The 2023 conference for the Association for the Study of Literature and Environment, UK and Ireland (ASLE-UKI) will be hosted by the Literature and Science Hub at the University of Liverpool. ASLE-UKI welcomes participation from scholars, readers, and creative practitioners interested in the relationships between literatures, environments and cultures – past, present, or future from anywhere in the world.

The theme of the 2023 conference is “Transitions“. At a moment of linked geopolitical and environmental emergencies, the sense of existing in a moment of transition is increasingly pervasive. But even if a transition is inevitable, its nature is not. Transition to where? How? For whom? What sorts of futures are possible or even imaginable against the negativity of apocalypticism or the ecocidal business-as-usual of capitalist realism? What can be learned from past articulations of cultures and ecosystems undergoing radical change – either voluntarily or through violence? What can traditional indigenous knowledges or transcultural stories of metamorphosis teach us about the possibility of reconfiguring self or environment?

Paper Submission

In addition to relatively traditional academic formats we wish to encourage experimental modes of presentation including creative proposals. Possible formats include:

• individual scholarly or creative-critical papers of 20 minutes
• preformed panels comprising three or four papers/dialogues/conversations/performances
• round table discussion panels with three to five participants

Please submit proposals via the following links. Include contact details, brief bios, and an abstract of up to 300 words by 1st June 2023.

• Submit a proposal for paper
• Submit a proposal for a preformed panel
• Submit a proposal for a round table

Please note that there will only be a limited number of digital papers accepted. If you are only able to present online for whatever reason and want us to consider your proposal only for remote presentation then please make this clear in the “Other Information” box on the proposal form.Other Information

The ASLE-UKI conference is the major in-person event for ecocriticism in the UK. However, we are able to facilitate hybrid attendance and presentation.

Registration will open by 1st July 2023. 

• Full Delegate Rate: £150.00
• Concessionary Rate (PhD students, unwaged/low waged): £95.00
• Earlybird Full Delegate Rate (July 14th): £130
• Earlybird Concessionary Rate (July 14th): £75.00
• Online Only Full Delegate Rate (Hybrid attendance for 4 days): £35
• Online Only Concessionary Rate (Hybrid attendance for 4 days): Pay What You Can (Donation to ASLE-UKI)

All delegates must be members of ASLE-UKI or an ASLE affiliate association. Membership information can be found at https://asle.org.uk/membership/.

The ASLE-UKI conference has developed a reputation for outings, walks, and field trips that explore local environments and environmental issues. Trips at this conference may include The Liverpool Docks, Crosby Beach, a visit to Ness Botanic Gardens, and a creative writing workshop at Sefton Park’s Palm House. There will be wine receptions and a vegetarian conference dinner. More information about events and outings will be published on the conference website early in 2023.

For further information, please contact us at asleuki2023@gmail.com.

Twitter hashtag: #ASLEUKI2023