Counting down to 2024: The sixtieth anniversary of The Munsters, the fiftieth anniversary of Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder's Young Frankenstein, the fortieth anniversary of Tim Burton's original Frankenweenie, the thirtieth anniversary of Kenneth Branagh’s film Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Universal Studios’ television series Monster Force, the twentieth anniversary of Geof Darrow and Steve Skroce’s comic Doc Frankenstein and Stephen Sommers’s film Van Helsing, and the tenth anniversary of Stuart Beattie’s I, Frankenstein.

Sunday, October 1, 2023

CFP Romantic Boundaries (Special Issue of Romantic Textualities) (10/10/2023)


CFP–Romantic Boundaries (Special Issue of Romantic Textualities)
Tien, Yu-hung

Source: https://www.romtext.org.uk/romantic-boundaries/

Posted on 08 September 2023


This June, the BARS Early Career and Postgraduate Conference gathered researchers from around the globe to celebrate and to appreciate Romanticism and its legacies at the University of Edinburgh by exploring the theme of ‘boundaries’ within the context of Romantic-period literature and thought. The Oxford English Dictionary defines the term ‘boundary’ as: ‘That which serves to indicate the bounds or limits of anything whether material or immaterial; also the limit itself.’ Such a term seems at odds with the spirit of Romanticist thought, which has long been associated with mobility and boundlessness. Conference delegates aptly addressed the complexity of the concept through various representations of boundaries—both tangible and intangible—from a wide range of viewpoints. To continue such a diverse critical dialogue, in collaboration with Romantic Textualities: Literature and Print Culture, 1780–1840, they plan to produce a special ‘Romantic Boundaries’ edition of the journal. To widen the scope of our scholarly conversation, not only do they welcome all the conference delegates to consider expanding their conference papers for publications, but they also invite researchers and scholars in general for submissions.

Echoing our conference theme, topics of interest may include, but are not limited to:
  • Geographical and spatial boundaries; transnationalism
  • Borders, liminal spaces, and boundary crossing
  • Temporal boundaries
  • Dialogues between genres and disciplines
  • Translations and transgressions
  • Lived boundaries (including those pertaining to identity, such as gender, race, or sexuality)
  • Digital boundaries
  • Human and nonhuman boundaries
  • Boundaries and reception; public versus private writings
  • Past, present, and future limits of the field of Romantic studies and its canon

Successful abstracts will suggest articles that broaden our understanding of Romantic boundaries by illuminating the elasticity and multiplicity of their meanings. For those who are interested, please submit 500-word abstracts with 5 keywords. Abstracts are due by 10 October 2023. The result will be announced by mid-November.

Essays (5000–8000 words, including footnotes) that grow out of accepted abstracts will undergo peer review and are due by 31 January 2024.

Please email submissions to Yu-hung Tien (yuhung.tien@ed.ac.uk), with a subject line (Romantic Boundaries, ‘Paper Title’, Author Name).

Papers will be published in a special issue of Romantic Textualities (Summer 2024), guest edited by Professor Li-hsin Hsu, Professor Andrew Taylor, and Yu-hung Tien.

Please note that the essay submission date and publication schedule are tentative and subject to change, depending on the reviewing progress.

Sunday, September 3, 2023

CFP In Other Wor(l)ds: Romanticism at the Crossroads, a special issue of Romantic Textualities: Literature and Print Culture, 1780-1840 (9/15/2023)

In Other Wor(l)ds: Romanticism at the Crossroads, a special issue of Romantic Textualities: Literature and Print Culture, 1780-1840


deadline for submissions:
September 15, 2023

full name / name of organization:
Romantic Textualities

source: https://call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/cfp/2023/08/25/in-other-worlds-romanticism-at-the-crossroads-a-special-issue-of-romantic

contact email:
CStampone@SMU.edu



In Other Wor(l)ds: Romanticism at the Crossroads, a special issue of Romantic Textualities: Literature and Print Culture, 1780-1840­


Note: The deadline for submissions has been extended to 9/15/23.

