While storytelling probably began as a very fluid process, several centuries of the printed book have given fiction an air of inflexibility and inevitability. However, for several decades, authors of gamebooks like Choose Your Own Adventure and Fighting Fantasy have been finding ways to directly involve the reader in the narrative of the book and to encompass multiple possibilities within a single volume.

Computer games and other digital media have brought fiction into new and infinitely variable realms. This conference will examine the evolution of interactive fiction and discuss ways in which it can be studied and used pedagogically.

Contact and submissions to: Sarah Thomas skt [at] aber.ac.uk

The ongoing adoption of Twitter as a tool for communication, broadcasting and interaction has meant that the social media platform has emerged as a significant site for re-thinking some of the key relationships between celebrity, performance and the presentation of the self. This CFP seeks short articles for Celebrity Studies Journal
Forum section that explore Twitter and its usage beyond its status as a ‘new’ platform (that positions its singular significance through comparison with traditional representational media).

The special issue of the journal will incorporate the style and ethos of Twitter in the submissions:

Abstracts should be 140 words.

The short articles should begin with reference to a specific Tweet that sparks the analysis within the rest of the article.

The final word count for the article will be between 750 and 1,500 words, depending on the number of accepted submissions.

Queer fandom nowadays has become a global phenomenon. The blooming of Chinese queer fandoms in the past two decades has also offered rich sites of queer representations of gender and sexuality. Yet, research explicating Chinese queer fandoms is still far from adequate. The editors seek chapter contributions that elaborate the cultural specificities, significances, transformativity, hybridity, historicity, and futurity epitomized by Chinese queer fan cultures. We are especially keen to receive manuscripts that consider the queer dimensions of gender, sexuality, desire, and fantasy from a wide range of Chinese temporal and geographical settings. We also very welcome submissions that employ interdisciplinary and/or comparative approaches.

To submit chapter proposal submissions for consideration, please send a 1000- to 1500-word abstract with working bibliography and a CV by May 30th, 2014.

The Popular Culture Association of Australia and New Zealand (Popcaanz) is devoted to the scholarly understanding of everyday cultures. Proposals for both panels and individual papers are now being accepted for all aspects of Fan Studies, including, but not limited to, the following areas: Fan Fiction, Fan/Creator interaction, Diversity in Fandom, The Internet and Fandom.

Please submit 150 word abstract and 100 word bio. Panel proposals should include one abstract of 200 words describing the panel, accompanied by the abstracts and bios (100 words) of the individual papers that comprise the panel. Graduate students are encouraged to submit proposals by March 1st 2014.