The Baltimore Science Fiction Society

BSFS logo

The Baltimore Science Fiction Society, Inc. is a 501(c)(3), non-profit, charitable, literary and educational organization, dedicated to the promotion of, and an appreciation for science fiction, fantasy, horror and speculative fiction literature. BSFS is run entirely by volunteers; none of the Board of Directors, or officers, receive any pay for what they do. Likewise, all Balticon workers are volunteers.  

BSFS is proud to sponsor Balticon, Maryland’s Regional Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention, each year on Memorial Day Weekend.

The BSFS building, located in East Baltimore, is the hub of activity (when it is not closed due to COVID-19 restrictions). Visitors will drool over its large lending library of over 12,000 titles, and all are invited to enjoy and borrow books when the building is open. BSFS also hosts programs that appeal to a variety of SF/F-related interests, including writers’ workshops, book discussion groups, movie nights, gaming meet-ups, and anime socials. Many of these groups are meeting online during the pandemic.

Our BSFS Books for Kids program encourages reading by providing books, free of charge, to individual students through local schools. We also administer several awards and contests to encourage and recognize writers: the Compton Crook Award, the Robert Heinlein Award, the Jack L. Chalker Young Writers’ Contest, the annual BSFS Poetry Contest, the Amateur Writing Contest, and more.

For more details on our activities, see the BSFS web page. For information about joining BSFS, see the BSFS About page,