‘The Gothic North’ Symposium chaired by Dr Linnie Blake also including ‘Horror: A Literary History’ book launch and wine reception
In the year in which Manchester recognises the Gothic dimensions of the city in a programme of thrilling Halloween events (for which we are happy to take some credit), the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies continues to go from strength to strength. We are delighted to welcome the distinguished academic Professor Dale Townshend and the hugely talented novelist Andrew Michael Hurley as new members of staff at Manchester Met and new members of the Centre. Both will make a great contribution to our work and to future Gothic Manchester Festivals.
So, in keeping with our reputation for Gothic excellence in the fast-beating heart of the North, we are proud to present the fourth annual conference of the Gothic Manchester Festival – an event that explores the contribution made to the Gothic mode by places, people and things northern. Presentations range from the Lancashire witches to West Yorkshire’s dark satanic mills, from Doom Metal, northern Goth music and Gothic subcultures to horror poetics, from Nordic vampires to the Hull werewolf and from the frozen landscapes of the north to Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey. Presenting their work are creative writers and PhD students, early career researchers and internationally recognised specialists in their fields. All are committed to giving exciting and accessible papers of interest to anyone who wants to know more about the darkness that lurks beneath the surface of the northern world and manifests itself in stories and novels, films, television programmes, poetry, music and more. As ever, no specialist knowledge is needed but an interest in the grimness of the Gothic north is essential.
The symposium will finish at 6pm and be followed by the book launch of ‘Horror: A Literary History’, a wine reception and another fantastic cake creation from Conjurors Kitchen