CFP The Fantastic for Children - Children in the Fantastic Symposium (3/15/2024; Germany 5/3-5/2024)

The Fantastic for Children - Children in the Fantastic

deadline for submissions: March 15, 2024

full name / name of organization: Inklings Society for Literature and Aesthetics e.V.

contact email: 2024-symposium@inklings-symposium.de

source: https://call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/cfp/2023/12/13/the-fantastic-for-children-children-in-the-fantastic

“I write, not for children, but for the child-like, whether they be of five, or fifty, or seventy-five.”
― George MacDonald

It is often easier for child characters to cross boundaries between reality and fantasy worlds, which frequently go unnoticed by adult characters. In fantasy stories, whether in literature or media for an adult or child audience, it is mainly children who discover portals into fantastic worlds. These child protagonists become redeemer figures and symbols of hope and overcome personal and global crises in those worlds, into which they are lured or called.

Examples abound: Alice follows the White Rabbit into Wonderland and antagonises the Red Queen, the Pevensie siblings find their way to Narnia through a wardrobe and defeat the White Witch, Frodo saves the world from the dark forces of Sauron. In J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, the young wizard Harry Potter rescues the Muggle and wizarding world from the seemingly invincible power of Voldemort, while a girl named Lyra becomes a key figure in the salvation of a multiverse in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy. In Michael Ende’s The Neverending Story, it is up to Bastian to save the human imagination, while in J.M. Barrie’s Peter and Wendy childhood imagination manifests spatially in the world of Neverland.

In many narratives, the intuitive entry into fantastic worlds is a privilege and burden of the child characters, a pattern which is also continued in film and series, for instance in the Netflix series Stranger Things. Here, the protagonist Eleven and other child characters fall victim to the Upside Down, vanish into the parallel world and continue to return to it in order to save the frequently clueless adult world from its dark powers.

These fantastic worlds do not only pose danger but are also places of longing for these child characters. Moreover, both adult and child readers want to experience adventures, explore the world with curiosity and pick up courage on the way. They harbour desires, dreams, hopes, develop goals and expectations, which are also reflected in fantasy. Thus, many of these fantastic stories, which fascinate readers, also reflect those topics they deal with in everyday life: the pursuit of familiarity, fellowship, friendship or love. The fantastic accompanies these children on their journey towards adulthood, helps them discovering their true self and hence illuminates a fundamental process of human life.

George MacDonald’s initial quote indicates that the fantastic is neither childish nor exclusively for children, but rather for the child-like of all ages. His fairy tales and fantasy novels also (but not exclusively) inspired the Inklings, predominantly J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. Accordingly, the upcoming symposium takes MacDonald’s 200th birthday as a cue to explore the role of children and childhood in fantasy. We invite contributions investigating the connection between children and the fantastic, including but not limited to the following possible topics:

• the role of the fantastic in the work of the Inklings
• the fantastic in the work of George MacDonald, Lewis Carroll, Edith Nesbit or Lord Dunsany
• Child characters as redeemer figures, (anti-)heroes and antagonists in fantasy, science fiction, horror, animal stories or children’s and young adult literature
• Fantasy and its role in identity formation
• modern retellings of fantastic narratives
• diversity and representation in fantasy
• fantastic narratives as coming-of-age story
• critical discussions of fantasy as escapism
• fantasy and (re-)enchantment
• ethical, philosophical and religious readings of fantastic narratives
• coping and coming to terms with trauma through fantasy
• emotional security, love and friendship in fantastic narratives
• childhood and heroism in fantasy
• fantasy and games, especially tabletop role-playing game

Please send proposals (300–500 words, either in German or English) as well as a short bio to 2024-symposium@inklings-symposium.de. Please use the subject line “Inklings Symposium 2024”. The deadline is 15 March 2024. Presentations at the symposium should be 20 minutes long and a selection of them will be published in the Inklings Yearbook.

Location: Schloss Malberg, Kylltal (https://www.schloss-malberg.de/)
Date: 3 to 5 Mai 2024
Travel Allowance: There will be a small allowance available to speakers for accommodation and travel expenses.
Further information on the Inklings symposium 2024 see https://inklings-gesellschaft.de/symposium-2024/


Last updated February 25, 2024

CFP New York Tolkien Conference 2024 (4/30/2024; New York 6/15/2024)

New York Tolkien Conference

deadline for submissions: April 30, 2024

full name / name of organization: New York Tolkien Conference

contact email: christopher.tuthill@baruch.cuny.edu

main site: https://nyctolkienconference.wordpress.com/2024/01/16/call-for-papers-20...



