CRSF 2016 Post-conference Report

The sixth annual Current Research in Speculative Fiction [CRSF] conference was held last week on Monday 27th June and was a great success.

As usual the papers delivered were of a high quality and a diverse range of topics from D&D bestiaries to feminist utopia, ecological disaster to Harry Potter, medieval English horror to Japanese dystopian YA and far more besides. As usual huge thanks go to those who presented a paper: thank you for the enthusiasm with which you approached the task and for the hard work you did preparing for the conference, a conference - no matter how the organising goes - is nothing without its delegates.

If I were to pick a single weakness of the conference it would be my failure to secure a photographer with a steady hand, or a decent camera... Next year I'm bringing a tripod. Thanks to those delegates who generously suggested it was more SF-nal this way like we're beaming up, or just undergoing a time shift.

Our 2016 conference photo. Apologies for the blurriness

One thing that is evident from this photo is the quantity of attendees. CRSF 2016 represents a record year for number of delegates, with non-presenting delegates outnumbering presenters for the first time. This was in no small part thanks to the excellent Science Fiction Research Association (SFRA) conference also held in Liverpool on the 28th-30th June, a number of whose delegates came along to see CRSF in action. There were, however, a number of non-presenting delegates, including former presenters from previous years, who made the trip to Liverpool especially to see CRSF, I cannot think of a better endorsement for the atmosphere and organisation of the conference than for those who have been before to want to come back, even if they're no longer eligible to present.

In total we had fifty-six attendees and thirty papers presented, over three parallel streams, by delegates from institutions throughout the UK, as well as Ireland, Belgium, Germany, Finland, Spain, Russia, Israel, Canada, and the United States, among others.

Thank you to all who attended. Additional thanks to all those who engaged with the conference on social media. I'm a firm believer in the Twitter back channel for conferences, and CRSF performed ably in this regard too. If you're not on Twitter and you want to (re)discover the tweet-by-tweet coverage of the conference it's been conveniently archived on Storify here for you.

Thanks also to our wonderful keynote speakers: Dr. Caroline Edwards (Birkbeck University of London) and Dr. Pat Wheeler (University of Hertfordshire) who not only gave fascinating and insightful keynote lectures, but also attended numerous panels, asking insightful and constructive questions throughout, and offering many a kind and supportive word for delegates in the breaks and more informal moments of the conference. Caroline's paper opened the conference and was entitled '"But there is still such beauty": Post-Apocalyptic Fiction and Eco-Eschatological Time in the 21st-Century', it took us through such post-apocalyptic novels as Emily St. John Mandel's Station Eleven and Maggie Gee's The Flood, highlighting the pastoral beauty often found in these texts and the implications of that for our vision of the apocalypse and the future (if any) of humanity's role on the Earth. Pat's keynote was entitled '"She can't love you, she's just a machine': Metal-fevered Boys and their Passion for New Eves', which challenged how we should read gynoids in the twenty-first century: as either challenge or constriction to women's agency.

Thanks as ever to the University of Liverpool staff who provided support both in the build up to, and during, the conference: the Rendall Building staff, and Filomena Saltao, the Administrator of the School of the Arts, and Siobhan Quinn. Thanks also to Andy Sawyer, academic librarian for the Science Fiction Foundation collection at the University of Liverpool's Sydney Jones Library, for once again arranging for all delegates to receive free copies of Foundation: The International Review of Science Fiction. Thanks also to the staff at Il Forno, our traditional restaurant of choice, who once again dealt with our large numbers with aplomb.

As always we welcome your feedback on CRSF 2016, all comments are useful and appreciated. Please leave a comment on this post, or e-mail them to us at crsf.team@gmail.com.

CRSF will return in 2017. Watch this space.

Glyn Morgan,

Molly Cobb,

Leimar Garcia-Siino,

Chris Pak

CRSF 2014: Post-Conference Report

This year's conference was different in a lot of ways. Due to circumstances beyond our control we were forced to hold it off-campus at a private conference centre closer to the University of Liverpool (The Gateway Centre, they were brilliant), it was the first time we've invited two keynotes who are both from outside of the Liverpool area, we had a greater proportion of fantasy papers than previous years (something we've been pushing for to even up the balance in the science fiction/fantasy/horror triumvirate), and we went to a new restaurant for our post-conference meal.

The restaurant was still an Italian though, some things never change. Other things that didn't change: the quality and variety of the papers was once again very high. We heard brilliant papers on zombies, Portal, Stargate Universe, chaos theory and epic fantasy, Philip K. Dick, and Fernando Spiner. Plus so much more. As ever I must repeat my mantra that a conference is nothing without its delegates and our delegates are the friendliest, best natured, most passionate and interesting people you could hope to find. CRSF is consistently praised for its atmosphere and as organisers we try to set the tone but it means nothing without these wonderful people, some of whom travel great distances to be with us. Thank you one and all....

The 2014 Conference Photo. As ever, sadly, some people had to depart before the day ended but most who attended are here.

