Dr Michelle J. Smith is a Senior Lecturer in Literary Studies at Monash University, where she teaches fairy tales and children’s literature.
She has published research on Australian fairy tales and ‘Beauty and the Beast’ in the Victorian era, as well as guest-editing an issue of Marvels & Tales. Michelle is currently writing chapters about fairy tales in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific for The Routledge Companion to Fairy Tales and The Cambridge History of Children’s Literature in English.
She is the author of three academic books and six edited collections on children’s literature and Victorian literature. Two co-edited books will be published in the coming year: Literary Cultures and the Nineteenth-Century Childhoods (Palgrave) and The Edinburgh History of Children’s Periodicals, for which she has written a chapter on fairy tales in St. Nicholas magazine.
October 1-2, 2022 at Brisbane’s South Bank precinct
The Australian Fairy Tale Society investigates and creates fairy tales from an Australian perspective. Local Fairy Tale Rings gather in person and via Zoom to explore specific fairy tales. We have mined rich themes at previous conferences, and celebrate members’ talents through our eZine and a new anthology, ‘South of the Sun: Australian Fairy Tales for the 21st Century’.
Invitation
As always our focus is on the Australian interpretation of fairy tales, particularly contemporary multicultural, diverse Australia. As AFTS Conference-goers delight in diversity, we are looking for –
Talks of no more than 25 minutes, including Q&A
Case studies of projects, with a fairy tale basis
Performances of no more than 10 minutes, with an option for 5 minutes’ Q&A
Panel discussions of no more than 25 minutes, including Q&A
Stalls to sell your merchandise.
Feel free to contact us with a new idea. We want to celebrate your creativity not stifle it!
Proposals
By midnight May 6, 2022, please submit your proposal using the online form. This will include –
Name/s
Email address and phone
Bio (max 150 words)
Type of presentation (as above)
Title / Topic, plus a 100-200 word description
Your experience in delivering this material or something similar
Resources … a) that you will provide, b) that the AFTS needs to supply.
What happens next
If your presentation is accepted for the conference, we will ask you to provide –
A colour photograph in high resolution, preferably a close-up of your face, for the program
A two-paragraph introduction which can be used by the MC
Permission to video-record your presentation for later access by AFTS members. (This will be subject to grant funding.)
Permission to use the material you have given us, including your photograph, in any conference promotions. If this includes media interviews, we will discuss this with you first.
Permission to use elements from your presentation (e.g. photos, summaries, links to your publications) in future AFTS publications, such as the eZine. We will discuss these needs as they arise.
We intend to respond to your submissions by the end of June, in order to announce the program in July 2022.
Benefits
The joy of sharing your fairy tale passion with like-minded enthusiasts.
A discount to the conference, and a gift of an annual membership. You will need to complete forms for both of these.
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Australian Fairy Tale Society 