Conferences and Conventions
Upcoming Events
No events to display.
Past Events
- Show / Hide Details
Experience what will be the biggest Thornton Wilder gathering this year! The Third International Thornton Wilder Conference will be held in Peterborough, New Hampshire, July 12-14, 2018. The conference is co-sponsored by the Thornton Wilder Society, the Wilder Family, and the Monadnock Center for History and Culture. Peterborough, a small town in southern New Hampshire, is the site of the MacDowell Colony, which has provided support for thousands of writers, artists, and composers since its founding in 1907. The Colony was one of Thornton Wilder’s favorite places to work on a novel or play; and because part of Our Town was written there, Peterborough is often cited as the model for Grover’s Corners, one of the most famous fictional towns in American literature. Wilder received the inaugural MacDowell Medal in 1960, an award that has since been bestowed on many of the world’s most notable artists in all media.
In addition to paper presentations by scholars from all over the country and overseas, we will have panel discussions and readings with theatre artists such as David Greenspan, Jim Knable, Carl Forsman, and Laurie McCants. At the opening night reception on July 11, David Greenspan will perform an excerpt from his stage adaptation of The Bridge of San Luis Rey. Thursday night features a reading of The Long Christmas Dinner followed by a discussion of Wilder’s one-act plays led by director Carl Forsman. On Friday evening, the Peterborough Players will perform The Skin of Our Teeth. Friday afternoon features a walking tour of Wilder-related and Our Town–related sites in Peterborough, and a bus tour that includes a visit to Wilder’s studio at the MacDowell Colony and the cemetery depicted in Our Town. At the closing-night banquet the Wilder Prize will be awarded to renowned playwright Donald Margulies, along with a reading from Jim Knable’s stage adaptation of Wilder’s first novel, The Cabala.
For complete details and to download the conference program, visit the Third International Thornton Wilder Conference Hub.
- Show / Hide Details
In conjunction with the Third International Thornton Wilder Conference, the Society is currently inviting paper proposals. The deadline for proposals is
January21, 2018January 21, 2018; presenters will be notified of acceptance by February, 2018.
CALL FOR PAPERS
THIRD INTERNATIONAL
THORNTON WILDER CONFERENCE
July 12-14, 2018
Peterborough, New Hampshire
The Third International Thornton Wilder Conference will be held in Peterborough, New Hampshire, July 12-14, 2018. The conference will be co-sponsored by the Thornton Wilder Society and the Monadnock Center for History and Culture. Peterborough, a small town in southern New Hampshire, is the site of the MacDowell Colony, which has provided support for thousands of writers, artists, and composers since its founding in 1907. The Colony was one of Thornton Wilder’s favorite places to work on a novel or play; and because part of Our Town was written there, Peterborough is often cited as the model for Grover’s Corners, one of the most famous fictional towns in American literature. Wilder received the inaugural MacDowell Medal in 1960, an award that has since been bestowed on many of the world’s most notable artists in all media.
While we certainly encourage papers that deal with Our Town, we are interested in proposals on all aspects of Wilder’s work––and on its relation to the work of other writers and to the several eras of his productive life, from the 1920s through the 1970s––as a dramatist, novelist, screenwriter, librettist, essayist, lecturer, adapter, translator, teacher, and scholar. We welcome proposals applying any critical perspective to his work, as well as proposals on teaching Wilder; and because Wilder’s relationship to his family was important to his life and art, we also welcome papers dealing with the work of his siblings and his parents. We invite proposals from graduate students, established scholars, and independent scholars of all nationalities––in American, English, and comparative literature; American studies; history; classics; theatre; religion; music; and other fields. Fellowships will be made available to help defray the expenses of graduate students attending the conference.
In addition to paper presentations, we will be inviting renowned theatre and literary artists to participate. Conference events will include an opening night reception on July 11th, productions of Wilder plays by local theatre companies, a walking tour of Wilder-related and Our Town–related sites in Peterborough, a bus tour that includes a visit to Wilder’s studio at the MacDowell Colony and the cemetery depicted in Our Town, and a closing-night banquet at which the Wilder Prize will be awarded to a distinguished literary figure. Housing at different cost levels will be available; shuttle services will be provided to Peterborough from the nearest train station and airport.
