News – The Bibliographical Society of Canada ☙ La Société bibliographique du Canada

Call for Papers: “At the Threshold: Looking Forward, Looking Back” — Bibliographical and Book Studies in Canada

On 16–18 May 2022, Canada’s bibliographical and book studies community will gather virtually for the Annual Conference of the Bibliographical Society of Canada at the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences. In recognizing the 75th anniversary of the Society’s founding, our conference theme offers an opportunity to reflect critically on the past, present, and future of bibliographical studies.

The study of books is tied inexorably to the past; we examine the deeply-rooted ways bibliography shapes and reflects the world around it. Yet, our discipline also stands at the threshold of a profoundly uncertain future. Amidst change and transformation, we look ahead to new ways of being and understanding in a mutable world. In so doing, we consider what formative legacies we wish to retain and honour—and which we might usefully move beyond towards the end of building a more vibrant and just world.

This paradox evokes the Roman divinity Janus, god of doorways and boundaries, whose two faces look simultaneously at what is coming and what is past. With this image in mind, we invite conference proposals that speak to bibliographic and book history themes of liminality, memory, historicity, futurity, stability, change—and the interstices between them. These might pertain to:

Re-imagining and revision in bibliography and book history
Decentering whiteness within special collections, bibliography, and book history scholarship
Books and print media as intersections of inclusion, exclusion, identity, and belonging
Innovation, traditionality, maintenance, and longevity in the theory and practise of bibliography and book history
Reflections on ecology, climate change, crisis, and sustainability in book history and bibliography
Language, translation, code-switching, and linguistic fluidity in book and print culture
Critical histories and legacies of book collecting in the institutional and sociological context
Skeuomorphism and the mutability of book form through time, space, and technology
Changing “literacies” — plurality in engagement with the text, narrative, and sensory culture
Imagination, nostalgia, personality, personas, and whimsy as influences on the material culture of the book
The role of labour, craft, and expertise in the production and dissemination of books

Congress 2022, as a virtual event, is being held everywhere and nowhere at once. In recognizing this, we invite participants to reflect on what it means to “acknowledge” Indigeneity and geography where they are. What does “acknowledgement” of Indigenous sovereignty and land stewardship look like as a practice? Does it begin and end as a speech act? A meaningful starting place for reflecting on personal and collective participation in enduring legacies of subjugation and dispossession? How could “acknowledgement” include considerations of Indigenous joy, beauty, and cultural attainment? We invite participants to engage sincerely with these questions.

Please submit a 250-word abstract proposal and brief biography in English or French (including your full name, professional designation, institutional affiliation, or place) no later than 28 January 2022 to proposals@bsc-sbc.ca.

Call for Nominations: Tremaine Medal 2022

The Awards Committee invites nominations for the Marie Tremaine Medal, offered by the Bibliographical Society of Canada (BSC) for outstanding service to Canadian bibliography and for distinguished publication in either English or French in that field. The Tremaine Medal is accompanied by the Watters-Morley Prize, a $500 scholarly award.

Eligibility: Members of the Awards Committee and the Society Council are not eligible. Apart from this restriction, the award is open to all. Applications cannot be submitted by the President or members of the Awards Committee, but there are no other restrictions in this regard.

Deadline: January 9, 2022.

Applicants must submit the following documents electronically in English or in French, in a single PDF file in the following order:

A letter of nomination (1-3 pages single spaced), summarizing the nominee’s contributions to Canadian bibliography.
The nominee’s CV, including a list of main relevant publications, projects and work supervised.
Three letters of support from experts in the field, addressing the significance of the candidate’s contributions.
A citation of approximately 750 words about the nominee, to be used as a basis, if the nominee is selected, for the award presentation and to be published along with the recipient’s response in the Papers of the Bibliographical Society of Canada / Cahiers de la Société bibliographique du Canada.

All application materials, including letters of reference, should be sent to Scott Schofield, Chair, BSC Awards Committee, awards_prix@bsc-sbc.ca, by January 9, 2022.

Additional information about the award and the BSC can be found at: http://www.bsc-sbc.ca.

Call for applications: 2022 Emerging Scholar Prize

The Bibliographical Society of Canada (BSC) invites applications for the Emerging Scholar Prize. The Prize promotes the work of a researcher who is beginning a career in the fields of book history and bibliography broadly defined, including a study of the creation, production, publication, distribution, transmission, history, and uses of printed books, manuscripts, or electronic texts. Preference will be given to topics with a Canadian dimension.

The recipient of the BSC Emerging Scholar Prize will be invited to deliver a paper at the Society’s annual conference. A revised article-length version of the paper will be published in The Papers of the Bibliographical Society of Canada / Cahiers de la Société bibliographique du Canada subject to peer review. A grant of $500 accompanies the Prize and may be used to help the recipient attend the annual BSC conference or to meet costs associated with research. The recipient will also receive a one-year complimentary membership in the BSC.

