Welcome Travelers of Middle-earth!

Many of our readers may know for several years we ran “The Northeast Tolkien Society,” which held numerous meetings and events in the New York City area.  We placed the group on hiatus for a time as we were under contract to complete our first 2 books via the Independent Press Kitsune Books.  Since then local Tolkien fans have established their own regular meetings to discuss all things Tolkien.

Unfortunately, our editor, the Tolkien Scholar and Author Anne Petty, closed Kitsune Books due to illness and passed away shortly thereafter.  Since then we have been busy using her guiding principles to establish Myth Ink Books.

Now we are working with Baruch College Librarian and Author, Chris Tuthill to establish an annual Tolkien Conference in New York City. Below you will find the Call for Papers, venue, date, time and how to propose a presentation.

Keynote Speaker: Janet Brennan Croft

Janet Brennan Croft is the Head of Access and Delivery Services and Assistant Professor at Rutgers University Libraries.   She is the author of War in the Works of J.R.R. Tolkien (Praeger, 2004; winner, Mythopoeic Society Award for Inklings Studies). She has also written on the Peter Jackson films, J.K. Rowling, Terry Pratchett, Lois McMaster Bujold, and other authors, and is editor or co-editor of five collections of literary essays.  She edits the refereed scholarly journal Mythlore and serves on the board of the Mythopoeic Press. Her current project is the edited collection Baptism of Fire: The Birth of British Fantasy in World War I.

Stay Tuned to this website (and Conference Page) in coming weeks for Programming Announcements

If you have any questions after reading this Call for Papers do not hesitate to contact us at the email below.

Call for Papers:

New York City Tolkien Conference

CLICK HERE FOR .PDF OF CfP TO DOWNLOAD & PRINT

WHEN: Saturday June 13^th, 2015 10pm-5pm

WHERE: Baruch College

One Bernard Way

55 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10010

EMAIL: Mythinkbooks@gmail.com

WEBSITE: https://nyctolkienconference.wordpress.com/

TOPICS: J.R.R. Tolkien: his life, works, influences

The Conference’s theme is centered on Tolkien. However, the organizers have an open ended topic submission policy. We are open to discussions of Tolkien from the author’s life to his works to his influences to the fandom surrounding his work and so forth. The Conference Organizers do seek to include as many presenters as possible, therefore we ask that accepted presentations range from 15 to 30 minutes in length. No discussions of over 30 minutes will be accepted. Presenters must also be prepared to field audience Q&A, which will be attached to each presentation.

Topics to Consider but not limited to: (Don’t see a topic you wish to present? Propose it to us)

• Early Influences that inspired Tolkien’s Work (Literary, Historical, Personal Experiences)

• Landscapes that Shaped Middle-earth (Tolkien’s immediate surroundings, travels, etc)

• Tolkien’s Sub-Creative Process, from early writings and how this shaped his later tales.

• Tolkien & The Inklings: (How this group helped shape primarily Tolkien’s work, but other members as well)

• Posthumous Publications: In recent years we have seen numerous releases by Tolkien’s son Christopher, The Fall of Arthur, The Children of Hurin, and most recently Beowulf. Papers can focus on one particular publication or all of them as a whole.

• Tolkien and Pop Culture, how has The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and Tolkien’s work been a part of our culture.

• Tolkien and Music (From Classical Music, to Heavy Metal & Classic Rock)

• Tolkien and Gaming (How Tolkien’s work has inspired Fantasy table top, role playing and video games)

• Films based on Tolkien’s work: The Hobbit , The Lord of the Rings live-action & animated films, along with fan films based on Tolkien’s work.

Email a detailed proposal of at least 150-500 words either in the body of an email or via attachment. If you send an attachment, that attachment MUST have your name in the file name and must be either a .txt or .doc file. Include with every proposal brief information on who you are, any publications you may have, where you may be contacted, and if you have presented at a conference before. Please make sure the email you’re using is one where you can be reached in a timely fashion.

Send this information to Mythinkbooks@gmail.com with “your last name and Tolkien Conference,” in the Subject Heading.

Deadline for Submissions April 7^th 2015

Organizers:

Anthony Burdge & Jessica Burke

Myth Ink Books & The Northeast Tolkien Society

http://www.mythinkbooks.com

Chris Tuthill

Baruch College Librarian

Myth Ink Books Contributing Author

https://christuthill.wordpress.com/