Proposals are invited for 15 minute presentations on the session theme of magic and reading. That works of literature often thematically engage the powers of language is no surprise, given the fact that writers weave both persons and worlds from words. In many works of literature, however, reading and books seem to facilitate or release supernatural power: magical languages eliminate the gap between representation and reality; labyrinthine libraries deliver a book meant only for one special reader; reading aloud from a book opens doorways to new realities or ushers creatures from the world of words into the reader's reality. Though this call has been designed with children's and young adult literature in mind, the session chair also welcomes proposals that address the theme in works written for adult readers.

Please submit a 250-500 word abstract and brief bio by Sept. 30, 2014 through the NeMLA submission website: https://nemla.org/convention/2015/cfp.html#cfp15118. For queries, contact Tanya Radford at tanyaradford@dc.edu.