This year’s Romancing the Gothic conference celebrates the ‘birth’ of Carmilla, one of the most enduring vampiric figures, re-written an re-imagined over the years in fiction, film, web-series, podcasts, animated series and RPGs. This conference focuses on and celebrates Carmilla and its legacy, particularly the sapphic reclamation and queer celebration of its main character.
This conference will take place on-line on 3rd September and welcomes creative and critical papers on a range of topics connected to Carmilla, including:
Sheridan Le Fanu and his wider writings and legacy
The history of the (female) vampire
The queer Gothic and horror
Adaptations and reiminagings of Carmilla
Gothic reimaginings
Gothic explorations of love and desire
The sapphic vampire
The sapphic Gothic
Queering the vampire
Sexuality in Victorian literature
Queer desire and transgression
Queering the supernatural
The Gothic and romance
As usual with a Romancing the Gothic conference, there will be extra events including author roundtables, workshops and a social event. Keep your eye peeled for news.
We are accepting panel and individual paper proposals. There are two types of paper
10 minute ‘Lightning talk’ – This is a short talk to introduce a theme, or area of research or interest.
20 minute paper – This is a 20 minute paper on a topic of your choice. There are three talks to a panel, and you may submit an individual paper or panel proposal.
Please submit a 150-250 word abstract with short bio to sam@romancingthegothic.com by 01/06/2022 (1st June).
We welcome papers from both academics and non-academics with expertise of any type in the fields indicated above (critical, creative, professional, personal). For those who are unfamiliar with writing abstracts and academic conference applications, there will be a zoom tutorial to answer any questions on April 4th. Please email with a request for the link if you would like to join.
Romancing the Gothic 