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Electronic Literature Organization Conference and Media Festival
2020 – Orlando – Call for Proposals
We invite submissions for presentations, performances, and exhibition pieces at the annual Electronic Literature Organization Conference and Media Arts Festival (ELO), to be held July 16-19, 2020, at the University of Central Florida in downtown Orlando.
ELO seeks proposals related to electronic literature, or e-lit–literary works in which computation forms some essential part of the aesthetic. #ELOrlando offers an opportunity to share research and creative contributions within an engaging, collegial atmosphere comprising e-lit scholars and practitioners from across the globe.
The theme for ELO 2020 is “(un)continuity”: participants are invited to explore fluidity and nonbinary concepts, including, re/presentation; categorization; spectra of light, sound, and the ultra/infra visible; social organization; unity; and discord.
ELO 2020 accepts three submission types. Please note that while participants are welcome to submit up to two proposals as first author, only one submission as lead will be accepted per participant. Panels do not count as a lead submission for any participant.
The submission portal is open now!
Conference Proceedings Papers
New this year, we invite participants to submit full papers for consideration for an anonymized peer-reviewed conference proceedings collection. Paper submissions should be at most 3500 words long, and formatted according to the submission guidelines for the Electronic Book Review.
Accepted papers will be grouped thematically, and participants in these sessions will be asked to read the papers of their fellow panelists prior to the conference session to enable nuanced discussion. Authors will be asked to respond to peer-review requests for revisions in a timely manner so that papers can be shared in advance of the conference.
Submissions should include the title of the submission, the name(s) and affiliation(s) of contributor(s), biographical notes for contributors, and a 500-word abstract, as well as uploading the paper itself. Participants should anonymize the paper prior to uploading to assist in a fair peer review process. The deadline for submissions is January 6th, 2020. Submissions will be peer-reviewed by the members of the scientific committee.
Conference Talks
Conference talk proposals may focus on any topic relating to the wider field of electronic literature, multimodal writing, digital art, literary games, or new media aesthetics. In the spirit of building an engaging and innovative conference, we encourage participants interested in a traditional paper to submit to the proceedings instead of submitting a Conference Talk. Submissions are welcome across the following two formats:
- 20-minute presentation of a single concept, project, tool, development process, elit postmortem, or other appropriate subject by one or more authors.
- 90-minute panel proposal, incorporating three or more participants. The 500-word proposal should detail the intended format (roundtable, etc.)
Submissions should include the title of the submission, the name(s) and affiliation(s) of contributor(s), biographical notes for contributors, and a 500-word abstract. The deadline for submissions is January 6th, 2020. Submissions will be peer-reviewed by the members of the scientific committee.
Festival Exhibition Pieces and Performances
We invite proposals of digital artworks and e-lit pieces to be featured as part of two planned exhibitions: the “(un)continuity” exhibit at the UCF Art Gallery, and the “New Voices” exhibit at the Orlando CityArts gallery; as well as a series of three nights of performances.
All forms of electronic literature, multimodal writing, digital art, playful narrative, literary games, hypertext, and screen fiction will be considered.
Those who have had work exhibited at a previous ELO exhibition are not eligible for the “New Voices” exhibit. Artists eligible will be considered for both exhibitions, but may only be accepted for one. Performances accepted will be scheduled on one of three single-track performance nights based on technical needs, so please be detailed on any special requirements. Submissions should provide the following information:
- Author name(s), affiliation(s), and biographical note(s);
- Exhibition or performance (curators reserve the right to accept a work in either category based on an evaluation of technical needs and suitability)
- 500-word artist statement detailing the aesthetic intentions and structure of the piece. Statements should be anonymized for peer review. Performers should keep in mind the constraints of a 15 minute time slot.
- Technical specification providing exact details of what will be required to facilitate the work’s inclusion in the exhibition, and/or needs for performances. This should include information on the materials, technologies, and spatial requirements necessary, and what the artist will require the Gallery to provide. Please be as detailed as possible regarding physical components and needs, including wireless internet.
Pieces accepted to either exhibition will need to be delivered (physically or virtually) prior to the exhibit’s opening, and will remain on display in Orlando after the conference ends before being returned to the artist.
The deadline for submissions is January 6, 2020. Submissions will be considered by the festival’s curators and evaluated by the members of the artistic committee.
Other Information
Participation in the Electronic Literature Organization’s Conference and Media Arts Festival requires ELO membership: eliterature.org/membership. However, membership is not required to submit for the conference.
Please note that we are not in a position to accommodate requests by presenters who wish to present on a specific date.
Notifications of acceptance will be sent in early 2020.
Please direct all queries to conference chair Dr Anastasia Salter at anastasia@ucf.edu.