We welcome your suggestions and questions. Please send a 250-500-word proposal (noting any audiovisual requests) along with a brief CV or biographical statement to Jackson R. Bryer at jbryer@umd.edu.
The deadline for proposals is
January21, 2018January 21, 2018; presenters will be notified of acceptance by February 1, 2018.
- Show / Hide Details
In May 2016, The Thornton Wilder Society will once again take part in the American Literature Association Conference.
The Thornton Wilder Society invites proposals for a panel on Queer Readings of Thornton Wilder. As documented by recent biographies Thornton Wilder: A Life by Penelope Niven and Secret Historian: The Life and Times of Samuel Steward by Justin Spring, Thornton Wilder lived as a deeply-closeted gay man. Recent revelations of the author’s secret sexuality present new opportunities for Wilder scholarship in the field of Queer Studies. Possible approaches include Wilder’s depiction of “secret lives” or “lives separately led”; the author’s presentation of both traditional marriage and same-sex relationships (e.g., Barnaby and Cornelius in The Matchmaker); issues of gender in Wilder’s Stage Manager characters; characters as autobiographical surrogates for the author (e.g., Theophilus North, Dolly Levi, or Simon Stimson); and Wilder’s texts in conversation with gay authors (e.g., Edward Albee, Tennessee Williams, William Inge, Lanford Wilson). Proposals on Wilder’s plays, novels, or other writings will be considered. Information about his works and available editions can be found on our Works page and our Bibliography page. We encourage graduate students as well as established scholars to submit 500-word proposals and C.V.s to Park Bucker at psbucke@uscsumter.edu by
January 4, 2016January 20, 2016.The 27th annual American Literature Association Conference will be held May 26-29, 2016 at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco in San Francisco, CA. For more information, please visit the American Literature Association Conference website.
Update: The proposal deadline has been extended until January 20, 2016.
Update: The proposal deadline has been extended until January 20, 2016.
- Show / Hide Details
Thornton Wilder Conference tickets are now on sale! Your ticket guarantees you a spot in what will no doubt be the biggest Thornton Wilder gathering this year, coming June 11-13, 2015 to Newport, RI! The conference will feature more than 20 presentations, round table conversations, panel discussions, readings, and social events featuring leading academics, practitioners, and professionals from countries including France, China, Iran, Italy, Switzerland, and the United States. Join us for this exciting study of Thornton Wilder and his works!
The Second International Thornton Wilder Conference is sponsored by the Thornton Wilder Society.
Visit the Conference Hub on our website for tickets and additional information.
- Show / Hide Details
In conjunction with The Second International Thornton Wilder Conference, the Society is currently inviting paper proposals. The deadline for proposals is
November 1, 2014November 17, 2014; presenters will be notified of acceptance by December 1, 2014.We are especially interested in proposals that explore works other than Our Town, such as The Skin of Our Teeth, The Matchmaker, The Alcestiad, The Long Christmas Dinner, Pullman Car Hiawatha, The Happy Journey to Trenton and Camden, and the plays from the Seven Deadly Sins and Seven Ages of Man cycles Wilder worked on in the late 1950s/early 1960s, all available in Thornton Wilder: Collected Plays and Writings on Theater, ed. J. D. McClatchy, published by Library of America. We also would like to see proposals on any of the novels, and in honor of Penelope Niven, proposals based on or making extensive use of Thornton Wilder: A Life (HarperCollins, 2012).
CALL FOR PAPERS
The Second International
Thornton Wilder ConferenceJune 11-13, 2015
Newport, Rhode IslandThe Second International Thornton Wilder Conference will be held at Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island, a city rich in its associations with Wilder. The conference will be sponsored by the Thornton Wilder Society and Salve Regina University. Wilder first came to Newport as a member of the first Coast Artillery Corps of the National Army, stationed at Fort Adams on Narragansett Bay, during the final months of World War I. The charms of Newport drew him back during the summer of 1922 after his first year of teaching at The Lawrenceville School. He lived at the YMCA and tutored children of Newport families to earn living expenses, and he worked on his first novel, The Cabala; this experience became the basis for his last and most autobiographical novel, Theophilus North. Wilder returned to Newport many times during the rest of his life, often writing parts of plays or novels––he completed The Bridge of San Luis Rey there in 1927––and working on his non-fiction while staying in such still-famous hotels as the Castle Hill Inn and The Viking. Newport thus stands as perhaps first among equals of the many “spas out of season” he visited in his search for a place to write and is a particularly appropriate venue for the Second International Thornton Wilder Conference.
