World Congress of Scottish Literatures 2027

11/11/2025

Call for Papers: 5th World Congress of Scottish Literatures: Scotland Along the New Silk Road (17-20 June 2027, Nanjing Normal University, China). The main theme of the congress underscores the dynamic interplay between Scottish literature with the diverse literary landscapes along this transcontinental bridge of cultural exchanges. Deadline for submissions: 30 November 2026.

The Fifth World Congress of Scottish Literatures will be held at Nanjing Normal University in Nanjing, China, on 17-20 June 2027. Being China’s first city designated as a “UNESCO City of Literature…

11/07/2025

International Association for the Study of Scottish Literatures is delighted to announce that the Fifth World Congress of Scottish Literatures is going to be held at Nanjing Normal University on 17-20 June 2027. Find out more about IASSL events & congresses: https://scotlit-iassl.org/events/

04/10/2023

World Congress of Scottish Literatures 2024 at the University of Nottingham

We are very excited that the fourth World Congress of Scottish Literatures will be hosted by the School of English at the University of Nottingham, from Wednesday 3rd to Sunday 7th July 2024.

Both the School and the city enjoy a richly interlinked history with Scotland and Scottish writing. The School has particular specialist research in Older Scots, Romanticism, literary Modernism, and in the contemporary. Nottingham and its Midlands environs recur in the writing of Walter Scott; Byron’s ancestral home of Newstead Abbey lies just north of the city; J. M. Barrie earned a living writing for the Nottingham Journal; and the University holds the papers of Catherine Carswell. We even make an appearance in Trainspotting.

While the fourth World Congress does not have a specific theme, our scope is transnational, and we would especially welcome papers on subjects that reflect the specific context of the Congress in Nottingham: the relationship between Scotland and England from earliest times to the present, a relationship which has had profound implications for the entire world, and which is a significant relationship in literatures in Scots, Gaelic, English, French and Latin from earliest evidence to contemporary production.

Proposals for papers, posters and presentations should include an abstract of c. 200 words, and your affiliation. Papers in English, Scots or Scottish Gaelic are welcomed; however, the conference is unable to provide simultaneous translation services for papers not delivered in English. The deadline for ALL proposal submissions is 31 October 2023.

Please send submissions to the Congress Committee at Nottingham: [email protected].

For more information and to read the Call for Papers, please follow this link: https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/conference/fac-arts/english/iassl/index.aspx

01/09/2023

Thèid ceathramh Còmhdhail na Cruinne airson Litreachas na h-Alba a chumail aig Oilthigh Nottingham, Sasainn, bhon 3-7 dhen t-Iuchar 2024. ’S e coinneamh mhòr eadar-nàiseanta a th’ ann de luchd-rannsachaidh aig a bheil ùidh ann an litreachas na h-Alba air fad agus anns a h-uile cànan, le cuideam air àite na h-Alba anns an t-saoghal. ’S e ceann-latha airson nam molaidhean air fad 31 an Dàmhair 2023.

📣 Gairm phàipearan sa Ghàidhlig: https://tinyurl.com/mt6cwhbd

23/08/2023

There's still time to submit a proposal for the World Congress of Scottish Literatures 2024.

Deadline for submissions 31st October 2023.

Full details in the post below ⬇️

30/06/2023

CALL FOR PAPERS - World Congress of Scottish Literatures 2024

We are delighted to announce that the fourth World Congress of Scottish Literatures will be held from 3-7 July 2024 at the University of Nottingham in England. The Congress is a major international gathering of scholars with a research interest in the study of all Scottish literatures, across all of Scotland's languages, with an emphasis on Scotland's place in the world.

Proposals for papers, posters and presentations should include an abstract of c. 200 words, and your affiliation. Please see the document attached below for full information and how to submit your proposal.

The deadline for ALL proposal submissions is 31 October 2023.

Congress website: https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/conference/fac-arts/english/iassl/index.aspx

19/08/2022

We are very excited to announce that the fourth World Congress of Scottish Literatures will be hosted by the School of English at the University of Nottingham, from Wednesday 3rd to Sunday 7th July 2024. Both the School and the city enjoy a richly interlinked history with Scotland and Scottish writing. The School has particular specialist research in Older Scots, Romanticism, literary Modernism, and in the contemporary. Nottingham and its Midlands environs recur in the writing of Walter Scott; Byron’s ancestral home of Newstead Abbey lies just north of the city; J. M. Barrie earned a living writing for the Nottingham Journal; and the University holds the papers of Catherine Carswell. We even make an appearance in Trainspotting.

More information about the Congress: https://bit.ly/3QEElLW
Register to receive updates: https://bit.ly/3A7ugjE

We are very excited to announce that the fourth World Congress of Scottish Literatures will be hosted by the School of English at the University of Nottingham, from Wednesday 3rd to Sunday 7th July 2024. Both the School and the city enjoy a richly interlinked history with Scotland and Scottish writing. The School has particular specialist research in Older Scots, Romanticism, literary Modernism, and in the contemporary. Nottingham and its Midlands environs recur in the writing of Walter Scott; Byron’s ancestral home of Newstead Abbey lies just north of the city; J. M. Barrie earned a living writing for the Nottingham Journal; and the University holds the papers of Catherine Carswell. We even make an appearance in Trainspotting.

We hope that the Congress will be an opportunity to continue the mission of the International Association for the Study of Scottish Literatures, to bring together scholars from all over the world situate Scotland in a global and transnational scope. Hosting the Congress south of the border also offers us an opportunity to revisit the historical relationship between England and Scotland, and the effect that collaboration has had on the world. Nottingham, meanwhile, is indelibly marked by an outlaw imagination, and we are looking forward to a Congress held in that spirit.

More information about the Congress will be posted as it becomes available on our website https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/conference/fac-arts/english/iassl/index.aspx. Meanwhile, if you would like to register your preliminary interest and receive updates then you can please fill out an expression of interest form here https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/english/registration-of-interest.aspx

04/08/2022

A full recording of Joep Leerssen's keynote lecture "Scotland as a Literary Multiverse: Bards, Minstrels, Troubadours and the Modern Reading Public" is now also available via International Association for the Study of Scottish Literatures.
👉

3rd World Congress of Scottish Literatures, Charles University, Prague, 22-26 June 2022Keynote Lecture | Prof. Joep Leerssen (University of Amsterdam): Scotl...

01/08/2022

The complete recording of the keynote lecture by Glenda Norquay, "The Tale of Tweedie’s Dog: Narrative Homecomings and Nomadic Reiterations", is now available via International Association for the Study of Scottish Literatures YouTube channel. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇨🇿

3rd World Congress of Scottish Literatures, Charles University, Prague22-26 June 2022Keynote lecture | Prof. Glenda Norquay (Liverpool John Moores University...

30/07/2022

The complete recording of the Prague congress opening ceremony, with readings by Christopher Whyte and Matthew F**t, and Angela Esterhammer's keynote lecture on “Speculation, Displacement, and Transatlantic Entanglement”, is now available on the YouTube channel of International Association for the Study of Scottish Literatures: https://youtu.be/Mq_wJvwj4Bc 🇨🇿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

3rd World Congress of Scottish Literatures, Charles University, Prague22-26 June 2022Opening Ceremony, Karolinum, 22 June 2022Welcome addressesProf. Martin P...