Author: Ailsa Cox

Ailsa Cox is Professor Emerita of Short Fiction at Edge Hill University, UK. Her books include The Real Louise and Other Stories (Headland), Alice Munro (Northcote House) and Writing Short Stories (Routledge).
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Short Fiction in Theory & Practice 9.2 and call for papers.

Vol. 9.2. of the peer-reviewed journal Short Fiction in Theory and Practice is out now with articles on A.M. Homes, Thomas Harris, Lydia Davies, Samuel Beckett, Carson McCullers, Anton Chekhov and more. Plus Jonathan Crane reflects on realism in his own fiction. Robert M. Luscher on the American short story cycle, Felicity Skelton on Canadian fiction and Sarah Whitehead on Katherine Mansfield and Periodical Culture; and Ailsa Cox interviews Lucy Wood, the Cornish-based author of Diving Belles and The Sing  of the Shore.

We welcome submissions of articles, book reviews, interviews, reports and translations on any aspect of short-story writing.  For more information contact Ailsa Cox at coxa@edgehill.ac.uk.

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International Symposium: The American Short Story Old and New

International Symposium: The American Short Story: Old and New, October 15-17, 2020

Organized by the Department of American Studies, University of Innsbruck, Austria and  the Society for the Study of the American Short Story (SSASS) 

The American Short Story: Old and New
October 15-17, 2020

goldenesdachl 
Photo: Robin Peer
CONFERENCE DIRECTORS

Gudrun M. Grabher
University of Innsbruck / Austria

gudrun.m.grabher@uibk.ac.at

James Nagel
University of Georgia / USA
jnagel@uga.edu

The Department of American Studies at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, and the Society for the Study of the American Short Story (SSASS) invite proposals for papers and presentations at an international symposium to be held in Innsbruck, Austria, October 15-17, 2020. The venue is the Humanities Building of the University of Innsbruck at Innrain 52. Various hotels in Innsbruck within walking distance from the conference venue will offer special conference rates at around € 125,– for double rooms. Breakfast is included in the price. The conference fee is € 160, and it includes two lunches and two receptions. The deadline for submissions is June 15, 2020. All attendees must register for the conference by August 1, 2020. Please register online.


CONTRIBUTIONS

In this symposium, we look forward to discussing the American short story from various perspectives and in a variety of contexts. A central focus will be the reconsideration of the history of the genre through the inclusion of new writers from all racial and ethnic groups, the development of innovative types of stories (flash fiction, micro-fiction, and other forms), and the recovery of fiction published in languages other than English. Close readings of stories by any American author are always appropriate as are broad discussions of historical periods and movements. Audiovisual equipment will be available for the symposium.


ORGANIZATION

The symposium is sponsored by the Department of American Studies at the University of Innsbruck and the Society for the Study of the American Short Story. The directors are Gudrun M. Grabher, Chair of the American Studies Department, and James Nagel, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of English at the University of Georgia.


SUBMISSION

In addition to traditional panels, with three 20-minute papers, the symposium will also hold discussion forums, seminar conversations, and roundtable sessions. Fully-formed panels or discussion groups are especially welcome as are sessions organized by author societies. Creative writers are also invited to present work in progress or to discuss the genre of the short story.

Proposals need be only a single page with one paragraph that describes the subject of the paper and another that gives the credentials of the speaker.

Deadline for submissions is June 15, 2020.

For submissions, please go to the conference website and follow the instructions:
https://webapp.uibk.ac.at/ssass2020/

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Borders and Border Crossings in the Contemporary British Short Story

In today’s world, there is ample evidence of the return of borders worldwide; as a material reality, as a concept, and as a way of thinking. Edited by Barbara Korte and Laura Lojo-Rodriguez, Borders and Border Crossings in the Contemporary British Short Story focuses on the ways in which the contemporary British short story mirrors, questions and engages with border issues in national and individual life. It discusses the work of wide range writers including Zadie Smith, Anne Enright, Kamila Shamsie, Valda Jackson, Andrea Levy, Sarah Hall, Hanif Kureishi, China Mieville, Daisy Johnson, Jon McGregor and Helen Simpson, and includes a chapter in which Pete Kalu reflects on his own practice as a Black British writer.

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Tinakori: Critical Journal of the Katherine Mansfield Society 

Tinakori:

Critical Journal of the Katherine Mansfield Society 

Editors: Kym Brindle and Karen D’Souza

‘But this is all a dream you see. I want to come home – to come home’

Letter from Mansfield to Murry [18 March 1918]

 

Home figures as an ambivalent construct in the writing of Katherine Mansfield. This special issue of Tinakori looks to explore issues of space and belonging in Mansfield’s work. We seek proposals exploring the ways in which aspects of identity in Mansfield’s work are articulated by engagement with both material and emotive notions of home. What is the significance of home and conversely homelessness for Mansfield’s creative imagination? Rosemary Marangoly George stresses that ‘fictionality is an intrinsic attribute of home’, suggesting that ‘home is also the imagined location that can be more readily fixed in a mental landscape than in actual geography’. This issue will focus on intersections between desires for home and the social reality and implications and consequences for domestic space for both men and women. In what ways do Mansfield’s stories contextualize debates about issues of identity and space and place? What impact do representations of home have for characters (and readers) in the quest for meaning?

Suggested topics include, but are not limited to:

·      Place and space

·      Exile and homelessness

·      Travel and home

·      Nostalgia for home

·      Memories of home

·      Imagined homes

·      Thresholds

·      Family and home

·      Mourning and trauma

·      Domesticity: pleasures and unhappiness

·      Privacy

·      Architecture

·      Furnishings and ornament

Please e-mail abstracts of 500 words to brindlek@edgehill.ac.uk  and dsouzak@edgehill.ac.uk by 12 July 2019

Completed essays of 5,000 -6,000 words (including endnotes) in MHRA format  due 1 November 2019.

Tinakori: Critical Journal of the Katherine Mansfield Society is an official online series, recognised by the British Library and with its own ISSN number: ISSN 2514-6106.
All essays submitted will be double peer-reviewed prior to acceptance.
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Short Fiction in Theory and Practice 9.1

Latest issue of Short Fiction in Theory and Practice  out now, with articles on Alice Munro, and Elizabeth Strout and new collaborative fiction from Rupert Loydell and Amy Lilwall.  There is also an interview with Tessa Hadley and a review of new books on editing.  Graham Mort’s story, ‘Emporium’ explores the short story as ‘humble’ fiction from a practice-based perspective, introducing the topic ahead of the forthcoming ENSFR conference on this topic.