While we encourage papers that deal with Wilder and Newport, we are interested in proposals on all aspects of Wilder’s work––and on its relation to the work of other writers and to the several eras of his productive life, from the 1920s through the 1970s––as a dramatist, novelist, screenwriter, librettist, essayist, lecturer, adapter, translator, teacher, and scholar; and from any critical perspective (e.g., gender studies, queer theory, and post-structuralist theory). Furthermore, because Wilder’s relationship to his family was important to his life and art, we also welcome papers dealing with the work of his siblings and his parents. We invite proposals from graduate students, established scholars, and independent scholars of all nationalities, in American, English, and comparative literature, American studies and history, the classics, religion, music, and other fields.
In addition to paper presentations, we will be inviting renowned theatre artists, writers, scholars, and critics to participate. Confirmed already are playwrights Paula Vogel, Will Eno, and A. R. Gurney; poet/critic J. D. McClatchy; and Tappan Wilder, his uncle’s literary executor.
Inexpensive housing will be available on the Salve Regina campus, which is located in the Ochre Point area and borders on the famous Cliff Walk overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Newport also has a variety of hotels from which to choose. Conference events will include—besides a closing-night banquet at which the Wilder Prize will be presented to a distinguished member of the literary community—a bus tour of the city, with a focus on locations related to Wilder and his fiction; and a reception at the Redwood Library.
We welcome your questions and suggestions. Please send a 250-500-word proposal (noting any audio/visual requests) along with a brief CV or biographical statement to Jackson R. Bryer at jbryer@umd.edu.
The deadline for proposals is
November 1, 2014November 17, 2014; presenters will be notified of acceptance by December 1, 2014.Update 1: The proposal deadline has been extended until November 17, 2014.
Update 2: The deadline for submitting a conference proposal was November 17, 2014. Thanks to all those who submitted proposals; you will be hearing from conference director Jackson R. Bryer by December 1st.
Update: Deadline Extended until November 17, 2014
- Show / Hide Details
Join us for the 25th Annual American Literature Association Conference!
From May 22 through May 25, the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC will play host to literary scholars, enthusiasts, and more with a series of panels, readings, and other events.
Among the many captivating presentations, TWS will present the panel Influence on/of Thornton Wilder on Friday, May 23 during the 9:40-11:00am block A summary of the panel is shown below:
Session 8-E Influence on/of Thornton Wilder
Friday, May 23, during the 9:40-11:00am block
Organized by the Thornton Wilder Society
Chair: Jackson R. Bryer, University of Maryland
1. “An ‘Absurd’ Pairing: Wilder, Beckett and the Benefit of Blurring Boundaries,” Tony Gunn, Florida State University
2.“Our Town (1940) Film Adaptation: Editing History in Transition,” Hsin Hsieh, National Taiwan University
3. “You Can’t Go Back Again: The Choice of Life and Death in Wilder’s Our Town and Ruhl’s Eurydice,” Wesley Longacre, University of Colorado-Boulder
4. “Thornton Wilder’s Influence on Post-War Germany and German Playwrights,” Yvonne Shafer, St. John’s UniversityTo download the conference program or for information on procedures, paper proposals, fees, and other topics, please visit the 2014 ALA Conference webpage.
- Show / Hide Details
Join us for the 24th Annual American Literature Association Conference!
From May 23 through May 26, the Westin Copley Place hotel in Boston, Massachusetts will play host to literary scholars, enthusiasts, and more with a series of panels, readings, and other events.
Among the many captivating presentations, TWS will present two panels, Thornton Wilder and the Theatre of Engagement on Saturday, May 25 during the 9:30-10:50am block and Thornton Wilder’s Classical Engagments on Saturday, May 25 during the 11:00-12:20am block. For the first panel, Society President Jackson R. Bryer will chair, and share the stage with Hsin Hsieh, Lincoln Konkle (Society Executive Director), Nicole Magno, and Lindsay D. Rogers. The second panel will feature Judith P. Hallett (part of the Society’s Board of Directors) as chair, with presentations by Katharine Pilkington, Stephen Rojcewicz, Mathias Hanses, and Thomas Buck.