The organizers of the 2024 New York Tolkien Conference are seeking proposals related to the following:

• Presentations on Tolkien and the Inklings, their literary work, or related issues.
• Papers on fantastic fiction–this can include anything from books heavily influenced by Middle-earth to other genres of fantasy. Examples of authors we’re interested in include George RR Martin, Octavia Butler, Tad Williams, Ursula K. LeGuin, Gene Wolfe, Susanna Clarke, Terry Pratchett, Tim Powers, J.K. Rowling, and Nnedi Okorafor.
• Fantasy that preceded Tolkien, or presentations dealing with Tolkien’s influences.
• Presentations on (or demos of) board and tabletop games dealing with Middle-earth or other fantasy realms.
• Discussions of Tolkien’s scholarly work

If you are wondering whether your topic might fit with the conference, please ask! We are open to different approaches.

If you are interested in presenting at the conference, please upload your paper proposal at the link below. Proposals are now open, and we will make decisions for scheduling by mid-April. https://baruch.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8cUCJKsREiLqV0i

For further information about previous conferences and the organizers, please see the conference page and archive below. The conference will take place Saturday, June 15, 2024 at Baruch College in New York.

If you have any other questions, please contact Christopher Tuthill at christopher.tuthill@baruch.cuny.edu


Last updated January 17, 2024
This CFP has been viewed 677 times.

Mythlore for Fall/Winter 2022

The Fall/Winter 2022 issue of Mythlore is now available. I've provided the full content below. Ordering information can be found on the Mythopoeic Society's website at this link.

Mythlore 141 Volume 41, Issue 1
Fall/Winter 2022

Table of Contents

Editorial
— Janet Brennan Croft

Notes of an Inklings Scholar: Musings on Myth and History, Promises and Secrecy, Ethical Reviewing, and the Limits of Authorial Intent
— David Bratman

David Lindsay’s The Violet Apple
— Eric Wills

History in the Margins: Epigraphs and Negative Space in Robin Hobb’s Assassin’s Apprentice
— Matthew Oliver

Echoing Ecopoetics: Fantasy Literature’s Background Sounds
— Catherine Olver

“Read this Book, and You Will Find All the Grand and Marvelous Things to be Found”: A Song of Ice and Fire and Medieval Travelogues
— Elisabeth Brander

Haunted Manikins and the Hero(es) Within: The Modern Romantic Hero as the Divinely Inspired Person Inside the Personality
— Mikaela von Kursell

“Delight in Horror”: Charles Williams and Russell Kirk on Hell and the Supernatural
— Camilo Peralta

Tellers of Dark Fairy Tales: Common Themes in the Works of Terence Fisher and C.S. Lewis
— G. Connor Salter

“What Happened to Battles are Ugly Affairs?”: Fighting Girls in the Films The Chronicles of Narnia, Chapters 1, 2, and 3
— Anne-Frédérique Mochel-Caballero

“The Evil Side of Heroic Life”: Monsters and Heroes in Beowulf and The Hobbit
— Catherine Hall

Goddess and Mortal: The Celtic and the French Morgan Le Fay in Tolkien’s Silmarillion
— Clare Moore

“Well, I’m Back”: Samwise Gamgee and the Future of Tolkien’s Literary Pastoral
— MG Prezioso

Notes

The Nurse of Elfland: Lizzie Endicott and C.S. Lewis — Reggie Weems
What Sam Said — David Bratman

Reviews

Tolkien, Race, and Racism in Middle-earth by Robert Stuart — Robert T. Tally, Jr.
Queering Faith in Fantasy Literature: Fantastic Incarnations and the Deconstruction of Theology by Taylor Driggers — C. Palmer-Patel
Friendship in The Lord of the Rings by Cristina Casagrande — Mark A. Brians II
Charles Williams and C.S. Lewis: Friends in Co-Inherence by Paul S. Fiddes — Tiffany Brooke Martin
The Writer’s Map: An Atlas of Imaginary Lands by Huw Lewis-Jones — Susan M. Moore
Dante’s Dream: A Jungian Psychoanalytical Approach by Gwenyth E. Hood — Liam Butchart
The Modern Myths: Adventures in the Machinery of the Popular Imagination by Phillip Ball — Janet Brennan Croft
Tolkien as a Literary Artist: Exploring Rhetoric, Language and Style in The Lord Of The Rings by Thomas Kullmann and Dirk Siepmann — Sharon L. Bolding
Two Sagas of Mythical Heroes: Hervor and Heidrek and Hrolf Kraki and His Companions translated and edited by Jackson Crawford, and Norse Mythology by Jackson Crawford — Phillip Fitzsimmons

