Submission Deadline: NOW CLOSED!
“Home is what you take with you, not what you leave behind.” – N. K. Jemisin, The Fifth Season
This year, our theme is “Homeward Bound.” Homes, in their absence, their presence, their construction or destruction, play integral roles in character and plot development across genres. One writer’s definition of home can directly contrast another’s. Home is a complex, loaded word in the stories we read and tell. The phrase ‘homeward bound’ contains a wealth of meaning. Home can be the place we are coming from, the place we are going, or both. Is home a positive thing? Negative? A net neutral? Is there a home to be headed towards in every story? Is there more than one? Does home change? Is home a place, a person, a feeling? What does home mean in the stories we tell and why does it change and matter?
Examples of questions that can be asked: Whose home is being fought for in the giant intergalactic space battles played out across pages and screens? Is the House of Usher in Edgar Allen Poe’s short story The Fall of the House of Usher a home, or is it just a house? How does Bilbo’s understanding of what home is impact his decisions throughout The Hobbit? Where are the homes in the stories they tell and where does the phrase ‘homeward bound’ come into the narrative?
“It is always sad when someone leaves home, unless they are simply going around the corner and will return in a few minutes with ice-cream sandwiches.” – Lemony Snicket, Horseradish
We are accepting proposals for Papers, Panels, Workshops, and Creative Presentations about our theme of “homeward bound” in the following areas:
- Imaginative Literature including film and other media (ex: The Sandman, Sherlock Holmes, Howl’s Moving Castle, Fullmetal Alchemist, The Left Hand of Darkness, Star Trek, Kindred, The Vorkosigan Saga, Lord of the Rings, The Fifth Season, 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
While we encourage submissions relevant to the theme, we do accept presentations in the above areas even if they are not related to this year’s theme. If you are unsure whether your topic fits, send your proposal or a description of your idea to [email protected], and we will review it in advance.
(N.B. The “creative” category is not limited to original works of fiction but can include crafting, music, drama, dance, or other performative arts. If you have questions about what you can present, please contact us.)
Individual presentation/paper whether creative or critical, will have 30 minutes: 20 minutes for presentation and 10 for Q&A. Each presentation/paper will be presented in 90-minute sessions of 1 – 3 presenters.
Panels must contain at least 3 papers and/or presenters and will be allocated 90 minutes total, inclusive of presentations and Q&A.
Workshops will be either 30 min, 60 min, or 90 min; the proposal must include justification for the requested time. We recommend at least two leaders for each workshop. (Workshop examples: the knitting of a phoenix, an interactive discussion on the elements of haunted house novels that are also used when describing houses in the real world, etc.)
Questions? See “How to Present at Conferences” from our very own Dr. Higgins!
Proposal Submission
Submissions will be done via Google Forms this year. Please be prepared with the following information:
- Type of submission (paper, workshop, panel, presentation)
- Title
- 300-word abstract or description
- Name(s) of the presenter(s)
- A two-sentence biography for each presenter.
You will receive an email confirmation of your submission. Contact [email protected] with any questions.
No presentations will be given if you are not registered to attend, and your submission to Mythmoot X is considered an agreement to both register, at the cost of the conference ticket, and attend (either digitally or in person) to present should your proposal be accepted.
For the in-person event, each room will have a projector for presenter use. If you are presenting virtually, ensure that you have access to a computer, video camera, and microphone.