We had thirty-four papers presented in thirteen panels across four streams.1 Delegates once again represented institutions all over the UK, as well as Finland, Germany, Ireland, the USA, and Venezuela. Overall there were fifty-four attendees, a CRSF record.

Gratitude is never a strong enough word for what I feel towards our keynote speakers. Each year we've been blessed by wonderful speakers and Dr. Mark Bould and Prof. Roger Luckhurst were no exception. Mark opened the day with his keynote "It Ain't No Jive, Trying to Stay Alive: Insurgency and Epidermality in Blaxploitation Sf", a talk which showed us a brave new world of sf cinema and ensured that I was humming the soundtracks to Shaft and Superfly for the rest of the day. The conference resumed after lunch with Roger's talk entitled "Corridor Horror", it represented the very newest of Roger's research (which after all is the remit of Current Research in Speculative Fiction), and took us on a tour of corridors in speculative fiction from The Shining to Star Wars and beyond, considering their role as liminal spaces and provoking a very healthy Q+A session.

Thanks also go to the Gateway Centre's Building Manager, Nigel, for being amazingly accommodating, making sure everything went smoothly, and providing us with a comfortable and modern venue, tasty food, and even for taking our conference photo (see above). Once again, thanks to Andy Sawyer, academic librarian for the Science Fiction Foundation collection at the University of Liverpool's Sydney Jones Library (and keynote speaker at CRSF 2011), for once more arranging for all delegates to receive free copies of Foundation: The International Review of Science Fiction. And to Prof. David Seed for kindly donating a book for us to raffle off as a bonus for our delegates.

As ever we would appreciate feedback for CRSF 2014 and suggestions on how we could improve for the future (or just blanket praise, who doesn't like fan mail?), please leave comments on this post or send us an e-mail to crsf.team@gmail.com. We're also interested in any photos you may have taken of the conference or any of the affiliated social events, if you've got anything you'd be willing to share then please email it to us, or post it on our facebook page. I'm a big fan of having a twitter back-channel at conferences and so it was nice to see that CRSF 2014 was also our most tweeted conference. Not just from the conference official @CRSFteam account but also from our delegates. I've done my best to compile most of the tweets on this storify page so if you're not on twitter (or are worried you missed something) then take a look.

All that's left to say is that CRSF will return in 2015.

See you there!

- Glyn Morgan,

On behalf of fellow team members Molly Cobb, Leimar Garcia-Siino, Chris Pak, and Michelle Yost

*

1 One paper less than the record. Although it's probably worth noting that this year was the first time that, because of personal time constraints, none of the organisers contributed papers meaning that this year is actually the most papers by "regular attendees".

CRSF 2013: Post-Conference Report

Another year, another successful Current Research in Speculative Fiction.

The standard of papers at this year's conference was once again superb, as was the diversity of both speakers and topics. We heard everything from zombies to umwelts, Doctor Who to the Holocaust, Final Fantasy to the Mars Trilogy, William Gibson, Margaret Atwood, and so much more besides. The first of several rounds of thanks has to go to the delegates who once again delighted us and took the ethos of CRSF to heart with their friendly, inclusive and open-minded discussions and debates...

Our 2013 Conference Photo. As with past years, a handful of people had to rush off early and so, sadly, couldn't be included here.

A conference is, after all nothing without its delegates!

This year we maintained last year's thirty-five papers, by delegates representing institutions all over the UK, as well as Brazil, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, and Poland. Counting non-presenting delegates, attendance was further boosted to a respectable forty-nine attendees.

Huge thanks must also go to our keynote speakers Dr. Peter Wright (Edge Hill University) and Pat Cadigan (Queen of Cyberpunk), and their respective partners - who also attended the entire day - Jennifer Woodward and Chris Fowler, for maintaining the high standards of our previous keynote speakers and for being brilliantly encouraging, kind, and inquisitive about every paper they sat in on, as well as for their remarkable (and remarkably different, but both brilliant) keynote speeches. Peter's talk "Science Fiction from Text to Screen: Towards a Taxonomy of Cinematic Estrangement" was a thought provoking and entertaining way to start our day, whilst Pat's examination of, and commentary on, some science fictions staples was frequently stimulating, as well as emotionally challenging, brave, and often funny.

We also have to thank the University of Liverpool's staff who provided support both on the day and in the build up to the conference: the AV technician, the porter of the Mathematical Science Building, and Filomena Saltao who was our liaison point for everything from catering to stationary. Thanks also to Andy Sawyer, academic librarian for the Science Fiction Foundation collection at the University of Liverpool's Sydney Jones Library (and keynote speaker at CRSF 2011), for once again arranging for all delegates to receive free copies of Foundation: The International Review of Science Fiction. And to Prof. David Seed for kindly donating a recent Liverpool University Press edition for us to raffle off as a bonus for our delegates.

We should also thank Waterstones Liverpool One and the Il Forno restaurant for so ably accommodating our social events and for making so much effort to help us keep things going smoothly.

As ever we would appreciate feedback for CRSF 2013 and suggestions on how we could improve for the future, please leave comments on this post or send us an e-mail to crsf.team@gmail.com. We're also interested in any photos you may have taken of the conference or any of the affiliated social events, if you've got anything you'd be willing to share then please email it to us, or post it on our facebook page.