A summary of the panels is shown below:
Session 15-K Thornton Wilder and the Theatre of Engagement
Saturday, May 25, during the 9:30-10:50am block
Organized by the Thornton Wilder Society
Chair: Jackson R. Bryer, University of Maryland, College Park
1. “Thornton Wilder’s Jian Chang in Our Town the Stage Play,” Hsin Hsieh, National Taiwan University
2. “Wilder Towns: Twenty first Century Stagings of the American Classic,” Lincoln Konkle, The College of New Jersey.
3. “Carnivalesque Havoc and the Shifting of Gendered Stages in Thornton Wilder’s The Matchmaker and The Eighth Day,” Nicole Magno, The College of New Jersey
4. “Contesting Heteronormativity and Constructing the Essential Woman in Wilder’s Three Plays,” Lindsay D. Rogers, The College of New JerseySession 16-F Thornton Wilder’s Classical Engagements
Saturday, May 25, during the 11:00-12:20am block
Organized by the Thornton Wilder Society
Chair: Judith P. Hallett, University of Maryland, College Park
1. “Recasting Greco-Roman Comedy as an American Tragic Novel: Gender, Ethnicity and Sexuality in The Woman of Andros,” Katharine Pilkington, University of Maryland, College Park
2. “The Spread of Manure: From Parasite to Calling to Life in The Matchmaker,” Stephen Rojcewicz MD, University of Maryland, College Park
3. “‘Once our brief light has set…’ Catullus in Thornton Wilder’s The Ides of March,” Mathias Hanses, Columbia University
4. “Sophoclean Echoes in Wilder’s The Alcestiad,” Thomas Buck, University of Buffalo Respondent: Willard Spiegelman, Southern Methodist UniversityIn addition to the Society’s presentation, this year’s ALA Conference features even more chances to delve into Wilder’s writings with the following panels:
Session 1-D The Newport of Thornton Wilder’s Theophilus North
Thursday, May 23, during the 9:00-10:20am block
Organizer: Sarah Littlefield, Salve Regina University
Chair: Lisa Long Feldmann, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
1.“Faded Glory: Images of Newport in Wilder’s Theophilus North,” John Quinn, Salve Regina University
2.“’Soon you too will rest’”: The Lure of Newport for Thornton and Theophilus,” Sarah Littlefield, Salve Regina University
3. “Through the Eyes of Theophilus: Vintage Images of the Nine Cities,” Daniel Titus, Independent ScholarSession 11-C Roundtable: The Theater of Engagement, a Joint Session of the American Drama Societies
Friday, May 24, during the 2:10-3:30pm block
Organized by the Eugene O’Neill Society
Moderator: Steven F. Bloom, Eugene O’Neill Society, Lasell College
1. Joel Pfister, Eugene O’Neill Society, Wesleyan University
2. Barbara Ozieblo, Susan Glaspell Society, University of Málaga
3. Lincoln Konkle, Thornton Wilder Society, The College of New Jersey
4. Joshua Polster, Arthur Miller Society, Emerson College
5. Michael Downing, August Wilson Society, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania
6. Adrienne Macki Braconi, American Theatre and Drama Society (ATDS), University of ConnecticutTo download the conference program or for information on procedures, paper proposals, fees, and other topics, please visit the 2013 ALA Conference webpage.
- Show / Hide Details
HarperCollins Publishers will be hosting a Thornton Wilder Society event on Saturday, November 17, at the National Council of Teachers of English Annual Convention. The event will take place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
HarperCollins will provide the opportunity for conference-goers to meet experts from the Thornton Wilder Society including Tappan Wilder (Thornton’s nephew and literary executor), Jackson R. Bryer (Society president), and Lincoln Konkle (Society executive director). Additionally, they will be giving away free copies of Our Town to the first 100 people in preparation of its 75th anniversary in 2013.
If you’ll be there on November 17, you can come to Booth 521 to meet the experts between 10am and 12pm, or come to the Premiere Ballroom to hear the experts’ panel, Teaching Thornton Wilder to 21st Century Students, from 2:45pm to 4pm.
For the complete convention program, visit the NTCE website.
