Anyone remember what stamps are? The things we put on stuff we want to send to other places that takes a few days? Yes? Good. This story is going to make a whole lot more sense then.
First off, for our readers who are philatelists unfortunately, we have bad news. The Science Fiction stamp set, which was supposed to come out in July, has been indefinitely postponed. That generally translates in governmental-ese as “never” or “it won’t happen while you still care about it”.
Unhappy with this situation, science fiction fans have taken to petitioning the US Postal Service to get them back on the track. What’s more, they want the list expanded.
While the list of science fictions authors that were supposed to be honored is comprised of some of the most influential and ground-breaking science fiction authors of our time (Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Philip K. Dick, Robert A. Heinlein and Frank Herbert), the petition notes that this list only contains white men, which is a “gross misrepresentation” of the effect women have had in the genre.
Chris Barkley, the creator of the petition writes:
“While we recognize that these gentlemen are significant figures in fantasy and science fiction literature; honoring ONLY these individuals would be a gross under-representation of the many men AND women who have shaped various forms of speculative fiction and, on the whole, have influenced world culture over the past four generations.”
Other authors that Barkley suggests in a change.org petition include fantasy and horror writers, and spans 60 names. To see the full list, click here.
Feel strongly about this? Be sure to sign the petition at here at whitehouse.gov, and here at change.org.