CRSF will return in 2014. Watch this space.

- Glyn Morgan, Chris Pak, Michelle Yost and Leimar Garcia-Siino

CRSF 2012 Write-ups

A write up by the conference's own Chris Pak has appeared in issue 301 of SFRA Review (Summer 2012).

You can read the write-up, as well as the rest of the issue, here: http://sfra.org/sfra-review/301.pdf

CRSF 2012: Post-Conference Report

Current Research in Speculative Fiction 2012 [CRSF] was held this year on Monday 18th June and was a great success.

Once again we received papers and delegates who were open, friendly, engaging and constructive. Here's how Leimar Garcia-Siino, one of the delegates, described it:

The conference was superb, balancing nerd-excitement and the thrill of academic SF perfectly.

Which, frankly, is the best praise we could receive as it sums up the entire ethos of CRSF: to provide a friendly and welcoming atmosphere of like-minded scholars at a similar stage in their careers with the opportunity to discuss and engage with a wide range of current research.

End of day conference photo. As with last year's photo this is not representative of everyone who attended as several delegates had to rush off.

Our aim this year was always simply to pull it off. To prove that 2011 wasn't simply a one-off and that there really is an appetite for an annual Post-Graduate conference in sf. Any growth we could achieve would simply be a bonus. 

As it was we received many more papers than last year, and great thanks must go out to the delegates who presented the thirty-five papers spread over thirteen panels.1 We had, in all, fifty delegates at the conference2 and they travelled from as far afield as Ankara University, Turkey, in the East and University of Virginia, USA, in the West, with representatives from institutions in twelve countries in Europe and North America.

Special thanks are extended to our keynote speakers: Prof. David Seed (University of Liverpool) and Prof. Fred Botting (Kingston University London) for their engaging and enlightening talks and their presence at the conference. Professor Seed's paper was "Framing the Reader in Early Science Fiction", and explored the use of paratextual narrative frames in scientific romance, utopian fiction and other early forms of sf. Professor Botting's paper was a discussion of speculative realist philosophy and HP Lovecraft and was entitled "More Things: Horror, Materialism and Speculative Realism".3

Further thanks go out to the staff of the University of Liverpool for the use of their facilities, their support in arranging the conference, and their work behind the scenes which enabled us to put on a successful day of academia. Particular thanks go to Mr. Andy Sawyer, academic librarian for the Science Fiction Foundation collection at the University of Liverpool's Sydney Jones Library (and keynote speaker at CRSF 2011), for once again arranging for all delegates to receive free copies of Foundation: The International Review of Science Fiction.

As ever we would appreciate feedback for CRSF 2012 and suggestions on how we could improve for the future, please leave comments on this post or send us an e-mail to crsf.team@gmail.com. You may also be interested in the small photo album of pictures on our facebook page.

CRSF will return in 2013. Watch this space.

- Glyn Morgan, Chris Pak, Michelle Yost and David McWilliam

                                                                                                        

1 Up seven papers and two panels on CRSF 2011.

2 An increase on CRSF 2011's total of forty-two attendees.

3 In an interesting quirk, Professor Botting allowed the delegates to select his paper via ballot during regestration and lunch. The rejected paper would have been on zombies.

CRSF 2011: Summary

The inaugural Current Research in Speculative Fiction [CRSF] conference was held on Saturday and, let us shelve modesty for a moment, was a great success!

It was a conference full of interesting and thoughtful papers which were delivered by enthusiastic delegates. If anyone has any doubts about the quality of postgraduate research into speculative fiction then I would suggest they take a good long look at the names on the conference schedule because it seems to me that the future of the field is in solid hands.

End of day conference photo. Unfortunately, a number of people had to dash off before this was taken. Still, a great bunch of assembled academics I'm sure you'll agree.

A massive thanks to all twenty-eight people who gave papers across eleven panels, thanks to those who chaired a panel over the course of the day, and to those who attended as delegates to learn more about speculative fiction and support others who were giving papers. Thanks to our two wonderful Keynote Speakers: Mr. Andy Sawyer and Prof. Adam Roberts who not only delivered enjoyable and fascinating papers, but who also attended papers all day and helped contribute to the fascinating and often insightful discussions that followed every panel. Thanks to everyone at the University of Liverpool, especially the staff in the School of English who helped us with all of the logistics and nitty-gritty elements of organisation. And a special thank you for my fellow team without whom the concept of a PG conference for science fiction, fantasy and horror, in Liverpool, would never have gotten off a page in my notebook and into the real world.

Feedback forms will be going out to everyone who's e-mail address is in our mailing list, but if you attended the conference please feel free to leave comments and suggestions for improvements on the blog or send them in via e-mail.

We always intended CRSF to be an annual event, but how the first one went was the deciding factor on whether such a concept was feasible. I think, given the overwhelming response from both the speculative fiction community, and the delegates who attended the conference, we can safely assume that CRSF will return in 2012!

So watch this this space....

[Glyn]