Call for Papers - Academics at RWA Nationals 2009

Sarah is

calling for paper proposals for the RWA National Convention, July 15-18, 2009 in Washington DC.

First thing: money. You've got to be or become a member of RWA, which is $100. Then the conference fee is upwards of $350, apparently. Plus, it's DC. So it's not cheap, overall. About on a level with PCA. [Note from LV: associate members of the RWA "receive most of the other benefits of membership: including our monthly magazine, the Romance Writers Report [and] eNotes." The conference is a great opportunity to meet authors, gain an insider view of the industry and attend the "500-author strong 'Readers for Life' charity book signing."]

The title of the conference is "Strength, Knowledge, Power" which is pretty cool, if you ask me. I think that theme will work in our favor. And hey, a little Foucault is never a bad thing! :)

So, I want to put together two, maybe three panels.

The whole reason I'm putting together these panels is for us as literary critics of romance fiction to introduce ourselves to the "business" side of the romance world. I want to show writers, publishers, bloggers, etc., that we're sympathetic to romances, that we're readers ourselves, and that we're part of the world that we're analyzing, rather than separate from it as many previous critics have been. I want papers that are not too theory-driven, but that show some of what we as literary critics can do with the theory out there. I'm looking specifically for papers that discuss very well-known authors so that most attendees of the panels will have a strong common knowledge base so that it's not the authors as well as the theory that is new.

Additionally, if you can give a "spin" to your paper that includes something that's a writing tip for authors, that would make it more attractive to RWA, because, of course, most of the people attending ARE authors. Sort of like what's being done to Pam Regis's A Natural History of the Romance. This is similar to Pam's own 2003 RWA panel, actually, so three or so papers with a "writing tip" focus arising from literary critical analysis is exactly what would be great for at least one panel.

And I've been told that the best thing to do to have panel proposals accepted is to attach handouts to the proposal. So, handouts are good--not just quotes you used in the paper, but something more substantial than that. And I'm going to need those either immediately with your proposal to me or, if I accept your proposal, before we send in the proposals to RWA. The deadline is November 3, but I'd like to get them by October 1, so we can get feedback from the full-time staff at RWA if need be.

So, please send me 500 word proposals (either for individual proposals or, if you're feeling ambitious, for a full panel) to my gmail address by September 15, with handouts if possible OR a solid description of what your handout will be as well as a description of your paper.

Looking forward to hearing from many of you! And please forward this to anyone you feel might be interested or post it wherever appropriate.
-Sarah-

Sarah S. G. Frantz
Assistant Professor of Literature
Fayetteville State University
1200 Murchison Road
Fayetteville, NC 28314

The second poster is of Rosie the Riveter (via Wikimedia Commons).