Jhumpa Lahiri’s In Altre Parole / In Other Words (2015) describes switching from one language to another as crossing from one side of a body of water to its opposite shore. Inspired by this metaphor, this special issue invites essays that examine Romanticism’s movements across oceans and seas, as well as languages, genres, and genders. This special issue seeks to reevaluate popular conceptions of Romantic aesthetics, recover authors who continue or call into question Romanticism’s continued salience, detail the circulation of texts across oceans and borders, and strike connections between authors of different countries and cultures. Joselyn Almeida, Manu Chander, Bakary Diaby, Tim Fulford, Paul Giles, Evan Gottlieb, Samantha Harvey, Nikki Hessell, Kevin Hutchings, Peter Kitson, Deanna Koretsky, Tricia Matthew, Omar Miranda, César Soto, Helen Thomas, The Bigger 6 Collective, and others have reassessed traditional conceptions of Romanticism(s) and Romantic figures by challenging hitherto limited aesthetic, cultural, and geographical borders. Rather than view Romanticism primarily as an insulated phenomenon born out of a few European countries—as has generally been the case—this edition seeks to offer transatlantic, transpacific, and even transnational Romanticisms. Taken as a whole, this special issue will stretch the bounds and time period of Romanticism, better reflecting the development of Romantic aesthetics and their manifestations and subversions across the globe.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
  • Revisionary analyses that account for a global framework and decolonise texts, authors, and Romanticism as a field of study;
  • Romantic networks connecting authors and ideas across space and time;
  • Critical race theory and non-binary & genderqueer readings of underrepresented and canonical texts, art, music, performances, and oral traditions;
  • BIPOC and LGBTQIA2S+ authors and artists;
  • History of the book and transnational reception histories of underrepresented as well as canonical works of literature, specifically works that reached different parts of the globe by either book, newspaper, broadsides, handbills, and other print ephemera; and
  • Comparative analyses connecting authors using similar forms (e.g., ballad romance), genre (e.g., Gothic), or allusions (e.g., Paradise Lost) across nations and languages.

Successful proposals will suggest articles that enrich our understanding of Romanticism by expanding its literal and metaphorical borders. Abstracts are due by August 15, 2023 and should be no longer than 600 words in length. Essays that grow out of accepted abstracts will undergo peer review and are due by January 31, 2024. Please email submissions to Christopher Stampone (CStampone@SMU.edu). Papers will be published in a special issue of Romantic Textualities(Winter 2024), guest edited by Christopher Stampone and Joel Pace.



Note: The deadline for submissions has been extended to 9/15/23.



Last updated September 1, 2023

Saturday, September 2, 2023

Bain on ‘Frankenbitch[es]’: Adapting Frankenstein’s Female Monster in Literature and Film


Sorry to have missed this earlier. New scholarship on female Frankenstein monsters:



Bain, Gracie. “ ‘Frankenbitch[es]’: Adapting Frankenstein’s Female Monster in Literature and Film.” Literature/Film Quarterly, vol. 50, no. 4, Fall 2022, https://lfq.salisbury.edu/_issues/50_4/frankenbitches_adapting_frankensteins_female_monster_in_literature_and_film.html.

Sunday, August 27, 2023

Out Now - New Edition of The Frankenstein Legend


First published in 1973, The Frankenstein Legend: A Tribute to Mary Shelley and Boris Karloff, written by Donald F. Glut, has recently been re-issued in a second edition (published by Strange Particle Press in 2022). The work covers Shelley's novel and its adaptation on stage and screen (both film and television), for radio, in fiction, and as comics. 

Comprising over 400 pages, much of the content is repeated from the original edition, but Glur has included new and/or updated images to accompany the text. In addition, Glut adds a new illustrated afterword that provides updates to various sections of the text. 


I couldn't find a direct link for Strange Particle Press, but the book can be purchased from various online booksellers as print-on-demand and electronic versions. 


