The Saturn Awards organization is the official awards group of The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The Academy was founded in 1972 and is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.

The organization was founded in 1972 by Donald A. Reed who earned two degrees at the University of Southern California. As a life-long fan of genre entertainment, he became noted as one of the leading authorities on Count Dracula. That dedication and passion soon took shape as the Academy and the Saturn Awards. Dr. Reed was devoted to the genres right up to his passing in 2001.

The Academy is now headed by an equally-devoted group of enthusiasts including identical twins Bradley Marcus and Kevin Marcus (professional feature film writers and WGAw members, who have produced the past 26 Saturn Awards), Mark Altman (film and television producer), and Robert Holguin who currently serves as President of the Academy.

With several hundred members in Los Angeles, the Academy holds official screenings of films for the purposes of award consideration. The organization also shows films for promotional purposes. The group screens close to 100 films a year. The Academy has a large group of members who live outside of Southern California who join expressly to support the Academy and vote in the annual awards show.