success and visibility of women writers our genre.
