The ICFA welcomes papers on any aspect of the fantastic – including fantasy, science fiction, weird fiction, horror, gothic, and fairy tales.
37th International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts: Wonder Tales
March 16-20, 2016
Marriott Orlando Airport Hotel
Please join us for ICFA 37, March 16-20, 2016, when our theme will be “Wonder Tales.” Folklorists often use this term to refer to the stories commonly known as “fairy tales” due to the genre’s emphasis on the marvelous and its invocation of wonder, but what is wonder and where can it be found? Many events, characters, or objects generate a response of wonder— transformations and resurrections — but wonder also may be generated in technological advances and from the “sense of wonder” in science fiction. Papers might explore wonder tales and their modern incarnations, readers’ responses of wonder to fantastic texts, uses of wonder within fantastic texts, how wonder is invoked across media and genres, and the relationship between wondering (marveling) and wondering (questioning). We welcome papers on the work of our guests: Guest of Honor Terri Windling, Guest of Honor Holly Black, and Guest Scholar Cristina Bacchilega. We also welcome proposals for individual papers and for academic sessions and panels on any aspect of the fantastic in any media. The deadline for proposals is October 31, 2015. We encourage work from institutionally affiliated scholars, independent scholars, international scholars who work in languages other than English, and graduate students.
The Visual & Performing Arts and Audiences (VPAA) Division accepts papers on
· visual arts such as comic books, paintings, architecture, sculpture, photographs and illustrations;
· the performing arts, including (film, TV, game, pop/rock) music, dance and theater;
· games, including fanfic, fan artwork and cosplay;
· transformative texts, both fan and professional, including mashups and viral marketing;
· and audience/reception studies concerning audiences for any medium or genre of the fantastic.
The VPAA Division Head is Isabella van Elferen. Queries can be sent to I.vanElferen@Kingston.ac.uk or I.A.M.vanElferen@gmail.com. Further contact information can be found below.
The submissions portal will open soon to receive proposals: http://www.fantastic-arts.org/annual-conference/submissions/. The deadline for submitting proposals is October 31.
