An international conference hosted by the Department of English and Creative Writing, in collaboration with the Sussex Centre for Folklore, Fairy Tales and Fantasy

Date: 15th and 16th July 2011
Location: Bishop Otter Campus, Chichester, West Sussex, UK
Keynote Speakers include: Joanne Harris, Peter Winnington, Colin Manlove, Farah Mendlesohn, Sebastian Peake.

Theme

This conference and related events next July to mark the centenary of Peake's birth include exhibitions of his paintings and illustrations in Chichester (Peake lived in nearby Burpham while writing the Gormenghast books, and is buried there). July 2011 is also the publication date of Titus Awakes, Maeve Gilmore’s conclusion of her husband’s Gormenghast sequence. The conference will celebrate, explore and discuss the many facets of Peake's rich creativity, including his work as fantasy novelist, children’s writer, playwright, poet, writer of nonsense verse, artist and illustrator (both of his own books and classics such as The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, The Hunting of the Snark,the Alice books, Treasure Island and Grimms’ Household Tales).
 
Proposals are invited for papers, presentations and panels on any aspect of Peake's work. We especially welcome proposals relating Peake to the broader traditions of fairy tales, fantasy and children’s literature
Relevant topics might include:

• thematic explorations of Peake's oeuvre
• textual / linguistic / rhetorical analyses
• issues of genre (e.g. in what sense is Peake's work ‘fantasy’?)
• issues of race and/or gender and/or class in Peake's oeuvre
• questions of ‘applicability’ (in Tolkien’s sense)
• the relation of image and text in narrative (both in Peake's own books and in those he illustrated)
• adaptations of Peake's work
• Peake's literary precursors and sources (in fantasy, children’s literature and nonsense verse) 
• Peake's influence (from Moorcock and Miéville to mannerpunk);
• creative responses to Peake's work in both literature and the visual arts

It is planned to publish a selection of the conference papers.

Guidelines for Submission

Deadline for Submission. All proposals must be received by 14 January 2011

Individual papers

The presentation of papers should not exceed 20 minutes; each presentation will have 10 minutes for questions, comments, and responses.

Please submit an abstract (maximum 300 words) of the paper with a brief bibliography. (All written documentation must have your name on the header of each page).

Other kinds of presentation are also invited – for example, readings of creative responses to Peake's work (both visual and literary), re-writings and adaptations. Please send a sample, rather than an abstract.

For all proposals

The submission form at the end of this document must accompany all proposals.

We  prefer  to  receive  proposals  by  email. Please send your proposal and completed form in Word .doc or .rtf  format to b.gray@chi.ac.uk and copied to j.carroll@chi.ac.uk. Please include your last name and “MP Fantasy Tradition” in the subject heading of the email and filename of your abstract. Faxes will not normally be accepted.

If submitting by regular mail, please send three copies of your proposal and submission form to:

Professor William Gray
Department of English & Creative Writing
University of Chichester
College Lane
Chichester
West Sussex PO19 6PE
United Kingdom

Selection Criteria and Process

All proposals will be reviewed by the programme committee with reference to the criteria of relevance, originality and contribution to the conference theme, broadly understood.

Receipt of all submissions will be confirmed electronically and notification of acceptance will be confirmed as soon as possible.

Contact information

Day and weekend tickets, as well as tickets for special events, are now available here Mervyn Peake and The Fantasy Tradition: Conference Booking Form

General queries about the Conference should be addressed to the project administrator at j.carroll@chi.ac.uk or on tel. 01243 8166479

For general information about the conference please visit the website at http://sussexfolktalecentre.org

A full programme may be found on the conference blog: http://www.mervynpeakeconference2011.blogspot.com/

Conference Submission Form

Download: Conference Submission Form

Mervyn Peake Otter Gallery Exhibition

An exhibition featuring illustrations by Mervyn Peake is currently on at the Otter Gallery, Chichester.
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