Supported By
Conference
The Stirling Centre for International Publishing and Communication, in collaboration with Queen Margaret University (Edinburgh), the University of Dundee, and Bookfestival Scotland announces the conference ‘Book Cultures, Book Events’, to be held at the University of Stirling on Friday 23 and Saturday 24 March 2012.
Plenary speakers include: Dr Danielle Fuller (University of Birmingham), Peggy Hughes (Edinburgh City of Literature), Paula Morris (University of Stirling) and Miha Kovac (University of Ljubljana).
Conference registration open – accommodation information available – see foot of this page.
Schedule now available: Schedule with speakers 18 March 2012
TRAVEL NOTES affecting conference
British Summer Time
Please note that British Summer Time starts on Sunday 25 March, from 1.00 am. Clocks go forward, so you lose an hour. If you are travelling on Sunday, please bear
this in mind!
Trains – Engineering Works Sunday 25 March
Due to engineering works, Sunday 25 March sees a limited service between Edinburgh and Glasgow, with a replacement bus service covering Linlithgow, Polmont, Falkirk High and Falkirk Grahamston. Limited service from Edinburgh to Stirling with a replacement bus service covering Linlithgow, Polmont, Falkirk High and Falkirk Grahamston. Please adjust your journey times accordingly. See
ww.scotrail.co.uk for details, or telephone 08457 484950.
Call for Papers:
A significant development in the environment of literature and the book at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries has been the growth of literary festivals and book towns. As part of the literary marketing mix, book festivals and towns offer publishers the opportunity to promote their authors and sell their products. Such locations also provide physical and sociological spaces in which readers encounter writers and literature, and become book consumers. Book festivals and towns have clear links to regional economies, and are heavily used in the promotion of tourist destinations, as testified by the strategic partnerships and sponsorship arrangements with a variety of agencies. As part of this process, concepts of cultural identity are forged and commodified, conjoining literature to cultural heritage, the creative industries and political ideology. In the era of new media and digital delivery, the opportunity to meet authors and fellow readers face-to-face, to buy books and other merchandise, and to align a liking for literature with travel and tourism, is being taken up by hundreds of thousands of readers every year. Literary festivals and towns, while heavily promoted by digital marketing activities, afford physical meeting spaces for authors, books, readers and ideas.
To explore these events and environments, the Book Cultures, Book Events conference will bring together academic and student researchers from different disciplines with practitioners and stakeholders, to share their contemporary perspectives and historical precedents. Suggested topics include, but are not limited to:
• literature as live event
• analyses of contemporary or historical book events, festivals, conferences and environments (including bookshop spaces)
• the role of live events in the digital age
• author/reader interactions at live events
• literary travel, tourism and heritage
• literary commerce and merchandising
• book events and other media/cultural forms
• partnerships and sponsorship
• constructions of cultural identity via literature events
• literature in the context of cultural heritage, the creative industries, and political ideology
Proposals for papers of 20 minutes are invited (see below).
This conference is supported by the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and as such registration costs for the conference will be minimal.
The conference is part of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Research Workshop Book Events: The Transnational Culture, Commerce and Social Impact of Literary Festivals, organised in association with the Stirling Centre for International Publishing and Communication at the University of Stirling, Queen Margaret University, the University of Dundee, and Bookfestival Scotland.
Abstracts
Send abstracts (300-400 words, plus 100-150 word biography) or enquiries to book.cultures@stir.ac.uk.
Registration
To register, download and complete the form at the link below.
To register by snail mail, please print out and complete the form by hand, and post to the address shown on the form. To register online, please key in your details (it is not necessary to type directly in the boxes on the form; on the line below will be fine) and email the form as indicated.
Registration form: Book Cultures Registration form
Accommodation and Travel
We have negotiated a special rate of £50 single plus breakfast/£99 double plus breakfast, per night, at Stirling Management Centre, very close to the conference venue. To use the conference discount, please quote reference 75990 when booking your room. Please note rooms are subject to availability – book now!
Book your room at http://www.smc.stir.ac.uk/
Accommodation also available at nearby Royal Hotel and Royal Ivy www.royal-stirling.co.uk : £55 single/£80 double B&B. Telephone 01786 832284 or e-mail fiona@halohotels.co.uk quoting ‘Book Cultures’.
The conference is held in the macrobert arts centre (Friday 23rd) and the Iris Murdoch Centre (Saturday 24th). For travel information and campus maps please see http://www.stir.ac.uk/undergraduate-study/visit-the-campus/getting-here/
Further information about Stirling: