AustLit

The Western Australian Science Fiction Foundation (WASFF) is a non-profit community organisation that aims to promote science fiction in all media in Western Australia. Formed in 1993, WASFF provides a legal and financial framework supporting community events such as Swancon, the Faster Than Light Radio Show, and other local events.

WASFF was set up initially to oversee the financial aspects of the annual science-fiction convention (Swancon). With each convention effectively being run by different organising committees, Greg Turkich, Tara Smith, and others realised that an on-going organisational structure was required so that funds left over from one convention, as occurred after Swanson 14, could be readily passed on to the next. It was also clear that the future of the event required some continuity so that suppliers and other creditors could reliably deal with one identifiable body rather than with random individuals and committees. This had become a major issue following Swancon 11, which ran at a loss and led to one of organisers, Grant Stone, being pursued by creditors when no other committee members (including the convenor) could be found.

The first WASFF committee comprised Greg Turkich (Chair), Ian Nichols (Vice-Chair), Tara Smith (Treasurer), and Mark Bivens (Secretary/Administrator). Over the next decade or more, WASFF expanded its involvement in the Perth science-fiction fan community by managing the bidding process for the Swancons and overseeing the running of the awards. The membership of the WASFF board is elected annually and has increased over the years to include nine individuals.

In addition to its administrative duties, WASFF has published or co-published a number of works, most of which have been related to events such as the Borderlands conventions (a series of smaller, more intimate gatherings of fans that were held in the early 2000s) and Swancon. Among these works are Twenty3: A Miscellany (1998), published by Infinite Monkeys in association with WASFF and Neutral Zone (a Perth-based Star Trek club); Festival of the Imagination (1996); Festive Imaginings (1997); Masquerade: Swancon 2001 - Academic Proceedings (2002, edited by Cathy Cupitt and Russell Blackford); and Chronopolis (2004, edited by Anna Hepworth and Grant Watson). During the 1990s, WASFF also published a regular newsletter.