This conference was organized by Gérald Préher at the Catholic University of Lille on the topic of “Objects of Desire”. Papers in French and English debated the relation between short fiction and desire across different periods and genres, including flash fiction, the novella and short story cycles. After all, as a concentrated and intense form of prose writing, short fiction lends itself very well to representations of desire. As Sarah Hall says, “The form is very good at unzipping the mind’s fly” (‘Sex, Death and the Short Story’). The programme can be consulted here. Selected papers from the conference are published in Journal of the Short Story in English.
The European Network for Short Fiction Research was established in 2013 with the aim of fostering and promoting the study of short fiction in European universities and in interaction with short fiction writers. After an inaugural meeting early in 2014, the ENSFR has organized annual conferences as well as sponsored several other study days and events. This website aims to be an interactive platform for sharing research, expertise, ideas and information about short fiction in its diversity of linguistic traditions and forms.