CFP
Crime Series
Following our recent project The Foreign in International Crime Fiction: Transcultural Representations (forthcoming from Continuum, August 2012, see information available at www.continuumbooks.com/books/detail.aspx?BookId=167802&SubjectId=997&Subject2Id=927), we invite interested scholars and specialists to contribute to a planned volume on crime series. We envisage including studies of print, television, and film series and are keen to consider a wide range of authors, countries and time periods. The category ‘crime fiction’ is here understood in the broad sense i.e. detective, spy, mystery and thriller. Research which includes interview input from crime fiction authors is especially welcome.
According to Eco (1966) in his study of the Bond books, a series is constructed around a fixed grammar. Other critics such as Cawelti (1976) have insisted on the formulaic nature of crime fiction, including the series. To what extent is this accurate? What are the mechanisms that anchor a series? What constitutes a series? How do the central characters evolve over time? Can a series (eg. Sherlock Holmes or James Bond) be successfully continued by another author or authors? What moves or allows an author to create more than one series? Might a series be based on elements other than the main protagonist, for example a place? Are series able to create a “sense of a place” (Geherin 2008)? Are there different criteria for a series in different cultures, or across genders and age groups? Can series address the problems and anxieties of a specific class, gender or age group? To what extent do readers’ expectations play a role? How do print series translate into visual form or vice-versa? We welcome proposals addressing these and any other pertinent aspects.
Schedule: Proposals of approximately 500 words, a short bibliography and a 50-word author note should be sent by 31st July 2012. Selected proposers will be invited by 31st August 2012 to send their full article of no more than 5000 words including bibliography and notes by 30th November 2012. Final acceptance will be advised by 31st January 2013.
Please, feel free to circulate this.
All inquiries and initial proposals to: carolina.miranda@vuw.ac.nz.
Jean Anderson
Carolina Miranda
Barbara Pezzotti
