bibliography and history of the book

52nd Northeast Modern Language Association Convention

March 11-14, 2020, Philadelphia

This panel explores how strategies for reading the Bible shaped literary output during the 16th and 17th centuries. Recent criticism in the field of book history details the reading practices that evolved in response to the Reformation’s call for direct engagement with vernacular scripture. This panel aims to bring fresh thinking in the history of the book into conversation with the perennial topic of the Bible in and as literature, offering new insight into how biblical reading became literary production in this period.

CFA: Applications due September 8 for BSA's 2021 New Scholars Program; info session June 26

The Bibliographical Society of America’s New Scholars Program seeks to promote the work of scholars who are new to the field of bibliography, broadly defined to include any research that deals with the creation, production, publication, distribution, reception, transmission, and subsequent history of all textual artifacts (manuscript, print, digital, from clay and stone to laptops and iPads). 

One immediate side-effect of the current ominous economic climate and general uncertainty of our times has been a downturn in traditional publishing. Even before the COVID-19 crisis, consolidation of publishing houses, the closure of brick-and-mortar bookshops, and the supremacy of Amazon had begun to permanently alter the way creative writing is published. At the same time, creative content on the internet has never been so abundant, with poetry, film, and fiction being shared and streamed in ways that create a flourishing if generally nonremunerative cultural climate. This panel looks at options available to creative writers in the wake of the decline of traditional publishing options.

Resources for American Literary Study, the leading journal of archival and bibliographical scholarship in American literature, is inviting submissions for upcoming issues. Covering all periods of American literature, RALS welcomes both traditional and digital approaches to archival and bibliographical analysis. 

Founded in 1971, RALS remains the only major scholarly periodical of its kind. Each issue includes, in addition to archival and bibliographical research, related book reviews and a unique “Prospects” essay that identifies new directions in the study of major authors. Our editorial board consists of leading scholars from an array of fields and subfields in American literary study.

CFP — NeMLA 2021 (March 11-14, Philadelphia)