Briefly Noted:

Is Superman Circumcised? The Complete Jewish History of the World’s Greatest Hero by Roy Schwartz — G. Connor Salter
Flying Snakes and Griffin Claws: And Other Classical Myths, Historical Oddities, and Scientific Curiosities by Adrienne Mayor — Janet Brennan Croft

One last cfp for the day:

CFP: Mythmoot VII: Defying and Defining the Darkness, June 25–28, 2020, Leesburg, VA, USA
https://www.fantastic-arts.org/2020/cfp-mythmoot-vii-defying-and-defining-the-darkness-june-25-28-2020-leesburg-va-usa/
February 1, 2020

Mythmoot VII: Defying and Defining the Darkness

“Look at how a single candle can both defy and define the darkness.”
— attributed to Anne Frank

When: June 25–28, 2020
Where: The National Conference Center
Leesburg, VA
USA

What is Mythmoot VII?

Mythmoot VII, with the theme of “Defying and Defining Darkness,” combines an academic conference, creative writing meet-up, and fan convention for a unique experience. Here at Mythmoot, we have room for serious scholarship in fields such as science fiction, high fantasy, horror, gothic, mythology, children’s literature, folklore.. .the list goes on. We also appreciate less academic, but no less enthusiastic, pursuits of all the above—such as demonstrations of how to knit the best fake candle ever, presentations theorizing the exact recipe for Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder, or papers dissecting the cultural background of Baron Harkonnen!

Call for Proposals:

Where there is light there is darkness—the two play off of each other. This concept appears throughout literature all over the world in yin and yang, good and evil, two sides of the same coin, and even in the literal sun rising and setting. How does one define the darkness? Can darkness only be defied once it is known? Should darkness even be defined or defied? We want to hear how you believe defining and defying the darkness interacts with the stories you love and how you would approach the topic.

We are accepting proposals for Papers, Panels, Workshops, and Creative Presentations about defying or defining the darkness (or tangential topics) in the following areas of study:

● Imaginative Literature (ex: Harry Potter, Dune, The Call of Cthulhu, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, The Dresden Files, etc.)
● Tolkien and Inklings Studies
● Classic Literature from ancient times to the present
● Philology

If you are unsure whether your topic fits, send your proposal or a description of your idea to the listed submissions email, and we will let you know.

Individual presentations, whether creative or critical, will have 30 minutes—20 minutes for presentation and 10 for Q&A. (N.B. The “creative” category is not limited to original works but could include presenting or performing art, music, drama, or dance. If you have any questions about what you can present, please contact the submissions email.)

Panels must contain at least 3 papers and/or presenters and will be allocated 90 minutes total for presentations and Q&A.

Workshops must identify their own length (either 30 min, 60 min, or 90 min) and include justification for the requested time. Workshops may be run individually, but it is recommended that a workshop have at least two leaders. (Workshop examples: the knitting of Smaug hats, an interactive discussion on dragon species, etc.)

Papers will be presented in 90-minute sessions of 1 – 3 presenters. Each presenter will have 30 minutes (20 minutes for presentation and 10 minutes for questions) to present their paper.

Proposal Submittal:
Your submission to events@signumu.org must contain the following in the email: the type of submission, a title, a 300-word abstract or description, the name(s) of the presenter(s), and a two-sentence biography for each presenter. Title your email “Mythmoot VII Proposal”. All submissions must be received by 11:59 pm EST on March 13th, 2020.

No presentations will be given in absentia, and your submission to Mythmoot VII is considered an agreement to attend and present should your proposal be accepted. Each room will have a projector for presenter use.

Mythlore 132 Contents

Catching up again. Here are the details of the Spring/Summer 2018 issue of Mythlore. Ordering information at http://www.mythsoc.org/mythlore/mythlore-132.htm.