Friday, August 18, 2023

CFP Critical Insights on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: Or, The Modern Prometheus (8/9/2023)

Sorry to have missed this earlier. It should serve as a great companion to the publisher's volumes on Mary Shelley and Stoker's Dracula.



Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: Or, The Modern Prometheus UNDER CONTRACT


deadline for submissions:
August 9, 2023

full name / name of organization:
Critical Insights Series: Salem Press

contact email:
lauranicosia@gmail.com



DEADLINE FOR PROPOSALS: Monday, August 7, 2023



We seek submissions for a Critical Insights volume, under contract with Salem Press, on Mary (Wollenstonecraft) Shelley’s, Frankenstein: Or, The Modern Prometheus. Amidst rapid technological advancements, moral dilemmas, and ethical questions surrounding scientific progress, Shelley’s iconic 1818 novel, Frankenstein, still resonates in contemporary society. The novel continues to captivate readers with its timeless themes and cautionary lessons about scientific ambition and the consequences of playing God. The frame-tale novel, often overshadowed by subsequent film versions, is groundbreaking by giving a voice to the monster via its epistolary embedded-narrative form.



In today's world, where advancements like gene editing and human augmentation are becoming a reality, Shelley's novel urges us to reflect on the ethical boundaries humanity should set for itself and the potential consequences of crossing them. The novel also has compelled readers for over two centuries for its insight into the consideration of alienation and Otherness. Victor’s monster, as an outsider, brings to light the question of what is a human as he grapples with his own isolation, a concept humans increasingly identify with in the twenty-first century. The novel also remains pertinent for its environmental concerns, as ecological critics remind readers of the responsibility humans have toward the environment.



Submissions should be representative of current critical discourse about the novel and conceptually within reach of current students at the secondary and undergraduate levels. Essays that attempt to articulate the novel’s major themes and successes especially will be appreciated, as well as those that compare her work to other compelling writers.



Submissions should be tailored to one of the following categories:
  • A COMPREHENSIVE BIOGRAPHICAL essay (this essay is limited to 2500 words);
  • A CRITICAL RECEPTION essay that traces the reception of Shelley’s novel from publication to today (~5000 words);
  • CRITICAL LENS essays that offer a close reading of the novel from a particular critical standpoint (~5000 words);
  • COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS essays that analyze the work or author in the light of another work or author(~5000 words);
  • CRITICAL READING essays that focus on contemporary readings of a Shelley’s novel, with emphasis on ways readers (i.e. students in secondary and university settings) might be able to appreciate or problematize the text(s) with new eyes and current literary theories (~5000 words).



By August 7, please submit a 250-350-word abstract, a 75-word biographical statement (including your affiliation), and contact information to the acquiring editor, Dr. Laura Nicosia: lauranicosia@gmail.com.



Submissions of approximately 5000 words (inclusive of Works Cited) will need to be completed by November 13, 2023.



Honoraria will be awarded by the publisher to contributors after publication.



Last updated June 27, 2023
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Wednesday, August 9, 2023

CFP The Shelley Conference 2024: 'Posthumous Poems', Posthumous Collaborations (1/29/2024; London 6/28-29/2024)

The Shelley Conference 2024: 'Posthumous Poems', Posthumous Collaborations


deadline for submissions:
January 29, 2024

full name / name of organization:
The Shelley Conference

contact email:
shelleyconference@gmail.com



The Shelley Conference 2024


Posthumous Poems, Posthumous Collaborations

Keats House Museum, London, 28-29 June 2024



Two years after the death of Percy Bysshe Shelley in the summer of 1822, Mary Shelley, after a painstaking editorial process, published Posthumous Poems (1824). The volume contained much of Shelley’s major poetry, including the hitherto unpublished ‘Julian and Maddalo’, together with translations of Goethe and Calderón, and unfinished compositions such as ‘The Triumph of Life’ and ‘Charles the First’.



