fan studies and fandom

“Fantastika” – a term appropriated from a range of Slavonic languages by John Clute – embraces the genres of fantasy, science fiction, and horror, but can also include alternative histories, gothic, steampunk, young adult dystopian fiction, or any other radically imaginative narrative space. The goal of Fantastika Journal is to bring together academics and researchers who share an interest in this diverse range of fields with the aim of opening up new dialogues, productive controversies and collaborations. We invite discussion of all mediums and disciplines which concern the Fantastika genres.

Looking for paper proposals on any topic relating to Asian Literature. Papers relating in particular to the conference theme of “Archives, Libraries, Properties” are especially welcome.

 To submit a paper proposal for this session, or one of the many other approved PAMLA sessions, please go to: http://www.pamla.org/2016/topic-areas

Proposals are due by Friday, June 10.

The PAMLA conference 2016 will be held over the 11-13 November 2016 weekend at the Westin Pasadena, CA.

Rolling CFP: The Phoenix Papers

The Fandom and Neomedia Studies (FANS) Association is pleased to announce a rolling CFP for our open access, peer-reviewed journal of fandom and neomedia studies. The projected publication date for our next edition is January 2017. Items submitted after 1 December 2016 will be considered for inclusion in the next journal edition in July 2017.

Fandom for us includes all aspects of being a fan, ranging from being a passive audience member to producing one’s own parafictive or interfictive creations. Neomedia includes both new media as it is customarily defined as well as new ways of using and conceptualizing traditional media.

We are pleased to announce our next essay-writing competition. The award is open to all post-graduate research students and to all early career researchers (up to five years after the completion of your PhD) who have yet to find a full-time or tenured position. The prize is guaranteed publication in the next summer issue of Foundation (August 2017).

To be considered for the competition, please submit a 6000 word article on any topic, period, theme, author, film or other media within the field of science fiction and its academic study. All submitted articles should comply with the guidelines to contributors as set out on the SF Foundation website. Only one article per contributor is allowed to be submitted.

With five books and approximately eight million words published thus far in the Song of Ice and Fire series (1996-ongoing) and the sixth season of HBO's Game of Thrones currently airing, we are seeing the beginnings of a school of criticism devoted to George R.R. Martin’s works and their peculiar brand of deconstructive and in many ways postmodern interpretations of the fantasy genre and medievalism. Often positioned as the grittier antithesis of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-Earth, Martin's narrative focuses on the darker side of chivalry and heroism, stripping away these higher ideals to reveal the greed, amorality, and lust for power underpinning them.