The folks from The Mythopoeic Society sent this in: The Mythopoeic Society is holding its 40th annual conference, Mythcon, July 17-20 at UCLA, Los Angeles, California (www.mythsoc.org/mythcon40.html). The Mythopoeic Society is devoted to the study of the JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis, and the Inklings; and myth and fantasy. Mythcon is a combination of serious scholarship (daytime) and fannish fun (evenings). Presentations on both JRR Tolkien and Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings film trilogy would be welcome.

Press Release

Mythcon 40
17 -20 July, 2009
UCLA, Los Angeles, California
www.mythsoc.org/mythcon40.html

Theme: “Sailing the Seas of Imagination”

Author Guest of Honor: James A. Owen, author of The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica (Here, There Be Dragons, The Search for the Red Dragon, and The Indigo King) . He is also the creator of the independent comic book Starchild.

Scholar Guest of Honor: Diana Pavlac Glyer, Ph.D, author of The Company They Keep, the award winning study of the Inklings as a creative community. Dr. Glyer is a professor at Azusa Pacific University.

The Mythopoeic Society is dedicated to the study of JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis, Charles Williams, the Inklings, and general fantasy. Mythcon, the Society’s annual conference, takes place over a weekend, Friday afternoon through Monday morning, with papers and panels, Art Show, Dealers’ Room, and good talk and fun. The Mythopoeic Awards are presented at the Banquet on Sunday evening.

Call for Papers: Mythcon 40 seeks papers on the Conference theme, especially on all aspects of the creative process in the Inklings’ works; on the work of the Guests of Honor, young adult fantasy and science fiction, and the concept of artists and writers in community; and on seaborne imagery, especially the motif of sailing to unknown lands.

Please send abstracts to: Sherwood Smith, 5072 Kingscross Rd., Westminster, CA 92683, USA; Sherwood@sff.net. The deadline for submissions is 15 April, 2009.

Membership Rates: $65 for Mythopoeic Society Members, $75 for non-members, children under 12 free. On 16 May rates will increase to $70 for Members, $80 for non-members.

Room & Board: Mythcon 40 will be held in the DeNeve Plaza Conference Center of the University of California at Los Angeles, California. Please consult the Mythcon website www.mythsoc.org/mythcon40.html for Room & Board packages and rates.

Payment: pay online via PayPal at www.mythsoc.org/mythcon40.html or mail payment to: The Mythopoeic Society, Attn: Mythcon 40, PO Box 28427, San Jose, CA 95129, USA.