CFP – 2015 IRSCL Congress: Creating Childhoods

The 22nd Biennial Congress of IRSCL will be held by the International Forum for Research in Children’s Literature, Institute of Humanities & Creative Arts, at the University of Worcester, UK, 8-12 August 2015.

Creating Childhoods
Convenor: Professor Jean Webb

Congress Themes:

Writers, artists, and academics variously create, interpret, and re-create notions of childhood. Within the academy, the field of children’s literature is increasingly inter- and multi-disciplinary. The theme of this Congress, together with the associated sub-themes listed below, is intended to enable exploration, interrogation, and analysis of children’s literature text(s) in the widest interpretation, and international childhoods. The conference will be organized thematically, although we also encourage cross-over papers that integrate more than one theme.

Themes:

  • The (human) body, child health, and well-being
  • Creating childhoods through narrative, drama, poetry, illustration, film, and other media
  • The child in myth and folklore
  • The child in history and historical discourses

How to apply:

Papers will be 20 minutes maximum. You may combine themes (e.g. illustration and history). All the seminar rooms where the papers will be given are fully equipped with AVA facilities, Powerpoint, Internet, etc.

Please send an abstract of 250 – 500 words maximum clearly stating:

  • The theme(s) you are working under as listed above
  • An outline of your paper clearly stating the line of argument
  • Your name
  • Email address
  • Your institution
  • A short biography of 50-100 words giving your name: institutional affiliation: one or two publications
  • Suggestions for panels of 3-4 papers are also welcomed
  • Whether you would be willing to Chair a session

Please include the primary theme you are submitting under in your message heading as follows e.g.: IRSCL2015 your name Illustration and History.

Submit your responses to: IRSCL2015@worc.ac.uk

Submission date by December 1, 2014

2014-15 David Almond Fellowships Call for Applications

DAVID ALMOND FELLOWSHIPS FOR RESEARCH IN CHILDREN’S LITERATURE 2014-5

Newcastle University’s School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics and Seven Stories, National Centre for Children’s Books are pleased to announce that the application process for 2014-5 David Almond Fellowships is now open.

Further particulars

The awards recognise both David Almond’s contribution to children’s literature and his connections with these partner institutions: he is a patron of Seven Stories and an honorary graduate of Newcastle University.

The Fellowships aim to promote high-quality research in the Seven Stories collections that will call attention to their breadth and scholarly potential. The two awards of £300 each are to facilitate a research visit to the Seven Stories collections in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK of at least three days by a bona fide researcher working on a relevant project. Applications will be considered from candidates in any academic discipline. The successful applicants will have a clearly defined project that will benefit from having access to the Seven Stories collections (please see indicative information about the collections below). All applicants should consult the Seven Stories catalogue as part of preparing their applications: http://www.sevenstories.org.uk/collection/. A well-developed dissemination strategy will be an advantage. Priority will be given to the importance of the project and best use of the Seven Stories collections as judged by a senior member of the Children’s Literature Unit in the School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics at Newcastle University and a senior member of the Collections team at Seven Stories.

Eligibility for the award

Applicants must hold a first degree or higher from a recognised institution of higher education.

Note: non-EEA applicants are reminded that to take up a Fellowship they must hold an appropriate visa. Neither Newcastle University nor Seven Stories can help with this process. Please see the UK visas website for more information: http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/howtoapply

Responsibilities

Fellowships must be taken up before the end of April 2015. Recipients are expected to spend at least three days in Newcastle and are encouraged to time their visits to enable them to participate in events organised jointly or separately by the Children’s Literature Unit and Seven Stories. (Please note: successful applicants must contact Seven Stories and agree a date for the visit prior to making travel arrangements; normally a minimum of two weeks’ notice is required before any research visit.) Acknowledgement of the Fellowships must accompany all dissemination activities arising from the research.

The Seven Stories archives

Seven Stories is the only accredited museum specialising in children’s books in the UK. Its collections an support original research, particularly in documenting aspects of the creation, publication and reception of books for children from the 1930s to the present day. The steadily growing archive contains material from over 100 authors, illustrators, editors, and others involved in the children’s publishing industry in Britain.

The following are a few examples of particularly substantial collections and their research potential:

The Ursula Moray Williams archive spans the career of a prolific and highly regarded children’s author and documents her working relationships with illustrators and editors. Her collection offers a valuable opportunity for research into all aspects of the process of writing, editing and publishing books for children in the mid- to late-twentieth century.

The Leila Berg archive covers the broad and varied career of a writer and journalist who championed children’s rights and comprehensive education. Material relating to Berg’s published works for children offers a unique opportunity to study the creative output of one of the foremost proponents of realism in British children’s literature. In addition, Berg’s correspondence, articles, and notes are a hugely valuable resource for anyone interested in the study of children’s welfare and education in twentieth-century Britain.

The Geoffrey Trease archive comprises a substantial wealth of material charting the creative output of one of Britain’s most important children’s writers. The collection includes research material, notes and drafts relating to a significant number of Trease’s works for children. Material documenting Trease’s early career, as well as a selection of lectures and articles by Trease, gives a valuable account of the writer as a proponent of a more progressive and realist children’s literature.

The David Wood archive is currently the largest collection in terms of scale; it provides a broad and comprehensive reflection of the work of Britain’s foremost children’s playwright. The collection includes material relating to the vast majority of Wood’s plays and books, as well as notes, drafts, and correspondence relating to the production and publication of plays and books for children. It offers a highly unique opportunity for research into all aspects of children’s theatre and performing arts.

The Peter Dickinson archive is a broad and valuable record of the creative process of a prize-winning and highly renowned children’s author. In particular, the material documents in some detail the working relationship between author and editor. As Dickinson was successful in both Britain and America, the collection also provides a great deal of information on the publication of children’s books in both countries.

