CALL FOR PAPERS
At Play in the Space Between, 1914-1945
The 15th annual conference of the multidisciplinary society
The Space Between: Literature and Culture, 1914-1945
June 20-22, 2013, DePaul University, Chicago IL

The 15th annual conference of the Space Between Society will explore the multifaceted subject of play as it relates to literature, art, history, music, theater, media, and spatial or material culture in any country between 1914 and 1945. From surrealist games to improvisational jazz, from Mrs Dalloway’s party to Archibald Motley’s Nightlife, from the exploits of the “Bright Young People” to the political games of wartime, play figures prominently in the arts and culture of this period. We invite proposals for papers considering any aspect of play—light or dark, free or controlled, experimental or entertaining. Papers that complicate or challenge conventional notions of play are also welcome. Topics might include:

• studies of comedy, parody, burlesque, satire, laughter, or humor
• formal or linguistic play in literature, music, art, and other media
• theories of play or games in relation to the arts
• representations of games or sports
• dark, serious, subversive, or transgressive forms of play or humor
• cultures of entertainment, leisure, or recreation
• constructions of the interwar period as the “Jazz Age” or the “Long Weekend”
• political or imperial games
• play and the irrational as resistance to bourgeois culture or militarism
• playing games with readers, spectators, listeners, or audiences
• occasions for play: parties, salons, celebrations, flirtations, holidays, weekends, entertaining the troops
• spaces for play: pubs, hotels, resorts, casinos, racecourses, country houses, nightclubs, music halls, picture palaces, dance halls, circuses, parks, schools
• objects for play/playful objects: toys, games, equipment, whimsical design
• figures associated with play: flappers, dandies, flaneurs, playboys, gamblers, speculators, athletes, children, tourists, entertainers, celebrities
• playing with identity: costumes, disguises, impersonation, drag, passing,queering
• hoaxes, pranks, cons, jokes, puzzles, riddles, tricks, lies, deception, propaganda
• literature, art, or music produced by or for children or inspired by childhood

Keynote speaker: Dickran Tashjian, Professor Emeritus of Art History, University of California at Irvine, a leading scholar of New York Dada and Surrealism.
Please send abstracts of no more than 300 words along with a short biographical statement to Rebecca Cameron at rcameron@depaul.edu by 7 December 2012.
The Conference Organizing Committee includes Rebecca Cameron, Department of English, DePaul University; Analisa Leppanen, Department of History of Art and Architecture, DePaul University; Patrick Deer, Department of English, New York University; Christina Hauck, Department of English, Kansas State University.

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The Bristol Short Story Prize has recently launched their 2013 short story competition and would like to encourage all creative writing students to submit their stories. The 2013 Bristol Short Story Prize is open to all writers, UK and non-UK based, over 16 years of age. Stories can be on any theme or subject and entry can be made online via the website or by mail. Entries must be previously unpublished with a maximum length of 4,000 words (There is no minimum). The entry fee is £8 per story. The deadline for entries is April 30th 2013.

Prizes:

• 1st – £1000 plus £150 Waterstone’s gift card
• 2nd – £700 plus £100 Waterstone’s gift card
• 3rd – £400 plus £100 Waterstone’s gift card

17 further prizes of £100 will be presented to the writers whose stories appear on the shortlist. All 20 shortlisted writers will have their stories published in the Bristol Short Story Prize Anthology Volume 6. The winning story will also be published in Bristol Review of Books magazine.

The 20 shortlisted writers will be invited to an awards ceremony in Bristol in October 2013 when the winners will be announced and the anthology launched. Any shortlisted writers unable to attend the awards ceremony will be sent their prizes. The awards ceremony will be part of the 2013 Bristol Festival of Literature.

The judging panel includes Ali Reynolds (literary consultant, former Random House editor), Bidisha (writer, broadcaster, critic), Anna Britten (author and  journalist), and Chris Wakling (novelist, Creative Writing tutor).

Full details and rules at www.bristolprize.co.uk.