The Shelley Conference 2024 celebrates the first collected volume of Shelley’s poetry. Posthumous Poems is the product of collaborations. The most significant of these is between Mary Shelley as editor and Shelley as poet, but they also occur between Shelley and the guarantors of the volume, including Bryan Waller Procter (‘Barry Cornwall’) and Thomas Lovell Beddoes. The conference also addresses ideas of posterity and reception more generally in Shelley scholarship, the range of literary forms collected in a single volume, and the complex collaborative literary relationships that shaped Shelley’s life and endured after his death.



The conference will be held at Keats House Museum in Hampstead, London. Proposals should be in the form of 200-word abstracts for 15-minute papers. Please include a 100-word biography with your proposal.



Papers are invited on themes including, but not limited to:



● Posthumous Poems, its texts and history

● New readings of key poems and of Posthumous Poems as a collection

● Mary Shelley as editor

● Posterity and futurity as themes in Shelley’s work

● Texts in dialogue with Shelley’s work, particularly by those in his circle who survived him

● Shelley’s engagement with Europe and European literature

● The nature and limits of the collaborative process

● Shelley’s reception outside of Britain or in languages other than English

● Shelley and Byron

● Shelley and piracy



Deadline: Please email proposals in Word to shelleyconference@gmail.com by Monday 29 January 2024.



Bursaries: Several bursaries will be available for postgraduate and early-career researchers presenting papers. Please visit the conference website for details. To apply, please add ‘Bursary’ to your email subject.



Keynote Speaker: Dr Ross Wilson (Cambridge)

Plenary Speakers: Professor Nora Crook (Anglia Ruskin); Dr Bysshe Inigo Coffey (Oxford);

Dr Madeleine Callaghan (Sheffield)

Pre-Conference Lecture (27 June): Professor Mark Sandy (Durham)



Conference Website: theshelleyconference.com / facebook.com/shelleyconference / Twitter: @shelleyconf





Conference Organisers: Dr Amanda Blake Davis (Derby); Dr Andrew Lacey (Lancaster); Dr Merrilees Roberts (QMUL);

Dr Paul Stephens (Oxford). Postgraduate Helpers: Lydia Shaw (Durham); Keerthi Vasishta (Durham).



Advisory Board: Dr Will Bowers (QMUL), Dr Bysshe Inigo Coffey (Oxford); Dr Anna Mercer (Cardiff);

Dr Mathelinda Nabugodi (UCL); Professor Michael Rossington (Newcastle).




Last updated August 8, 2023

Tuesday, August 8, 2023

CFP They Live: Female Monsters and Their Impact on the Frankenstein Tradition (9/30/2023; NeMLA Boston 3/7-10/2024)

They Live: Female Monsters and Their Impact on the Frankenstein Tradition



Sponsored by the Monsters & the Monstrous Area of the Northeast Popular Culture Association

Organized by Michael A. Torregrossa


Call for Papers - Please Submit Proposals by 30 September 2023

55th Annual Convention of Northeast Modern Language Association

Sheraton Boston Hotel (Boston, MA)

On-site event: 7-10 March 2024


See the shared Google Doc for the full call with a list of bibliographic resources on the topic: https://tinyurl.com/They-Live-NeMLA-2024.


Session Information


In this session, we seek to engage with and to build upon the work of Erin Hawley in “The Bride and Her Afterlife: Female Frankenstein Monsters on Page and Screen” in order to develop a more complete picture of the roles of the Bride of Frankenstein and her analogues within the Frankenstein tradition.


In 2025, James Whale’s film Bride of Frankenstein will celebrate its 90th anniversary. This is an important milestone, but it has a larger impact beyond the world of film. In both Frankenstein (1931) and Bride of Frankenstein, Whale and make-up artist Jack Pierce gave life to two iconic figures of modern popular culture: the Monster (played by Boris Karloff) and the Bride (played by Elsa Lanchester).


The creation of the Bride was especially significant since in the source, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the mate of the creature is destroyed while still in progress. There is no meeting of Victor Frankenstein’s creations. In the film, however, the Bride is completed, brought to life, and briefly interacts with her intended. Unfortunately, the pair fail to connect, and, by the film’s end, the Bride is destroyed again.


