Calls for papers
The Henry James Society
Call for Papers
American Literature Association
36th Annual Conference
Westin Copley Place, Boston, MA
21-24 May 2025
Jamesian Beginnings
The appeal of teleological thinking often shapes our readings of James, whether of individual works or of his career as a whole. But rather than let a sense of the ending determine our interpretation of what came before, how might James look different if we focused instead on beginnings? How does he typically begin a tale or novel—and how, if at all, do his strategies differ from those of other short story writers or novelists? How, where, or when doesn’t he begin? How is beginning thematized within the fictions, as in Isabel Archer’s practice of “beginning afresh a great many times” or Madame Merle’s wish that she could “begin again”? How did James himself begin as a writer? How did he retrospectively construct such beginnings in his Prefaces and autobiographies? What choices do we make when we decide where to begin a course or critical book on James? Where should a new reader of James begin—and why? How did we begin reading James, and what difference did that make later on?All approaches are welcome. Some suggested topics:
- Beginnings of individual tales, novels, or other texts
- Beginnings of units within a text, such as chapters or volumes—or even individual sentences—as well as prefaces, prologues, preambles, or other preliminaries
- Beginnings in James as compared to those of other short story writers or novelists
- Acts of beginning—or beginning again within a work of fiction or travel writing
- Stage settings or opening scenes
- Beginnings in dialogue, beginnings of speeches, conversations, or other utterances
- James’s beginnings as a writer or the beginnings of writings or careers of other members of the James family
- James and the beginnings of historical events or movements—wars, modernism, feminism
- James’s own account of his beginnings in the autobiographies
- James’s retrospective construction of his own beginnings—of individual works, of his career—in the Prefaces
- Origins, roots, influences, inspirations, antecedents
- Beginning a course in James
- Beginning a critical study of James
- Strategies for encouraging others to begin reading James
- Memories of first reading James—where did you begin, and what difference did that make?
- Fresh starts, false starts, late starts
Please send a 250-word abstract and short biography to Ruth Yeazell ([email protected]) and Sarah Wadsworth ([email protected]) by January 15, 2025. Please note if you have any AV requirements. For more details about the American Literature Association Conference please visit this website: https://americanliteratureassociation.org/ala-conferences/ala-annual-conference/
Henry James and the Archive
The Henry James Review invites essays between 1,000 and 12,500 words on any aspect of Henry James studies and archives for a special fall 2025 forum issue on “Henry James and the Archive.”
Topics could include, for example:
• Using archives for Henry James scholarship
• Changes in how we understand the nature of the Henry James archive
• New archival sources for Henry James scholarship
• Collecting or collections of Henry James-related material(s)
• Overlooked or forgotten archives or archival research methods for Henry James scholarship
• James’s use of archives, archival concepts, and/or the archival in his fiction or non-fiction
• Henry James as archivist
Contributions should be produced according to current MLA style. Please identify your manuscript as a “Henry James and the Archive” Forum submission.
Send submissions to [email protected] by April 1, 2025.
The Henry James Review invites essays between 1,000 and 12,500 words on any aspect of Henry James studies and archives for a special fall 2025 forum issue on “Henry James and the Archive.”
Topics could include, for example:
• Using archives for Henry James scholarship
• Changes in how we understand the nature of the Henry James archive
• New archival sources for Henry James scholarship
• Collecting or collections of Henry James-related material(s)
• Overlooked or forgotten archives or archival research methods for Henry James scholarship
• James’s use of archives, archival concepts, and/or the archival in his fiction or non-fiction
• Henry James as archivist
Contributions should be produced according to current MLA style. Please identify your manuscript as a “Henry James and the Archive” Forum submission.
Send submissions to [email protected] by April 1, 2025.
LEON EDEL PRIZE
The Leon Edel Prize is awarded annually for the best essay on Henry James by a beginning scholar. The prize carries with it an award of $300, and the prize-winning essay will be published in HJR.
The competition is open to applicants who have not held a full-time academic appointment for more than four years. Independent scholars and graduate students are encouraged to apply.
Essays should be 20-30 pages (including notes), original, and not under submission elsewhere or previously published. Please send the manuscript in Microsoft Word format.
Send electronic submissions to: [email protected]
Author's name should not appear on the manuscript. Please identify essays as submissions for the Leon Edel Prize. The competition is limited to one submission per author.
A brief curriculum vitae should be included.
Decisions about regular publication are also made at the same time as the prize decision.
Deadline: November 1, 2024