Book and Place: University of Otago, Center for the Book Annual Research Symposium (2016) – Registration Now Open

Book and Place
2016 Centre for the Book Annual Research Symposium
Centre for the Book, University of Otago, Dunedin
27-28 October, 2016

This year’s event will open with a public lecture on Thursday night (27 October, 2016), followed by a day of stimulating papers (Friday 28 October 2016). Thursday night’s lecture at the Dunedin Public Library will be given by Neville Peat, author of numerous books about Southern New Zealand (http://www.nevillepeatsnewzealand.com). Come listen to this well-known author reflect on his sense of book and place as he describes, in words and pictures, some of New Zealand’s most remote and precious areas and landmarks, and his ideas for an autobiography that explores an array of New Zealand islands spanning 8,500 kms of latitude, from the tropical to the frozen.

Friday will consist of panels of 20-min papers, with a plenary lecture by Dr. Ingrid Horrocks of Massey University after morning tea. Ingrid is one of the editors of the forthcoming Victoria University Press title, Extraordinary Anywhere: Essays on Place from Aotearoa New Zealand, as well as an online anthology about a particular place, Pukeahu (http://pukeahuanthology.org). The day will open with reflections by Professor Tony Ballantyne. The full program is available to download here: https://blogs.otago.ac.nz/cfb/2016/09/08/2016-symposium-book-and-place-program-and-registration-info/2016-symposium-program/

We are also delighted that Nicky Page will be joining us. As Director to Dunedin’s City of Literature program, Nicky will have lots of thoughts about our topic and will also look forward to hearing the insights of others.

Thanks to support from the Department of English and Linguistics, the Division of the Humanities, and the Centre for Research on Colonial Cultures, we are delighted that there will be no charge for the symposium, though participants will need to bring or buy their own lunch. We will provide a reception following the evening lecture, and morning and afternoon tea.

We look forward to seeing you. We can accommodate 70 people in the Marjorie Barclay Theatre of the Otago Museum, so please ensure you register early to secure a place. To register, please send an email providing your name as you wish it to appear on your name tag and your email address to books@otago.ac.nz. You will also need to notify the Public Library that you wish to attend the Thursday evening lecture by going to the Library’s event site to let them know you are coming: http://www.dunedinlibraries.govt.nz/events/literary/adults/centre-for-the-book-stories-in-the-landscape-a-40-year-odyssey.