The Diana Wynne Jones archive contains a diversity of material documenting the life and career of one of Britain’s most highly regarded fantasy writers. The collection includes papers from Jones’ childhood, draft material for the majority of her works, personal and professional correspondence, and various other papers. It offers a unique opportunity for research into the children’s book industry and the creative formation of a writer.

More information can be found on the Collection pages of the Seven Stories website – http://www.sevenstories.org.uk/collection. All of the artwork and manuscript collections are fully catalogued, and the catalogues can be searched online via the link provided on the website. A list of many of the authors and illustrators represented in the collection can be found at: http://www.sevenstories.org.uk/collection/authors-and-illustrators

(Please bear in mind that this is not a complete list of the collections.)

Application process

Applicants are asked to submit the following items by 1 August, 2014.

  • an application form
  • a curriculum vitae
  • a brief proposal (of 1,000 words maximum)
  • one confidential letter of recommendation (sealed and signed; confidential letters may be included in your application packet or recommenders may send them directly)

Applications may be submitted by email or post.

Email: Kim.Reynolds@ncl.ac.uk

Post:David Almond Fellowships
School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics, Newcastle University
Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, United Kingdom

CFP – Special Issue of Jeunesse on Mobility

Jeunesse: Young People, Texts, Cultures invites essay submissions for a special issue addressing mobility in relation to youth texts and culture(s). We welcome essays that consider registers of race, class, gender, and disability. Essays should be between 6,000 and 9,000 words in length and prepared for blind peer-review.

Mobility invites us to think about bodies, identities, and agency from diverse disciplinary and methodological perspectives. Im/mobility can be many things: geographic, physical, ideological, imaginative, temporal, social. What are some of the ways that we might analyze this amorphous—in fact, mobile—topic in light of young people, their texts, and their cultures?

Submissions are requested by: 30 June 2015.

Topics may include:

  • Dancing children
  • Border crossings and home(land) security systems
  • Movement as performance/choreography
  • Narratives of upward/downward mobility
  • Transformations through mobility/mobilizing transformations
  • Mobile audiences and audiences of mobility
  • Movement as affect and affect as “being moved”
  • Planes, trains, and automobiles
  • Immigration and generations
  • Ability and impairment
  • Kinesthetics or kin-aesthetics
  • Mobilizing youth polities
  • Digital movement and mobile communication
  • Play and playgrounds
  • Containment and freedom of movement

Inquiries may be directed to Larissa Wodtke, Managing Editor: l.wodtke@uwinnipeg.ca

Further information about submission guidelines is available at: http://jeunessejournal.ca

Download PDF of CFP here.

2015 The Child and the Book Conference – Fractures and Disruptions

The Child and the Book Conference
Children’s Literature – Fractures and Disruptions
University of Aveiro (26-28 March 2015)
http://childbook2015.web.ua.pt

The Child and the Book Conference is an international conference, which offers graduate/post graduate scholars the opportunity to present papers on their current research in the interdisciplinary field of children’s literature. The Child and the Book Conference affords both a space for the review and sharing of knowledge about those areas of children’s literature studies currently being researched, and a meaningful forum for debate and collaboration between novice and experienced scholars. Importantly, the conference also seeks to bring together approaches to children’s literature from around the world.

The inaugural The Child and the Book Conference was held at Roehampton University, England, in 2004. Successive conferences were organised at the University of Antwerp, Belgium (2005); the University of Newcastle, England (2006); Boğaziçi University, Turkey (2007); Buffalo State College, USA (2008); Vancouver Island University, Canada (2009); Oslo University, Norway (2011); Cambdrige University, UK (2012); Padua University, Italy (2013); and the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece (2014).

The 11th Child and the Book Conference will be held in 2015 at the University of Aveiro, Portugal, and will discuss specific aspects related to the topic Children’s Literature – Fractures and Disruptions. Within the universe of fracturing themes, studies related to violence, war, sexuality or politics would be of relevance, with papers on the emergence and visibility of these subjects in modern and contemporary production, and in school selections. Fracture and disruption could also be seen as a question of genre, through the discussion of hybrid works which flagrantly abuse or misuse styles and techniques, violate unspoken rules or are considered in the vanguard of literary production. Thus, papers discussing moments or movements of rupture in the literary universe aimed at younger readers would be welcomed. Other approximations to the theme of congress will be valued with a view to receiving diversity in proposals and contributions for reflection and discussion, in particular in the fields of reception, education, translation, illustrator/author and publisher studies.

The following could be considered:

  1. Questions fracture and disruption which include war, terrorism; natural disasters; political issues; natural disasters; sex and sexuality; child abuse/child maltreatment, sexual offending, homelessness, orphanhood, poverty; imprisonment, abduction, banishment and exodus, refuge and exile, racism and sexism, alcoholism and drugs; paranormal experiences
  2. Hybrid and ‘pushing the frontier’ genres in literary writing and/or illustration, such as picturebooks, graphic novels or other challenging genres
  3. Vanguard literature and works of rupture – Avant-garde and new illustration; modernist picturebooks; surrealism for children; avant-garde and “gender trouble”; anti-authoritarian fantasies; avant-garde experiments today (e.g. interactive fiction, multimedia texts)
  4. Translating fracture and disruption in children’s literature – manipulation and purification of “unusualness” in fiction; translating aesthetic ruptures; culture-specific translations; reception and transfer case studies; educational approaches, publishing case studies
  5. Fracture, disrupture and crossover fiction
  6. Banned books in schools and libraries

It is hoped that a selection of the presented papers can be published with a view to accompanying the tradition of previous The Child and the Book Conference conferences.

Email: DE-child.book@ua.pt