The Carl Brandon Society is a group originating within the science fiction community. Their mission "is to increase racial and ethnic diversity in the production of and audience for speculative fiction." Their vision is "a world in which speculative fiction, about complex and diverse cultures from writers of all backgrounds, is used to understand the present and model possible futures; and where people of color are full citizens in the community of imagination and progress." The Society was founded in 1997 following discussions at the feminist science fiction convention WisCon 23 in Madison, Wisconsin. It was named after "Carl Brandon", a fictional black fan writer created in the mid-1950s by Terry Carr and Pete Graham. This also alludes to the James Tiptree, Jr. Award, named after the fictional male persona used by the writer long known as "James Tiptree, Jr.". The Society maintains annuals lists of fantastical works published by writers of color.

CBS Parallax and Kindred Awards

Source: Inaugurated in 2005, the Carl Brandon Parallax Award is a juried award given to works of speculative fiction created by a self-identified person of color. The 2005 Parallax, the first to be awarded, went to Walter Mosley for his young adult novel 47. Inaugurated in 2005, the Carl Brandon Kindred Award is a juried award given to any work of speculative fiction dealing with issues of race and ethnicity; nominees may be of any racial or ethnic group. The 2005 Kindred Award went to Susan Vaught for her young adult novel, Stormwitch. The awards were not given for years from 2012 to 2018, but resumed with awards for 2019. Carl Brandon Parallax Award Shortlist for 2006 ** Carl Brandon Kindred Award Shortlist for 2006** The 2006 Carl Brandon Society Awards were presented during a ceremony at WisCon 30. ** Carl Brandon Parallax Award Shortlist for 2007** ** Carl Brandon Kindred Award Shortlist for 2007** ** Carl Brandon Parallax Award Shortlist for 2008** ** Carl Brandon Kindred Award Shortlist for 2008** ** Carl Brandon Parallax Award Shortlist for 2009** ** Carl Brandon Kindred Award Shortlist for 2009** ** Carl Brandon Parallax Award Shortlist for 2010** ** Carl Brandon Kindred Award Shortlist for 2010** ** Honor Shortlist for 2010** ** Carl Brandon Parallax Award Shortlist for 2011** ** Carl Brandon Kindred Award Shortlist for 2011** ** Honor Shortlist for 2011** The 2011 Carl Brandon Awards were presented at Arisia, January 17–20, in Boston MA, USA. Through 2012–2018, the Carl Brandon Award ceremonies went on hiatus. ** Carl Brandon Parallax Award Shortlist for 2019** ** Carl Brandon Kindred Award Shortlist for 2019** ** Parallax Honor Shortlist for 2019**

Octavia E. Butler Memorial Scholarship

The Octavia E. Butler Memorial Scholarship was established in Butler's memory in 2006 by the Society. Its goal is to provide an annual scholarship to enable writers of color to attend one of the Clarion writing workshops where Butler got her start. The first scholarship was awarded in 2007.