Students of any nationality enrolled in a master’s or doctoral program (e.g., MA, PhD, MLIS) are eligible, as is anyone who has completed such a program within the last two years from date of convocation. Individuals holding tenure track/continuing appointments are ineligible, as are members of the Awards Committee and the BSC Executive. There are no restrictions regarding the topic of research so long as it relates to some aspect of bibliography or book history.

Applicants must submit the following documents electronically in English or in French, in a single PDF file in the following order:

A one-page cover letter that explains the applicant’s interest in and suitability for the prize;
A brief CV (max. three pages);
An abstract (max. 750 words, incl. bibliography) of the proposed paper;
Proof of student status or of graduation within the past two years (copy of diploma, copy of student identification, or official or unofficial transcript).

As well, one confidential letter of reference should be emailed directly by the referee. The letter may be given as text or sent as an attachment, but it must include the referee’s contact information and any institutional affiliation.

All application materials, including letters of reference, should be sent to Scott Schofield, Chair, BSC Awards Committee, awards_prix@bsc-sbc.ca, by December 12, 2021. Incomplete applications will not be considered. The recipient will be announced in February 2022.

Additional information about the award and the BSC can be found at: h ttp://www.bsc-sbc.ca/en/fellowship-awards/#emerging

2022 Marie Tremaine Fellowship – Call for applications

The Bibliographical Society of Canada invites applications for the Marie Tremaine Fellowship. Deadline for application: December 12, 2021.

The Marie Tremaine Fellowship is offered in memory and through the generosity of Marie Tremaine (1902-1984), the doyenne of Canadian bibliographers. The Fellowship was instituted in 1987 and is offered annually to support the work of a scholar engaged in some area of bibliographical research, including textual studies and publishing history and with a particular emphasis on Canada. The amount of the Fellowship is $2,000.00. The recipient of the Marie Tremaine Fellowship also receives a free one-year membership in the society.

For further details and to download an application form please see the Fellowship page at http://www.bsc-sbc.ca/en/fellowship-awards/.

Bulletin 95: Call for Submissions

For its upcoming issue, the Bulletin of the Bibliographical Society of Canada (BSC) invites the submission of stories or news items of interest to bibliographers and book historians. Potential topics include past or upcoming events (exhibitions, book fairs, etc.), ongoing projects, upcoming publications. Submissions are welcome from both members and non-members of the BSC.

Submissions should range between 200 and 300 words in length and should be sent to bulletin@bsc-sbc.ca by September 30, 2021.

Registration open: Bibliographical & Book Studies in Canada Virtual Conference

Relations of the Book

From May 31st to June 1st, bibliographical and book studies researchers will gather remotely for the virtual Annual Conference of the Bibliographical Society of Canada. Our conference speakers this year will engage with the theme ‘Relations of the Book’ in connecting peoples, communities, cultures, and ways of knowing while forming inclusive visions for bibliographical and book studies. We are excited to share a program of speakers that engage with the theme, which includes presentations on the decolonization of texts and diverse bibliographical approaches to examine marginalized ‘book’ cultures.

2021 Marie Tremaine Medal Announcement

The Awards Committee of the Bibliographical Society of Canada/ La Société bibliographique du Canada (BSC-SbC) is pleased to announce that the 2021 Marie Tremaine Medal for excellence in bibliography has been awarded to Dr. Benoît Melançon of the Université de Montréal. As the recipient of the Tremaine Medal, he will also be presented with the Watters-Morley Prize, a cash award named in honour of the distinguished Canadian bibliographers, Reginal Watters and William Morley.

Graduate Student Merit Award winner for 2021

The Bibliographical Society of Canada (BSC) is pleased to announce that Izabeau Legendre, a doctoral student in the Cultural Studies interdisciplinary programme at Queen’s University, has been nominated for the BSC-SbC’s Graduate Student Merit Award. The Awards Committee was impressed by his work in studying the French and English Canadian Zine movement in an international and socio-political perspective. The Committee was also struck by his strong publishing record.

Congratulating the BSC-SbC Emerging Scholar 2021

The Bibliographical Society of Canada (BSC) is pleased to announce Alexis Paquette-Lacasse, a master’s student of comparative literature in the Département de littératures et de langues du monde at the University of Montreal has been awarded the 2021 Emerging Scholar Prize. The BSC Awards Committee was impressed by Paquette-Lacasse’s scholarly accomplishments and excited by the originality of his proposed project that examines queer book history in Quebec in the mid-twentieth century.

Volume 58 of the Papers of the Bibliographical Society of Canada is now available online!

Special issue

Œuvrer ensemble. Les rouages collectifs dans la chaîne du livre
Working together. Collective Mechanisms in the Book Circuit
Edited by Karol’Ann Boivin, Mylène Fréchette, & Virginie Mailhot

Who are the intermediaries in the communications circuit and the book supply chain? What is the scope of their impact on the book as an object, and how do their actions fit in with those of other intermediaries within the book supply chain? These are the questions guiding this special issue, which focuses on the nature of collective work and action in the world of literature.