CFP: Exploring the Multiverse: A Study of the Works of Michael Moorcock
  (Collection). Editor: Thomas Fortenberry.

Submissions are invited for a new collection of essays studying the
writings of British author Michael Moorcock. Moorcock has had a long
and amazingly successful career as both editor and author. Winner of
numerous awards (including the British Fantasy Award, World Fantasy
Award, and being shortlisted for the Whitbread [Mother London]), he is
most famous for having created a vast and fantastic multiverse of
interconnected realities centered around the concept of a recurrent
Eternal Champion.

This collection endeavors to explore that multiverse on many levels and
examine the many incarnations of the Eternal Champion. Moorcock, much
like Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert E. Howard, H. P. Lovecraft, and J. R.
R. Tolkien, has created unique worlds and memorable characters that
have become archetypal and influenced a generation of readers and
writers. For instance, there is an entire gaming universe and fiction
subgenre of fantasy based around his doomed albino prince Elric of
Melnibone and his giant, sentinent, magical, black rune-covered sword,
along with screenplays and films in development. And there are
numerous other characters and series with such impact in the fantasy,
gaming, musical, and fan worlds. However, Moorcock's fiction and its
widespread impact have yet to be the subject of a major critical study,
which this collection hopes to rectify. With over 50 novels, including
dozens of series and recurrent characters, plus his hundreds of
imitators in the fantasy genre, there is ample ground to explore.

Possible topics (though certainly not all inclusive):

The Multiverse

The Eternal Champion

The Eternal City

Reincarnation/ Immortality

Transdimensional Existence / Alternate Realities

Doppleganger

Magic/ Elementals

Good and Evil

War and Peace

Balance, Chaos, and Order

Gods, Devils, Demons / Deals and pacts with demigods

The Antihero

The Doomed Prince / Kinslayer / Destroyer

The Swordsman, the Archer

The Possessed Sword, Eye, Hand, etc.

The Journey

The Companion

The Lover

The Villian / Betrayer / Evil Kinsman

The Romance of the Rose

The Grail / Grail Quest

Influence of Medieval, Biblical, and Ancient Epic Literature in Moorcock

Influence of Moorcock on modern fiction, music, film

War and Peace

Airships/ Steamboats

Time Travel /End of Time / Timelessness

Baroque Europe

Nazi Germany

Literary London

Imaginary American South

There is no deadline for submissions. Abstracts and full essays
welcomed by interested scholars, writers, and critics in all areas.
Work should be of serious depth yet relatively jargon free for all
readers. Because of the immense amount of topics, essays should be 10
pages or less due to space restrictions. Please include a cover letter
explaining your proposed topic, with CV and bibliography included.
Within a few months I will begin assigning topics, characters, and
series, on a relatively first come, first serve basis. Be explicit if
you are requesting a specific area for study.

Note: Many thanks to the numerous professors and writers who have
already contacted me. The diversity of work has been tremendous and I
am very heartened by the great interest in this project. We have about
ten contributors locked, publishers interested, and are searching for
more contributors to round out the book. I am especially interested in
having someone explore Medieval and ancient literary and mythic
allusions, influences, adaptations, and touchstones in Moorcock's
works. His writings are replete with them and this is a deep and rich
mine. Also, for the diversity, I'd welcome authors' personal comments
or studies of Moorcock's impact on other contemporary authors.

Submissions should be .RTF attachments or snailmail documents.

Fianlly, I apologize for the massive computer crash last winter.
Nothing is as fun as vanishing into a void. All existing contributors
and interested parties should contact me for updated information,
timetable, and dialogue concerning this project.

Thomas Fortenberry
  e: kurvanas_at_thomasfortenberry.net

Address:
  Multiverse Project
  6011-F Delta Crossing Lane
  Charlotte, NC 28212 USA

         ==========================================================
              From the Literary Calls for Papers Mailing List
                        CFP_at_english.upenn.edu
                         Full Information at
                     http://cfp.english.upenn.edu
         or write Jennifer Higginbotham: higginbj_at_english.upenn.edu
         ==========================================================
Received on Thu Jun 23 2005 - 16:35:06 EDT