Mythlore 132 Volume 36, Issue 2
Spring/Summer 2018


Editorial
— Janet Brennan Croft

Tyrion Lannister: A Fulcrum of Balance in George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire
— Patricia Monk

“Love of Knowledge is a Kind of Madness”: Competing Platonisms in the Universes of C.S. Lewis and H.P. Lovecraft
— Guillaume Bogiaris

Allegorical Reference to Oxford University through Classical Myth in the Early Poetry of Dorothy L. Sayers: A Reading of “Alma Mater” from OP. I.
— Barbara L. Prescott

On Superhero Stories: The Marvel Cinematic Universe as Tolkienesque Fantasy
— A.G. Holdier

Bilbo Baggins and the Forty Thieves: The Reworking of Folktale Motifs in The Hobbit (and The Lord of the Rings)
— Giovanni Carmine Costabile


Notes and Letters

Ursula K. Le Guin: An Appreciation, David Bratman
Ursula K. Le Guin in Mythlore, Janet Brennan Croft
“The Valley of the Na,” Pat Wynne, from Mythlore #56 (Winter 1988)
Reviews
J.R.R. Tolkien: Romanticist and Poet by Julian Eilmann, Kris Swank
C.S. Lewis and Christian Postmodernism by Kyoko Yuasa, Peter G. Epps
Owen Barfield: Philosophy, Poetry, and Theology by Michael Vincent Di Fucca, Tiffany Brooke Martin
Scotland’s Forgotten Treasure: The Visionary Romances of George MacDonald by Colin Manlove, Bonnie Gaarden
English People by Owen Barfield, Narnia and the Fields of Arbol by Matthew Dickerson and David O’Hara, and The Mythic Dimension by Joseph Campbell, Phillip Fitzsimmons
C.S. Lewis and the Art of Writing by Corey Latta, Tiffany Brooke Martin
C.S. Lewis and the Arts: Creativity in the Shadowlands, edited by Rod Miller, Michael David Prevett
Game of Thrones Versus History: Written in Blood by Brian Pavlac, Joseph Young
Detecting Wimsey: Papers on Dorothy L. Sayers’s Detective Fiction by Nancy-Lou Patterson, edited by Emily E. Auger and Janet Brennan Croft, Joe R. Christopher
Goddess and Grail: The Battle for Arthur’s Promised Land by Jeffrey John Dixon, Kris Swank





SPECIAL SECTION ON DIVINATION IN FANTASY

Introduction: Divination and Prophecy in Mythopoeic Fantasy
— Emily E. Auger

Letting Sleeping Abnormalities Lie: Lovecraft and the Futility of Divination
— Carol S. Matthews

Tarot and T.S. Eliot in Stephen King’s Dark Tower Novels
— Emily E. Auger

The Unlikely Milliner and the Magician of Threadneedle-street
— K.A. Laity


Notes
An Annotated List of Fantasy Novels Incorporating Tarot (1968-1989), Emily E. Auger
Divination and Prophecy in The Lord of the Rings: Some Observations, Robert Field Tredray

Reviews
Divination and Human Nature by Peter T. Struck, Larry Swain
The Tarot of the Future by Arthur Rosengarten, Emily E. Auger 

CFP Prophecy and Future-telling in Tolkien and Related Authors (10/1/2018; PCA Washington DC 4/17-20/2019)

The first of two Tolkien calls for the night.

Prophecy and Future-telling in Tolkien and Related Authors

https://call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/cfp/2018/05/24/prophecy-and-future-telling-in-tolkien-and-related-authors

deadline for submissions: October 1, 2018

full name / name of organization: Tolkien Studies / Tarot & Other Methods of Divination, Popular Culture Association

contact email: robin.reid@tamuc.edu

Prophecy and Future-telling in Tolkien and Related Authors

Call for Papers

Tolkien Studies / Tarot & Other Methods of Divination

at the

Popular Culture Association / American Culture Association conference

http://pcaaca.org/national-conference/

Washington, DC, 17-20 April 2019

And many other things Ilúvatar spoke to the Ainur at that time, and because of their memory of his words, and the knowledge that each has of the music that he himself made, the Ainur know much of what was, and is, and is to come, and few things are unseen by them. Yet some things there are that they cannot see […]  (The Silmarillon)

Future-telling abounds in mythopoeic literature, where it takes on many forms: dreams, intuitions, predictions, premonitions, prophecies, visions, and more. Tolkien made extensive use of future-telling in his writings, particularly The Lord of the Rings. At times, his characters seek knowledge of the future deliberately by studying prophecies, or by the use of tools and special techniques; at others, it comes to them spontaneously through memory and the unconscious.

