We are pleased to announce a CFP for submissions to the First Annual Fandom and Neomedia Studies (FANS) Conference in Dallas, TX, on 1 and 2 June 2013. We are privileged to have Helen McCarthy as our keynote speaker.

Fandom for us includes all aspects of being a fan, ranging from being a passive audience member to producing one’s own parafictive or interfictive creations. Neomedia includes both new media as it is customarily defined as well as new ways of using and conceptualizing traditional media.

Ours is an interdisciplinary group, including historians, psychologists, geologists, writers, and independent scholars. We welcome contributions from all disciplines and from all levels of academic achievement. Submissions are welcome from professors, students, and independent researchers. Topics may come from anime, manga, science fiction, television series, movies, radio, performing arts, or any other popular culture phenomenon and their respective fandom groups.

Abstracts of no more than 500 words must be submitted by 31 March 2013. Please also include your CV. Authors accepted for the conference will be notified by 15 April 2013. Successful submissions to the conference will also be published in the July edition of The Phoenix Papers, our quarterly peer-reviewed journal. If you wish to submit a paper for inclusion in the journal but not for conference consideration, the same requirements and deadlines apply. Please indicate your preference in your submission email. Because conference papers will be included in our journal, they must conform to our Style Guide. Presentations will be 20 minutes long with 10 minutes for Q&A sessions. The Sunday sessions will be given over to extended discussion on the three most popular topics from the Saturday presentations and a final “How Did We Do?” panel.

The FANS Conference is hosted and sponsored by A-Kon, the longest continually running anime and manga convention in North America. It will be held at the Dallas Hilton Anatole Hotel. Conference pre-registration is $60. Pre-registration closes on 28 April 2013. Pre-registration includes a full weekend pass to A-Kon 24, which will provide an excellent opportunity for in-person research into anime and manga fandoms. On-site registration will also be available for $70. All presenters must pre-register. Information for the hotel and luncheon is being finalized as of this writing.

Please use our Contact Us page should you have any questions. All submissions should be sent to fansconference (at) gmail.com.