The  Fórum Fantástico event is organized by Épica – Associação Portuguesa do Fantástico nas Artes (The Portuguese Association of the Fantastic in the Arts).

Editor’s Note :

The  Fórum Fantástico event  is organized by Rogério Ribeiro and Épica - The Portuguese Association for the Fantastic in the Arts, and sponsored by several institutions, publishers and other companies. Entrance to the event and access to all sessions is free of charge.

From left : Rogério Ribeiro, Safaa Dib, Diogo Madredeus, Filipe Cardoso

Épica, Associação Portuguesa do Fantástico nas Artes (The Portuguese Association of the Fantastic in the Arts) was established in the year 2004 , following the 1st Meeting of Literary Fantasy and Science Fiction held in May at the Faculty of Letters of the University of Lisbon.

Épica consists of the following founding members:

Bruno Jacinto, Isabel Penteado, João Barreiros, João Cristóvão, João Seixas, João Ventura, Luís Filipe Silva, Luís Rodrigues, Pedro Marvão, Phillip Moringer, Rogério Ribeiro, Safaa Dib.

The association, headed by Rogério Ribeiro, organized lectures, debates and book launches that gathered editors, writers, critics and the audience in a discussion that was primarily aimed at stimulating the Portuguese Fantastika.

The receptivity of the public allowed to set new goals, and so, in late 2004, became possible to organize a dedicated to a Fantastika special event in a more ambitious convention mold, the Fantastic Forum in Lisbon, Portugal’s annual convention that encompasses the various aspects of the fantastic genre. The main objective of the event is to inform the general public of the work of creators and Portuguese and foreign scholars in the Fantastika area, as well as encourage and enrich the study and discussion on the Fantastika in Portugal.

Épica expanded its range of activities in the coming years and initiated new partnerships and projects.

Rogério Ribeiro was born (in Torres Novas, Portugal, in 1971) at dawn for the pure pleasure of annoying the neighbors who took such offense at being yanked to their childish fantasies. He graduated in Biology and engaged in the scientific research, having articles published internationally and awards. As misfortune never comes alone, he was the Dragã