CFP (Call for contributions) for Romancing the Gothic’s 2022 programme

Romancing the Gothic will continue in 2022 with some changes. We will be changing from 8 talks a month to 4. Each month will have a broad theme. We will also have 4 Days of Creation in the year rather than one a month. All the talks will continue to be held online and run twice on the same day.

We are looking for contributors, both for creative workshops and for talks/classes. Days of Creation (a collection of creative showcases and workshops) are not themed and we welcome any applications including: writing workshops, author showcases, craft workshops, film showings, film-making workshops, Fashion session, Gothic Make-up (or sfx) or anything creative!

For the talks, each month will have a theme. When you send in a cfp, you should state which months you are applying for (one talk may be suitable for various themes). You should pitch this as a lecture for an open audience which will include both specialists and non-specialists. As always, we are particularly interested in papers with queer and decolonial perspectives.

January	19th Century Gothic This includes investigations of anything connected to Gothic, horror or supernatural themes (both in literature in life).
February	Folklore We welcome any explorations of folklore from any period. We are particularly interested in traditions from a range of countries beyond England.
March	Death We welcome classes which focus on any aspect of death, its representation, philosophies of death or death practices. We welcome papers which focus on film, dramatic, pictoral or literary depictions but also would like to include papers on specific death practices and beliefs. This category also includes discussions of creatures specifically linked to death e.g. Banshees
April	Early Gothic (18th and early 19th century or pre-Gothic materials) We welcome papers related to anything Gothic, horror, supernatural or folkloric from this period.
May	Art and Architecture This month, we are looking for classes which discuss Gothic (revival) architecture, the use of the architecture in Gothic texts or specific case-studies. We are also interested in explorations of art’s overlap with the Gothic and horror, from the pre-raphaelites and the dead maiden to conceptual horror art to Illustration studies.
June	Haunted Locales This month, we want to focus on locales. Talks are welcomed on specific places (from specific houses to towns or areas). We particularly welcome contributions from tour guides. We also welcome talks which discuss more broadly other haunted locales or the treatment of specific types of place or real-world locations in film, literature and music.
July	20th Century Gothic In July, we welcome papers that look at any aspect of Gothic or Horror (or adjacent fields, including, for example, detective fiction, noirs or pulp fiction) in the 20th century.
August	Poetry and Music In August, we are looking for papers which explore various aspects of the Gothic’s relation to music and poetry. We welcome papers which interpret the ‘Gothic’ loosely to include overlaps with horror, the supernatural and dark tales. Classes on folk music, subgenres of Gothic music and an overview of the history of Gothic poetry are particularly welcome.
September	Queer Gothic Although we expect a range of papers exploring queer texts and perspectives, this month is also set aside for classes exploring the queer Gothic, horror and romance specifically. Papers are welcomed on any era, from queer readings to reflections on queer texts or explorations of queer horror communities etc. Queer here is used inclusively and we particularly welcome work which looks at under-represented or doubly marginalised communities. Transfeminine, asexual and bisexual readings and text are particularly encouraged.
October	21st Century Horror and Gothic We are looking for papers which explore contemporary manifestations of the Gothic and Horror in a range of mediums. We welcome classes on anything from music to fashion to film to television to literature to sub-cultures and more!
November	Games, Graphic Novels, Podcasts and FanFic This month, we are particularly interested in less-studied forms of Gothic media. We welcome papers which explore Gothic and Horror games (any form of ‘game’ is welcome from video-games to board games to LARPing), graphic novels, visual novels, horror podcasts and fanfic interventions in horror communities.
December	Love and Horror This month, we want to explore my favourite of all things – romance! We are looking for classes on intersections of horror and the Gothic with romance or other forms of love stories (queer-platonic, for example). We particularly welcome explorations of queer Gothic romance, love in horror films and transgressive relationships in Gothic and Horror Fiction

To submit a proposal, please send an abstract outlining an overview of your proposed talk/class/workshop to sam@romancingthegothic.com. The abstract should be NO LONGER THAN 250 WORDS. Please also provide a very short biography and state whether you prefer a 2hr or a 1hr slot. State clearly which months you wished to be considered for. You can choose as many as your find applicable.

We welcome papers from those within and without academia. The deadline for cfps in March 31st 2022. Please note: Romancing the Gothic accepts papers on a ‘first-come, first-served’ basis meaning that if you wait until March 31st, there may be no spaces left.

There is a small honorarium for participation.