Call for Papers
We invite proposals for twenty-minute papers on all aspects of William and Dorothy Wordsworth, their contemporaries and the Romantic period. We also welcome proposals on all topics related to Romantic period culture and literature and likewise welcome panel suggestions of 2-3 papers).
Papers that identify a bicentenary Wordsworth theme linking the 1820s to the 2020s will be welcomed and, as the 1820s was a productive decade, possible topics might include the Duddon Sonnets and Topographical Description (1820), Vaudracour and Julia, A Description of the Scenery of the Lakes (1822), Memorials of a Tour on the Continent (1820), Ecclesiastical Sketches (1822), Poetical Works (1827), and the Galignani Poetical Works (1828). Further themes for papers might include Dorothy Wordsworth’s writings in the 1820s, the Wordsworth family in the 1820s, the natural world, industry, steam power, and Wordsworthian travels in the 1820s.
Please note that participants presenting papers must attend as full participants for either all of Part 1 or all of Part 2, or the whole ten-day conference.
Papers should not be longer than 2750 words.
All proposals for papers, bursary applications (and references, if applicable) should be emailed by 25 April 2025 to
Regular participants:
200-word proposals for papers of no more than 2750 words, together with a brief autobiographical paragraph, unformatted, should occupy no more than 1 side of A4 in MS Word format. Please remember to include your name, institution and e-mail address on the abstract. Please do not send proposals as a PDF file as they will be copied into a composite MS Word document.
Bursary applicants:
Your application should be in the form of a Word attachment (not PDF) containing a paper proposal of 300 words, together with a short unformatted cv in the same file, the entire application being not more than two sides of A4 (the file will be copied and pasted into a composite file, so please avoid elaborate formatting). Applicants should also arrange for a short letter of academic recommendation to be sent independently to the same email address (see above) verifying the applicant’s academic status and country of residence. Candidates need not specify which bursary they are applying for. They will automatically be considered for any bursary for which they are eligible. **Please be sure to identify your e-mail as ‘BURSARY APPLICATION’**.
Please note that we may award a bursary without having space to include the proposed paper on the conference programme: such papers may, however, be ‘taken as read’, that is, made available in print form at the conference, if the proposer so chooses.
Remember: paper proposals, bursary applications and references should be submitted by 25 April 2025 to proposal.wsc@gmail.com.