David Mitchell Conference 2017 (DMCon 2017)

Contemporary British writer David Mitchell is the author of seven novels, two libretti and over twenty short stories. Since the publication of his first novel, Ghostwritten, in 1999, his work has attracted substantial academic and popular acclaim, with two novels shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, and his writing is now taught, researched and studied in universities across the globe. David Mitchell has created a fictional universe that spans literary realism, historical fiction, fantasy, speculative fiction, twitter fiction, opera (Wake and Sunken Garden) and film (Cloud Atlas and The Voorman Problem) – and has featured in Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

This one-day conference on the author’s works, to be held on Saturday 3^rd June 2017 at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, seeks to broaden the understanding of this author’s fictional world through critical discussion of these literary works and their wider cultural impact. It aims to stimulate new and unexplored critical perspectives, bringing together those researching, teaching and studying this author’s work. The conference will include a showcase of David Mitchell’s rare works held in the university’s Special Collections, and a talk from the author.

This conference welcomes submissions for twenty-minute paper presentations from any discipline, and submissions are also welcomed from early career academics and postgraduates as well as established academics. The presentation should also be accessible to an interdisciplinary audience which will include both academics and non-academics with an interest in the author’s work.