hosted online on 15–16 January 2025, at 11 am (+2 GMT)

Anyone, then, who has tasted fairy fruit walks through life beside other people to a different tune from theirs.

Hope Mirrlees, Lud-in-the-Mist

Fantasy worlds are inhabited by beings that need sustenance. In these imaginary realms, food and drink not only nourish but also transform their consumers, while those who partake of them, in turn, alter their worlds through the magic of what they consume. Whether it is waybread from Middle-earth, fairy fruit that the river carries from Fairyland, or a mug of camra, food and drink serve as a tangible dialogue between the world and its inhabitants. The corresponding process of initiation and transformation involves both the one who consumes and the one who provides. Within the context of imaginary worlds and magic systems crafted by their authors, magic fare presents a spectrum of meanings. It engages corporeality, manifests in various forms of the sacred and the profane, problematises the act of consumption, and often presents cooking as an act of creation.

We invite you to discuss the gastronomic dimensions of fantasy fiction from the last hundred years. Potential discussion points include:

• Food and drink as part of worldbuilding.
• Familiar food in unfamiliar settings.  
• Imaginary food, dishes, cuisines, table manners, etc.
• Magic kitchen: space, agents, utensils, processes, and menus.
• Sacred food, sinful food, the food of redemption.
• The art of cooking and magic. The cook as a magician.
• Drinking in an imaginary world. Alcohol and its manifestations in fantasy.
• Consumption and intoxication.
• Bodily aspects revealed through a gastronomic perspective.
• Visualising food in fantasy literature: artistic goals, techniques, and challenges.

To submit a proposal, please fill in the form https://forms.gle/X47CeJcE4VEZQ4xu6 

Languages: English and Ukrainian

25-minute presentations will be followed by 5-minute discussions

Guest registration link https://forms.gle/FgLKB8chyfs8Lr3b8