CALL FOR PAPERS

Accio 2008, a UK Harry Potter Conference

"From Quidditch Flyers to Dreaming Spires: Exploring the Worldwide
Influence of the Harry Potter Novels"

Magdalen College, Oxford
25 – 27 July 2008

www.accio.org.uk

Accio 2008 will bring together academics and adult fans to discuss the
Harry Potter series in the Hogwarts-like setting of the University of
Oxford, with the goal of enhancing the appreciation of J.K. Rowling's
novels as works of literature in her home country. The conference will
be held at the beautiful Magdalen College, which still preserves its 15th
century pronunciation of 'Maudele'n' and which boasts such alumni as C.S.
Lewis and Oscar Wilde.

During the last ten years, the Harry Potter novels have made many changes
to our world, including increasing reading (particularly among boys),
creating a much larger interest in fan sites and fan fiction, adding
words (such as "Muggle") to the dictionary and increasing interest in
science that looks like magic.

The Programming Committee is inviting proposals for paper presentations,
roundtables, moderated panels, debates and workshops to evoke a lively,
interesting and thoughtful discussion on the changes the Harry Potter
novels have already made to our world, and on the potential for the
novels to have a lasting influence.

Suggested Topics

Presentations on any topic relating to the Harry Potter phenomenon are
welcome and topics may include, but are certainly not limited to:

Chemistry
Computer Science
Economics
Education
History
Linguistics
Literature
Physics
Psychology
Publishing
Sociology
the Fandom

Programming Schedule and Time Blocks

Three concurrent tracks of programming sessions will be held on the
afternoon of Friday, 25 July; all day on Saturday, 26 July and the
morning of Sunday, 27 July. Time blocks in multiples of 30 minutes will
be available.

Printed Proceedings

Conference papers and summaries of other presentation forms will be
published in the Conference Proceedings, which will appear in print form
and be available at the Conference. All material will be properly and
academically edited for content, rigour, and format. The Conference
Proceedings will be made available for sale to non-attendees after the
conclusion of the conference.

Other Publications

We have had a statement of interest from a UK publisher in a modest
collection of academic essays based on those submitted to this
conference. Such essays would be considerably longer than the presented
essays and would be suitable for academic use at the senior undergraduate
or postgraduate level. Should you be interested in contributing to such a
collection, please say so on your proposal.

Proposal Submissions – Deadline: 4 January 2008

Proposals should be formatted as follows:

Name of Presenter(s) (individuals presenting jointly should submit a
single proposal)
E-Mail Address and Phone Number of Presenter(s)
Name of Presentation
Type of Presentation (e.g., paper presentation, roundtable, moderated
panel, debate or workshop; please note that lively presentations are
encouraged)
Amount of Time Required (in multiples of 30 minutes, including an
indication of how much of that time will be made available for audience
discussion/question and answer session)
Abstract (500 words maximum)
Audio-Visual Requirements (e.g., projector, screen, whiteboard)
Biography of Presenter(s) (100 words maximum)
Presentation Summary for Conference Programme (100 words maximum)
Interested in Contributing to Collection of Academic Essays? Yes/No

Please send proposals to the following address, with "Accio 2008 Proposal
Submission" noted in the subject line: submissions_at_accio.org.uk. We are
accepting e-mail submissions only, and any attachments must be in
Microsoft Word. Proposals must be received by 4 January 2008 to be
considered.

Proposal Evaluation

Proposals will be evaluated based on an assessment of the level of
interest conference participants will have in the topic area and the
originality of the ideas presented.

Notification, Confirmation and Registration Requirements

Selected presenters will be notified by week ending 1 February 2008. We
regret that, in order to keep conference fees as low as possible, we are
unable to fund presenters' registration, hotel and/or travel costs, or
provide any other form of remuneration. Presenters must confirm that
they will present by 22 February 2008, at which point they will need to
register for the conference at their own expense.

Submission of Final Papers – Deadline: 16 May 2008

Presenters are expected to submit a conference paper for publication in
the printed proceedings by 16 May 2008. This paper should be no greater
than 4,000 words, and must be written in compliance with the Accio Style
Guide (which may be found at
http://www.accio.org.uk/StyleGuideforAccioPapers.pdf). The Programming
Committee reserves the right to reject papers that exceed 4,000 words in
length, do not comply with the established style guidelines or are not
submitted by the required deadline. Papers must be presented at the
conference to be published in the proceedings.

Attendees

As Accio is an adults-only event, all presenters and participants must be
at least 18 years of age at the time of the conference.

Disclaimers

The Accio 2008 conference is an unofficial event and is not endorsed,
sanctioned or in any other way supported, directly or indirectly, by
Warner Bros. Entertainment, the Harry Potter book publishers, or J.K.
Rowling and her representatives.




-- 
Iain Robert Smith
Doctoral Student
Institute of Film and Television
School of American and Canadian Studies
University of Nottingham
University Park
NG7 2RD