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German Tolkien Society conference in October

Our sister society in Germany, Deutsche Tolkien Gesellschaft (DTG), is hosting its annual seminar this October at Augsburg University.

This is the 14th annual Seminar for DTG, and is supported by Walking Tree Publsihers and is held in conjunction with the society’s 20th anniversary. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the society, they have opened up two scholarships offering paid travel and accommodation for the duration of the event.

The seminar, due to be held from 27th to 29th October 2017, has a theme this year’s of “Literary Worldbuilding”. Contributions will be published in either Hither Shore or the forthcoming Walking Tree Publications book. From DTG:

Mark J.P. Wolf, in his Building Imaginary Worlds: The Theory and History of Subcreation (Routledge, 2012), which constitutes the to date most comprehensive study on the topic, refers repeatedly to Tolkien’s achievement as both author and theorist. Although Tolkien’s literary cosmos may not be the most elaborate of the imaginary worlds in existence, it is certainly the most influential. The posthumous editorial work of Tolkien’s son Christopher has also shown that Arda remains unrivalled in its consistency and complexity. Additionally, the re-publication of Tolkien’s Andrew Lang lecture On Fairy-stories (originally delivered 1939) and its interpretation within the discourse of literary fantasy have further strengthened his position as one of the foremost proponents of literary worldbuilding or, as he himself preferred to call it, (literary) subcreation.

For more information about the event, visit the DTG website.

About the Author: Shaun Gunner
Shaun is the Chair of The Tolkien Society. First elected in 2013, Shaun has overseen the Society's expansion from 600 to 3,500 members. Shaun regularly speaks about adaptations of Tolkien's works and the future of Tolkien scholarship whilst passionately believing the Society needs to reach out to new audiences. In his spare time he can be found playing video games and Lego, or on Twitter. He chaired another charity, Mankind, and is a local councillor.