zorn receives travel grant

Bill Zorn, Ph.D. student in English/Playwriting, is the recipient of a WMU Graduate College Travel Grant.

switchgrass books gives publishing tips to local authors

Kazoo Books, an independent bookstore owned by Gloria Tiller in Kalamazoo, Michigan, has invited Switchgrass Books, the fiction imprint of Northern Illinois University Press, to participate in a publishing discussion for local authors entitled “You’ve Written a Book—Now What?” The event will take place at the Portage Public Library on March 3, 2010 at 6:30 p.m. Director of Switchgrass Books, J. Alex Schwartz, will inform authors about the publishing process: what an editor looks for in a submission, how to write an appropriate proposal letter, what to expect from a publishing contract, etc. “I love to talk about publishing and am excited to offer advice to local authors who are ready to learn how to polish their manuscripts, submit them to a publisher, and reach the goal of a signed contract,” Schwartz commented. Also participating in the event will be Ann Arbor author Donald Lystra, who published his debut novel Season of Water and Ice with Switchgrass Books in 2009. Lystra will discuss his experience as a first-time author and help the attendees understand what to expect from a publisher. Lystra said, “Though I had published short stories, I learned that maneuvering in the world of publishing where a novel is concerned is much different. The process can be challenging but rewarding, and I look forward to sharing this with other authors.” The event is free and open to the public. Local authors interested in learning how to publish their books should attend this unique event in which they can learn from a publisher and a local published author. “Attendees should find the evening to be incredibly informative, whether they have only considered publishing a book or have already been published. Having insight from a regional publisher and a recently published author will be invaluable,” stated Tiller. If you have questions, please contact Gloria at Kazoo Books at gloria@kazoobooks.com.For more information about the participants in the event, please visit Switchgrass Books at www.switchgrass.niu.edu and Donald Lystra at www.donaldlystra.com.

"Poets in Print" Reading Series at the Kalamazoo Book Arts Center -- Featuring David Dodd Lee and Mary Ann Samyn

New Issues Poets David Dodd Lee and Mary Ann Samyn will present readings from their work on Saturday, March 13,2010 at 7 p.m. Broadsides featuring the poet's work will be created by KBAC artists. The broadsides and other works by the poets will be available during the event for sale and signing. Broadsides from other "Poets in Print" events and other book arts creations are also available for sale. This event is free and refreshments are served. Doors open at 6:30.


David Dodd Lee is the author of The Nervous Filaments (2010, Four Way Books), a book of Ashbery erasure poems, which is forthcoming from Blazevox, and Orphan, Indiana, which is forthcoming from U. of Akron Press. His four other books of poetry include: Downsides of Fish Culture (1997, New Issues), Arrow Pointing North (2002), and Abrupt Rural (2004, New Issues).

Mary Ann Samyn is the author of several collections of poetry, including Beauty Breaks In (New Issues, 2009) and The Boom of a Small Cannon (Dancing Girl Press, 2010). She teaches in the MFA program at West Virginia University where she is also the Bolton Professor for Teaching and Mentoring.

The Poets in Print Reading Series
Kalamazoo Book Arts Center
Suite 103A, Park Trades Center
326 W. Kalamazoo Avenue
Kalamazoo, MI 49007

Ohio Valley Shakespeare Conference

This in from Dr. Russ Bodi (Owens College):
"One of my favorite roles as director of the Ohio Valley Shakespeare Conference’s 2010 meeting is to invite colleagues to attend our annual conference. I am happy to turn to my neighbors to the north with a special invitation to join us a short distance over the line. This year's event will take place from October 14-16th at nearby Owens College in Toledo, Ohio. Perhaps your critical work or that of your WMU colleagues lies within the purview of this year’s theme, “Shakespeare’s Loose Ends.” Within the Loose Ends topic, there are many “undecidable” aspects of plot, character, staging, response, and editing that stimulate our discussions and often lead to calculated conjecture. We are already seeing a variety of interpretations of this year's conference theme.
The Ohio Valley Shakespeare Conference, formerly the Ohio Shakespeare Conference, has been the site for some notable critical work from our profession’s best critical voices. David Bevington, Rebecca Bushnell, Laurie  Shannon,  Peter Holland, Lars Engle, Ania Loomba, Leah Marcus, and Paul Yachnin are a few of the speakers at recent conferences. Past topics have  included the Nature of Shakespeare, Post-Colonial  Shakespeare, Shakespeare and the Law, Working Shakespeares, Appropriating Shakespeare and last year’s Shakespeare on Screen. We usually draw a large number of scholarly presenters from the Midwest, as well as from across the nation.
This year’s plenary speakers will be Katharine E. Maus and Matthew Wikander, both of whom are enthusiastic about sharing their work with us. In addition to the conference sessions, we will also feature the National Players’ version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in a live performance on Friday night, and the Toledo Repertory Theatre will present a staged reading of A Merry Regiment of Women on Thursday evening. We also plan to have our annual banquet, all for a very affordable conference fee.
I hope that your participation in this year’s event will draw other scholars and students from Western Michigan University. Deadlines for submission and information about the student essay contests are attached. While our call for papers is already posted in Shakesper and other online and print media, I would appreciate it if you would post and/or circulate the attached cfp. You can also visit our website
http://www.marietta.edu/~engl/OVSC/."

