CFP: Children's Literature Association (India) (12/10/06; 3/26/07-3/28/07)

full name / name of organization: 
Anto Thomas
contact email: 

“The Child and the Fantastic: Readings in
children’s fantasy literature”
Children's Literature Association - India (CLAI) first
international conference will be held from March 26,
2007 to March 28, 2007 at Trichur Towers Hotel,
Thrissur, Kerala, Southern India.

Fantasy stories have fascinated the child audience
perennially. They are always enchanted to the alluring
world of British writers like Lewis Carol’s
Alice in Wonderland, The Wind in the Willows of
Kenneth Grahame, C. S. Lewis’ “Narnia
Series”, “The Oz novels” of the
American writer Frank L Baum or to P. L Travers the
Australian writer who has immortalized Mary Poppins.
Fantasies top the best sellers list in the
contemporary children’s book market all over the
world: Harry Potter Series (UK), Lemony Snicket Series
and Eragon Series (USA), the works of the German
author Cornelia Funke, Margaret Mahy from New Zealand,
John Hanagan the Australian children’s writer of
fantasy fiction, etc. Of late children’s authors
from India too are faring well with their fantasy
fiction. We have Chatura Rao with her Amie and the
Chawl of Colour, Suniti Namjoshi with the Aditi
Series, and Vandana Singh’s Young Uncle Comes to
Town, which has invigorated the US reading world
recently.
The examples are limited to the writings in English.
Each country will have their fantasy stories to share.
What’s your story?
The first international Children’s Literature
Association – India conference intends to
provide a platform for scholars interested in
children’s literature from all over the world to
come together to share their fantastic experiences of
reading.
The keynote address will be by Alida Allison,
Professor, Children’s Literature Program,
National Center for the Study of Children’s
Literature, San Diego State University, USA.
The exclusive item of the fantastic entertainment in
the conference will be a performance of Alice in
Wonderland transformed to the Kathakali art form.
Some thoughts include,
* Why do children love fantasy fiction so much?
* Does fantasy literature for children culturally
differ?
* Lewis Carol was a professor of math. Vandana Singh
is a teacher of science in a college in
Massachusetts. Why do some persons with an essential
scientific bend of mind tend to write fantasy fiction,
that too for children?
* Does a fantasy get transformed when it is
translated to another culture?

In order to facilitate a broad spectrum of topics for
our deliberations papers can include but not limited
to studies on,
- theorizing fantasy literature for children
- literary theory and children’s fantasies
- high fantasy fiction for children
- science fiction for children
- fantastic picture books
- children’s fantasy films, etc.

Proposals for Paper presentations, panels or posters
can be emailed to antoct_at_yahoo.co.in before December
10, 2006.

Kindly follow the submission requirements stated
below:
1) Proposals should be of maximum 500-word limit.
2) Every electronic submission should also include :
a) Name
b) Institutional affiliation, if any
c) Complete mailing address with zip code, phone
number and email id
d) A-V requirements if any

3) Kindly give to the email submissions “CLAI
Conference” as the subject

4) Selected participants will receive their
communication before December 30, 2006.

The venue of the conference will be standard hotel in
Thrissur, Kerala.
CLAI cannot fund travel or participant costs. All
presentations of papers must be made in English.
Participants will have to be invited members of CLAI
and pay the conference fee. Hotel accommodations can
be arranged as per request. Conference registration
material and the mode of payment of the fee and the
details regarding the hotel tariff and details
regarding the accommodation will be intimated to the
selected participants later.
CLAI offers different types of fee structure:
1) To scholars from India, other parts of Asia, from
African continent and the South American countries the
conference fee and invitation member fee include Rs.
900/
2) To all other international scholars the afore said
fee is $ 50/ (Fifty US dollars)
3) To students from the countries mentioned in
category 1) the fee is Rs. 500/
4) To other international students it is & 25/
(Twenty-five USD)

Anto Thomas Chakramakkil
Senior Lecturer
Department of English
St. Thomas College, Trichur, Kerala, India.

         ==========================================================
              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 Sun Nov 12 2006 - 23:15:19 EST