We are seeking papers on all aspects of future-telling in Tolkien's writings for this co-sponsored session, including, but not limited to, studies of future-telling techniques and effects, relevance to character and plot development, and comparisons to relevant works and characters, such as King Arthur, Merlin, and Macbeth.

We hope to round out the session(s) with papers on future-telling in the works of other Inklings and related authors, notably Charles Williams's The Greater Trumps and C.S. Lewis's Narnia books, and perhaps Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time.

Papers may address any of Tolkien's legendarium and related works and their film adaptations.

Prospective participants in these sessions are asked to submit their papers to the Tolkien Studies area (for tech-related administrative simplicity). Papers addressing other aspects of future-telling should be submitted to the Tarot/Divination area.

Queries are welcomed by both area chairs.

Deadline for Paper Proposals: 1 October 2018

Tolkien Studies Area Chair: Robin Reid Robin.Reid@tamuc.edu
Tarot/Divination Area Chair: Emily E. Auger augeremily@gmail.com

 Last updated May 25, 2018
 

Mythlore 130 Now Available

Sorry for not having posted in a while.

Here is a quick update on the latest number of Mythlore. It can be ordered direct from the Mythopoeic Society at http://www.mythsoc.org/mythlore/mythlore-130.htm.

Contents are as follows:


Mythlore 130, Volume 35, Issue 2 (Spring/Summer 2017)

Editorial
— Janet Brennan Croft

“Time to Prepare a Face”: Mythology Comes of Age
— Andrew Lazo

To Grow Together, or To Grow Apart: The Long Sorrow of the Ents and Marriage in The Lord of the Rings.
— Nicole duPlessis

“Enough about Whores”: Sexual Characterization in A Song of Ice and Fire.
— Joseph Young

“It Had Been His Virtue, and Therefore Also the Cause of His Fall”: Seduction as a Mythopoeic Accounting for Evil in Tolkien’s Work.
— Maria Alberto

The Name of the Ring: or, There and Back Again.
— Janet Brennan Croft

Tolkien’s Allusive Backstory: Immortality and Belief in the Fantasy Frame.
— Wayne A. Chandler and Carrol L. Fry

Utopia in Deep Heaven: Thomas More and C.S. Lewis’s Cosmic Trilogy
.— Benjamin C. Parker

From the Ineluctable Wave to the Realization of Imagined Wonder: Tolkien’s Transformation of Psychic Pain into Art.
— John Rosegrant

A Common Language of Desire: The Magicians, Narnia, and Contemporary Fantasy.
— Kelly Kramer

Reviews

• Fisher, Jason: A Secret Vice: Tolkien on Invented Languages. J.R.R. Tolkien. Ed. Dimitra Fimi and Andrew Higgins.
• Fitzsimmons, Philip: The ‘Great War’ of Owen Barfield and C.S. Lewis: Philosophical Writings 1927-1930. Edited by Norbert Feinendegen and Arend Smilde Joy and Poetic Imagination: Understanding C.S. Lewis’s “Great War” with Owen Barfield and its Significance for Lewis’s Conversion and Writings. Stephen Thorson.
• Larsen, Kristine: The Hero’s Quest and the Cycles of Nature: An Ecological Interpretation of World Mythology. Rachel S. McCoppin.
• Brown, Nancy Marie: Elf Queens and Holy Friars: Fairy Beliefs and the Medieval Church. Richard Firth Green.
• Cochran, James M.: Outlaw Heroes as Liminal Figures of Film and Television. Rebecca A. Umland.
• Martin, Tiffany Brooke: C.S. Lewis at Poets’ Corner. Edited by Michael Ward and Peter S. Williams.
• Foster, Mike: A Well of Wonder: Essays on C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and the Inklings. Clyde S. Kilby.
• Croft, Janet Brennan: Fastitocalon: Studies in Fantasticism Ancient to Modern. Vol. 6, nos. 1 and 2, 2016. Hither Shore: Interdisciplinary Journal on Modern Fantasy Literature. Vol. 12, 2015.