Child & Adolescent Sexualities Conference/Monash-Prato Centre

The Age of Sex: A Two-Day International, Interdisciplinary Conference on Child and Adolescent Sexualities

Organized in co-operation with Monash University, Australia and GREP (Graduate Research and Education Programme in Gender, Culture and Identity), University College Dublin and University of Limerick, Ireland.

Place: Monash University Prato Centre, Prato, Italy

(http://www.ita.monash.edu/)

Dates: Wednesday 5th and Thursday 6th May 2010

Conveners: Steven Angelides (Monash University, Australia), Deirdre Daly (University College Dublin, Ireland), Anne Mulhall (University College Dublin, Ireland), and Michael O’Rourke (Independent Colleges, Dublin).

Keynote Speakers:

Dr Steven Angelides (Centre for Women’s Studies and Gender Research & Sociology, Monash University, Australia)
Professor Kathryn Bond Stockton (Department of English, University of Utah, USA)
Professor Barbara DeGenevieve (School of the Art Institute of Chicago, USA)
Dr Helmut Graupner (Attorney at Law, Vienna, Austria)
Dr Peter Hegarty (Department of Psychology, University of Surrey, UK)
Dr Nicole Vitellone (School of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Liverpool, UK)

Description:

This will be a two day conference focusing on often contentious issues such as paedophilia, child pornography, child sexuality, pederasty, teen sexuality among other topics relating to the study of child and adolescent sexuality. Day one of the conference will feature keynote addresses and discussions of trigger papers which will be distributed to all conference participants in advance. Day two will consist of a postgraduate workshop divided into three thematic strands (literature/film; criminology/Law; sociology/psychology) where postgraduates will deliver short (15 minute) presentations on their current research and receive feedback and advice in a friendly and supportive atmosphere.

Places available: 35 delegates (including 15 postgraduate presenters). Please ensure to register early as spaces will be strictly limited.

Registration Fee: €50 for non-postgraduates (this will cover tea, coffee and lunch on both days).

Student Bursaries: There will be 14 bursaries of €400 each available for postgraduates who are selected to present at the conference.

Accommodation: There are no rooms available at the centre but there are several affordable hotels and residences within 10 minutes walking distance. A list can be found here:

http://www.ita.monash.edu/visit/accommodation/

Flights: We recommend that delegates fly to Florence airport which is 20-25 minutes by train from Prato. Maps and other travel details can be found here:

http://www.ita.monash.edu/visit/gettingthere.html

*CALL FOR PAPERS: Open Forum/Workshop for Postgraduates in the Fields of Child and Adolescent Sexuality*

This session is designed to be a forum where scholars in the early stages of their careers will have an opportunity to present brief papers (10-15 minutes) that are relevant to the different strands of the conference as well as receiving feedback from the keynote speakers and the other conference delegates.

There will be three thematic strands:

1. Literature/film/ Art/Representations of Child and Adolescent Sexuality
2. Sociology/Psychology: Social Scientific research on child and adolescent sexuality
3. Law/Criminology: Legal Issues surrounding child and adolescent sexuality.

Student bursaries of €400 will be available for the fourteen postgraduate/early career researchers chosen to present at the workshop.

The organizers invite those interested to submit an abstract (300-500 words) and a short biographical note (100-200 words outlining research topic and interests).

Please send proposals no later than 19 March 2010 to each of the organizing committee:

Anne Mulhall (anne.mulhall@ucd.ie),
Deirdre Daly (deedeedaly21@gmail.com),
Steven Angelides (Steven.Angelides@arts.monash.edu.au)
and Michael O’Rourke (tranquilised_icon@yahoo.com)