Signum University invites you to join us at the National Conference Center in Leesburg, VA for our annual conference and retreat – Mythmoot!
Call for Papers – Closes Feb 28, 2026
“The finest of pleasures are always the unexpected ones.” – The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern
Unexpected Company comes in many forms: guest, xenos, wizard, crone, lion, alien invaders, horrors from beyond and more.
“Wild nights are my glory,” Mrs. Whatsit said. “I just got caught in a down-draft and blown off course.” – A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L’Engle
The call to adventure often begins with Unexpected Company. A wizard with a proposition, an owl with a letter, a long-lost relative, or even the sky splitting open for an alien invasion.
“No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man’s and yet as mortal as his own” – War of the Worlds, H.G. Wells
Unexpected Company often brings surprises… desired or otherwise…
“In the week before their departure to Arrakis, when all the final scurrying about had reached a nearly unbearable frenzy, an old crone came to visit the mother of the boy, Paul.” – Dune, Frank Herbert
Unexpected Company often means things are going to change – the story will move in a different direction.
“The Eagles! The Eagles!” [Bilbo] shouted. “The Eagles are coming!” – The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien
Unexpected Company sometimes saves the day, and wraps up the story in a “eucatastrophe”!
We are accepting proposals for Papers, Panels, Workshops, and Creative Presentations about our theme of “Unexpected Company” in the following areas:
- Imaginative Literature including film and other media (horror, science fiction, fantasy, etc.)
- Tolkien and Inklings Studies
- Classic Literature from ancient times to the present
- Philology, Historical Linguistics, ConLangs and invented worlds
- interrelated topics such as superheroes, philosophy, media, and fandom studies
If you are unsure whether your topic fits, submit regardless and we will let you know.
(N.B. The “creative” category is not limited to original works of fiction but can include crafting, music, drama, dance, or other performing arts. If you have questions about what you can present, please contact [email protected].)
Guests of Honor
Michael D.C. Drout is the Frances A. Shirley Professor of English and Director of the Center for the Study of the Medieval at Wheaton College, Norton, Massachusetts, where for 29 years he has taught Anglo-Saxon, Middle English, and Old Norse language and literature; Science Fiction; Writing; and the works of J.R.R. Tolkien.
One of the co-founders of the journal Tolkien Studies, Drout recently published The Tower and the Ruin: J.R.R. Tolkien’s Creation (W.W. Norton) and How to Learn How to Think: What the Liberal Arts are Good For, Anyway (Signum Univ. Press).
Drout is also the author of How Tradition Works, Tradition and Influence in Anglo-Saxon Literature, and Drout’s Quick and Easy Old English and is co-author of Beowulf Unlocked: New Evidence from Lexomic Analysis. He edited J.R.R. Tolkien’s Beowulf and the Critics and the J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia and co-edited Transitional States: Cultural Change, Tradition and Memory in Medieval England. Drout has contributed essays to the New York Times and Washington Post.
A consultant for The Lord of the Rings On-line MMORPG, Drout has appeared in two History Channel mini-series: Clash of the Gods and True Monsters, on National Geographic’s Beyond the Movie: The Return of the King, and on Icons Unearthed: The Lord of the Rings. He has also recorded thirteen audio courses for Recorded Books and 40+ hours of Exploring Beowulf for Signum University Press, and he narrated the audiobook of The Tower and the Ruin.
Drout lives in Dedham, Massachusetts with his family and their two corgis, Lancelot and Percival.
Kij Johnson is the author of six novels and two short story collections, and has won the Nebula three times, the World Fantasy Award three times, and the Hugo once. In 2025, she designed a tabletop roleplaying game, RiverBank, and is at work on a second one, due out in 2027.
Since 1995, she’s taught summer workshops on structuring speculative fiction novels, as part of the Ad Astra Institute and Novel Architects; she’s also taught multiple times at Clarion and Clarion West. Until last year, she was a professor at the University of Kansas, where she specialized in creative writing, early fantasy and SF, mythic storytelling, and animal narratives. Before this, she worked for Tor Books, Dark Horse Comics, Wizards of the Coast/TSR, and Microsoft.
Larry Swain used to work in IT and libraries after receiving his B.A. in Religion-Greek and Linguistics. After 15 years, he earned an M.A. in Medieval Studies at the Medieval Institute at Western Michigan University and then a Ph.D. at the University of Illinois at Chicago. His academic work focuses on early medieval preservation and appropriation of classical literature and culture, early medieval linguistics, and theology. In addition, he co-edits the Journal of Northwestern Early Medieval Europe, has worked on the Old English Newsletter, and writes about archeology for the Year’s Work in Old English Studies. Swain has co-edited the volume Teaching Beowulf, published articles on Tolkien, Ælfric of Eynsham, the Old Saxon Heliand poem, and Digital Medievalism among other topics. He has taught in the Signum Masters program and in SPACE, and is Full Professor of English at Bemidji State University where he teaches Old English, Shakespeare, Medieval Literature, Fanfiction, Science Fiction, Mythology, World Literature among other things.
Registration
Registration is done through the Signum program Blackberry. If you do not already have a Blackberry account you will have to make one to register.
Children’s pricing is ages 6-14, but we ask that all minors be accompanied by an adult. Children ages 5 and under are free.
| Mythmoot Registration | Adult Early Bird* | Children (6-14) Early Bird* |
| Full Event | $395 | $195 |
| Two Day | $350 | $140 |
| One Day | $175 | $70 |
| MootHub | $75 | – |
Booking a room will also be done through Blackberry this year. It can be booked simultaneously or after purchasing your Mythmoot ticket. Pricing is listed in Blackberry.
Interested in tabling at Mythmoot?
Every year we always have people who bring their wonderful creations with them, so we thought we would see if any of you were interested in tabling at Mythmoot. If you are interested please contact [email protected]. We aren’t quite sure what it will look like yet – but we want to give you space to sell your thing! (books, art, music, crafts of all sorts!)
