The first Fantasy Matters Conference was held the weekend of 16-18 November 2007 at the University of Minnesota Law School. Nearly two hundred people from all over the world were in attendance, and I, along with Lindsay Craig and Jennifer Miller, had the privilege of being one of the organizers.
When planning the conference, we wanted the dialog to include both the academic and creative aspects of fantasy literature. To that end, we were extremely fortunate in our keynote speakers. Eminent scholar Jack Zipes gave an erudite and challenging critical address: "The Delusion and Hope of the Fantastic: Why Fantasy Matters Too Much." Award-winning author Neil Gaiman did an absolutely delightful reading of the first chapter of the forthcoming Graveyard Book, and shared some of his own thoughts on why fantasy matters. Both Jack and Neil were generous with their time and energy, and their presence was appreciated and enjoyed.
Other highlights included an opening panel reading organized by Haddayr Copley-Woods and featuring nine local authors, including Barth Anderson and Naomi Kritzer. We had panel discussions on topics including Fantasy Literature and Politics, Writing and Publishing Fantasy Literature, and Comics and Fantasy Literature. Over fifty scholars presented papers. Featured readers Pat Rothfuss, Drew Bowling, Pamela Dean, David Anthony Durham, Jim C. Hines, and Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu all read from recent or forthcoming works and DreamHaven Books was on hand to make sure we all got our fix of excellent books. The closing panel -- Jack Zipes, Pat Rothfuss, Theodora Goss, Jen Miller, and I -- readdressed the question of why fantasy matters. We didn't come to any conclusions, but it is a discussion we all hope will continue.
Many people have asked whether or not we are planning on making this conference a regular event. The short answer at this point is, we don't know, but we're not ruling it out. We thank all of you who attended, particularly those of you who first heard about the conference here at the Journal of Mythic Arts. And we thank all of you who know that fantasy matters.
I think I should have attended this! Am wondering if any transcripts of the presentations/panels are available, or will be. I would very much like to read them.
Posted by: Joe Muszynski | November 29, 2007 at 07:07 AM
If I could only attend... Alas Minnesota is a long way from here.
I join the previous commenter in the hope that you will keep us informed, should any transcripts, recordings or videos become available, at some point.
Posted by: Der Munchkin | November 29, 2007 at 11:32 PM