We’re still enjoying summer weather here in Nova Scotia, but let’s face it, fall is just around the corner, and with it, some deadlines for Tolkien scholars interested in presenting their research at conferences in the coming year.  If you don’t intend to propose anything, you still might want to browse the topics that people will be speaking about in case you’ll be tempted to attend.

One event worth attending, though the call for papers is now closed, is Oxonmoot, celebrating its 50^th anniversary from August 31 to September 3 both in person and online, with various types of sessions including wonderful scholars who will be speaking about their research. (Online registrations are still available here).

But for those who want to propose conference papers, here are a few deadlines coming up in the next month.

Proposals due August 31

Proposals due August 31

Tolkien at Leeds, the International Medieval Congress, the University of Leeds, 1 – 4 July 2024. Sessions sponsored by the University of Glasgow Centre for Fantasy and the Fantastic

This conference is typically hybrid in format. Information about abstracts and where to send them can be found on the website of the organizer, Dr. Andrew Higgins: https://wotanselvishmusings.blogspot.com/2023/07/cfp-leeds-2024-imc-tolkien-sessions.html

The general topics are as follows, with details about each session on Dr. Higgins’s site. As you might guess, the general theme of the 2024 conference is “Crisis.”

• Tolkien’s medieval sub-creation in crisis
• Bodily crises in Tolkien’s medievalism
• Racial medievalism in Tolkien Studies – a session celebrating the works of Professor Dimitra Fimi, founder of Tolkien at Leeds.    
• Tolkien: Medieval Roots and Modern Branches
• Crises in Researching Tolkien: A Roundtable 

Proposals due September 8

Secondary Believers, Secondary Worlds: Tolkien and Religion in the Twenty-First Century. This is a free, online conference co-sponsored by the Tolkien Society and the University of Glasgow Centre for Fantasy and the Fantastic, to be held November 26.

More information about the call for papers can be found here: https://www.tolkiensociety.org/events/tolkien-society-online-seminar-2023-tolkien-and-religion-in-the-twenty-first-century/

EDIT/ CORRECTION August 22: Proposals for the International Congress on Medieval Studies are first due by September 1st to the organizers, Dr. Christopher Vaccaro and / or Dr. Yvette Kisor (see their email addresses in the general call for papers): https://wmich.edu/medievalcongress/call . Proposals that have been accepted will then have to be submitted on the conference website by Sept. 15.

Proposals due September 1 and then the 15th

International Congress on Medieval Studies, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan to be held 9-11 May 2024.  Several Tolkien sessions will be virtual; a couple will only be available in person.

Several groups are sponsoring sessions on Tolkien. Information on all the calls for papers and submission procedures for all of these sessions can be found here: https://wmich.edu/medievalcongress/call

Tolkien at Kalamazoo group (in-person sessions)

• Tolkien and “The Battle of Maldon”
• Tolkien’s Leeds Legacy: A Reconsideration of His Work as a Medievalist
• Problematic Medievalisms and Tolkien’s Legendarium (a roundtable)

Tolkien at Kalamazoo and Glasgow Centre for Fantasy and the Fantastic (virtual)

• Here be dragons. Tolkien at the Medieval Margins.  More information here: https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/critical/research/researchcentresandnetworks/fantasyatglasgow/forthcoming-events/

Tolkien at Kalamazoo and the International Pearl-Poet Society (virtual)

• Flora, Fauna & Fantasy: Medieval Poets and J.R.R. Tolkien. More information: https://www.facebook.com/groups/internationalpearlpoetsociety/

Tolkien at Kalamazoo and Society for the Study of Disability in the Middle Ages (virtual)

• Disability and Tolkien’s Medievalisms

Tales after Tolkien Society (virtual)

• Tolkien and Twenty-First Century Challenges (A Roundtable). More information: https://talesaftertolkien.blogspot.com/2023/06/another-step-towards-kzoo2024.html

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Tolkien studies is a welcoming field. These conferences usually accept proposals from faculty, grad students, and independent scholars. You’ll find people from many backgrounds in these meetings who contribute to a rich interdisciplinary view of Tolkien’s works.