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Call for Papers (Extended): Shirley Jackson

Proposed Collection: Beyond “The Lottery”: Critical Approaches to Shirley Jackson

Editor: Matthew B. Prickett, Longwood University

Deadline: October 30, 2009

Beyond “The Lottery” will be a peer-reviewed collection of critical materials examining the life and works of American author Shirley Jackson. The collection will be an opportunity for scholars to draw attention to lesser-known works of Jackson’s, and expand on current scholarship in regards to more widely-known works. Ultimately, the collection will provide the author, and her works, with the critical attention that she has been denied until recently.

With The Extension I am looking for a few specific types of essays:

-Jackson’s importance to 1940s/1950s literature

-Jackson in the academy

-Theoretical approaches to Jackson’s work (namely a discussion as to how to proceed with Jackson)

-The future of Shirley Jackson and her works

-A focus on Jackson’s writings for children (which have not been discussed)

-More essays incorporating Jackson’s lesser-known short stories (specifically what has been published in Just An Ordinary Day)

Other possible topics include, but are not limited to:

-The past place, present status and future importance of Jackson’s works in American Literature
-Jackson’s work and (de)construction of gender and gender politics.
-Jackson’s place in the canon of domestic fiction
-Jackson as a feminist writer
-Representations of The Child in Jackson's fiction and non-fiction
-Jackson’s influence on contemporary writers such as Joyce Carol Oates, Stephen King, and Neil Gaiman
-Cinematic, theatrical and television adaptations of Jacksons' works
-Jackson's place in the Gothic and/or supernatural tradition
-“The Lottery” in popular culture.
-Jackson’s place in the evolution of horror literature
-Jackson as author and icon
-The Haunting of Hill House and the canon of ghost fiction
-Female friendship in Jackson as both homosocial and possibly homoerotic/queer
-Jackson and public controversy / censorship
-Critical attention to currently out-of-print novels such as Hangsaman, The Road Through the Wall, and The Bird’s Nest

Proposals should be at least 2 pages in length. Please send proposals and CVs for this collection electronically as Microsoft Word attachments to Matthew B. Prickett at prickettmb@longwood.edu.

The author’s name, email and postal address should appear in the message that accompanies the submission.