Call for Papers: The Witching Hour

[Sheryll Townsend]

CALL FOR PAPERS: THE WITCHING HOUR
Salem, MA
October 6-10, 2005
A Harry Potter Symposium presented by HP Education Fanon, Inc.

The Witching Hour is an interdisciplinary symposium designed to allow 
scholars and adult enthusiasts of the Harry Potter series to gather 
and share research. The conference programming will engage attendees 
in a broad exploration and understanding of the Harry Potter texts 
and phenomenon, as well as foster dialogue between academics and 
fans. The theme of the symposium — as befits the season, locale and 
current tone of the series — is choice, moral ambiguity and the 
darkness within everyone. While we shall warmly receive submissions 
dealing with our theme, we wish to stress that we welcome proposals 
on any and all topics — whether academic, creative or fan — relating 
to Harry Potter, including examinations of writing, art and young 
adult fantasy literature. Suggested topic tracks include, but are in 
no way limited to:

 - Literary: critical issues concerning the novels themselves, as 
well as the wider arena of children's and young adult literature, 
including structural analysis, genre considerations, and the response 
of the academic establishment and publishing industry

 - Social Sciences: critical responses to the texts through the 
lenses of anthropology, sociology, psychology, folklore, and so forth

 - Education: The use and abuse of the novels in the classroom and 
libraries, censorship controversies and teachers' and librarians' 
guides

 - Creative: Examinations of the writing or artistic creative process

 - Legal: Analyses of legal issues raised by the text of the novels, 
including wizarding law as set forth therein, and legal controversies 
relating to the phenomenon or the fan community

 - Fandom Studies: Studies of the fan response to the novels, 
including discussions of specific fan activities (e.g., vidding, 
artwork and fanfiction), and critical examinations of fanfictional 
tropes

 - Guides: Examinations of subjects such as the history of the 
wizarding world, a beginner's guide to the online fandom, and an 
overview of the numerous Harry Potter "companion" encyclopedias

 - Film: Critical responses to the Harry Potter films

 - Music: Studies of the use of music in the Harry Potter books, 
films and fan culture, such as analyses of the John Williams score or 
an examination of fans' musical activities

In addition to formal papers, The Witching Hour is seeking a variety 
of presentation models, including pre-organized critical panels, 
round table-style discussions, and craft-based workshops. Round table 
discussions will be in-depth explorations of academic, creative or 
fandom topics led by a presenter. Round table presenters must select 
a topic for discussion and moderate that discussion at the 
conference. Workshops are presenter-led, hands-on explorations of 
methodology and craft, be it writing, art, music or business. We 
intend that the round tables and workshops, in particular, focus on 
audience participation and interaction. Finally, our website contains 
a list of panels for which we are seeking participants. 

The Witching Hour is also looking for individuals to participate in a 
variety of fan-based programming. Fanfiction authors are invited to 
read their work before an audience and participate in a discussion of 
that work. We also seek a variety of staffers for the booths we are 
making available for attendees: beta booth, art critique booth, 
drabble booth and sketch booth. Fanfiction authors should be prepared 
to attach their work as part of the submissions process. Booth 
staffers should be prepared to demonstrate their qualifications 
through a test or inclusion of past work as part of the submissions 
process. All works used during presentation at The Witching Hour must 
comply with our NC-17 policy. 

All submissions, whether for programming, fanfiction reading or booth 
staffing, must be made electronically via http://www.witchinghour.org 
by May 15, 2005. Applicants for programming should be prepared to 
provide a 400-500 word abstract, a 50-100 word summary for program 
schedules, and a 50-100 word personal biographical note. Fanfiction 
authors should be prepared to submit the work they wish to read and a 
50-100 word personal biographical note. Booth staffers must be 
prepared to either submit past work or take a test, as appropriate. 
Presenters and staffers must be registered for the conference by 
August 1, 2005. Please direct all queries regarding programming to 
programming at witchinghour.org.

Please visit our website, http://www.witchinghour.org, for more 
information on these elements and the conference itself, as well as 
an overview of our review process for submissions and biographies of 
our review board members. To subscribe to our conference newsletter, 
please e-mail updates at witchinghour.org. 

HP Education Fanon, Inc. (HPEF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit 
organization founded in 2002 to promote and produce educational, 
Harry Potter-themed symposia on an international scale. HPEF produced 
its first event, Nimbus — 2003, in July 2003. More information can be 
found at http://www.witchinghour.org/who/hpef.html.