Despite this, once having encountered her in the flesh through Lanchester’s portrayal, it was impossible for creative artists to let the Bride stay dead. For at least six of her almost nine decades, the Bride of Frankenstein has been revived time and again in a diverse variety of media, including artwork, cartoons, children’s books, comics, films, games, prose fiction, and television programs. Each new text offers an innovative contribution to the ongoing Frankenstein tradition through the ways the Bride and her analogues forge new narratives as they act with and react to other characters within the base story.


Submissions might explore


  • The ways the Bride of Frankenstein and her analogues transform the story through their roles as wives and mothers as they bring to fulfillment many of the hopes expressed by the creature in Shelley’s novel
  • The ways versions of female Frankensteins that take a darker turn bring about the bleaker visions Victor Frankenstein has for his creation(s)
  • How the existence of female Frankensteins (even when absent) reshapes many of their male counterparts by moving them from menaces to husbands and fathers


See the shared Google Doc for the full call with a list of bibliographic resources on the topic: https://tinyurl.com/They-Live-NeMLA-2024. Further resources about the Frankenstein tradition can be found at our website Frankenstein and the Fantastic at https://frankensteinandthefantastic.blogspot.com/. Do connect with any ideas for additional references and/or resources.


Thank you for your interest in our session. Please address questions and/or concerns to the organizers at popular.preternaturaliana@gmail.com.


For more information on the Monsters & the Monstrous Area of the Northeast Popular Culture Association, please visit our website at https://popularpreternaturaliana.blogspot.com/.



Submission Information


All proposals must be submitted into the CFPList system at https://cfplist.com/nemla/Home/S/20362 by 30 September 2023. You will be prompted to create an account with NeMLA (if you do not already have one) and, then, to complete sections on Title, Abstract, and Media Needs.


Notification on the fate of your submission will be made prior to 16 October 2023. If favorable, please confirm your participation with chairs by accepting their invitations and by registering for the event. The deadline for Registration/Membership is 9 December 2023.


Be advised of the following policies of the Convention: All participants must be members of NeMLA for the year of the conference. Participants may present on up to two sessions of different types (panels/seminars are considered of the same type). Submitters to the CFP site cannot upload the same abstract twice.(See the NeMLA Presenter Policies page, at https://www.buffalo.edu/nemla/convention/policies.html, for further details,)


Thank you for your interest in our session. Please address questions and/or concerns to the organizers at popular.preternaturaliana@gmail.com.


Sunday, April 30, 2023

CFP British Romanticism in 1823 (5/31/2023; PAMLA Portland 10/26-29/2023)


British Romanticism in 1823


deadline for submissions:
May 31, 2023

full name / name of organization:
L. Adam Mekler/PAMLA

contact email:
adam.mekler@morgan.edu

source: https://call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/cfp/2023/03/03/british-romanticism-in-1823



PAMLA 2023: October 26-29, 2023
Portland, Oregon

This panel invites paper that explore the decades of the 1820s, focusing especially on the year 1823, with regards to the shifting perspectives both on and of the writers of the Romantic period. The greatest works of William Wordsworth and Samuel Coleridge, and all of the novels of Jane Austen, had been published years, if not decades earlier, while John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Lord Byron, and William Blake would all die by the end of the decade. Nevertheless, 1823 saw the publication of several notable works, including the second edition of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; Shelley’ second novel, Valperga; William Hazlitt’s important essay “My First Acquaintance with Poets;” Charles Lamb’s Essays of Elia; and Cantos VI-XIV of Lord Byron’s masterpiece, Don Juan. While the more canonical writers of the period offer substantial material to consider, discussions of lesser-known writers or texts of the period are also certainly encouraged.

Please submit your 250-word abstract by May 31 through the PAMLA portal: https://pamla.ballastacademic.com/




Last updated March 7, 2023