CFP: Bibliographic Society of Australia and New Zealand Conference: Whose Work Is It Anyway?

Conference Dates: 18–21 November, 2025

CFP Deadline: August 1, 2025

Conference information: https://bsanz2025.wordpress.com/ 

Description:

A book is the product of multiple actors (author, agent, printer, editor, publisher), and once a book exists, its life beyond the printer depends on a whole series of additional actors (distributors, booksellers, purchasers, reviewers, prize committees, second-hand sellers, collectors, libraries).  This conference focuses on all of these processes, at different times and in different places.  Whether we regard these agents as part of a full circuit of connections or fortuitous players that may interact haphazardly, we should not conceive of the book as simply a unified container of ideas, though books often try to appear that way.  Papers that examine how any of these interactions impact on or account for the power of the book are welcome.  We especially welcome studies that examine points at which Darnton’s circuit is disrupted or rerouted in unexpected directions.  And ‘book’ encompasses all written communication: in manuscript, periodical or monograph form, physical or virtual.

The 2025 Annual Conference is now open for submissions. To participate, please submit a 250–300 word abstract along with a brief biographical blurb for the online programme. Submissions close on Friday, 1 August, with acceptance decisions by mid-August to facilitate travel plans. Presenters must be members of the BSANZ at the time of the conference. Registration fees will include a welcome reception on the evening of the 18th and morning and afternoon teas and lunch on the 19th and 20th. The Librarians’ Day on Friday the 21st will not have a separate registration fee and it will be possible to attend at least part of that day via Zoom if you are unable to join us in Dunedin.

In addition to plenary sessions, we envision 6 90-minute panels across the two days. Each panel may take the form of 3 20-minute papers with Q&A following or a roundtable format with a group of speakers each presenting very briefly to open a topic for discussion. It may also be possible to organise a panel for early-career scholars who may prefer to present shorter research talks. We are also happy to receive proposals for an entire panel. So please feel free to propose a format that works best for your topic or interests and we will see what we are able to arrange.

To submit an abstract, please send a word processor file (Word, Pages, etc) rather than a PDF, as we will be editing abstracts for a consistent style for the programme. Feel free to include an image for your topic if you wish, since the programme will be digital. We will not include pictures of speakers in the programme. Send abstracts as an email attachment to books@otago.ac.nz. (If the link [a mailto link] is blocked by your provider, just copy or type the email address the old-fashioned way.). Feel free to send any questions to that same address.