This is the first conference for young academics at the Paris-Lodron University in Salzburg, Austria. The conference committee seeks papers on a variety of topics all connected to the overall theme “Creatures of the Night.”
Our goals are to create a welcoming and warm environment for young academics who are looking forward to present their unique ideas to other participants. Furthermore, we want to offer a stage where academics can not only share and support their research interests, but where they can also engage in an academic discourse and can connect with people in their respective fields.

Since we live in a society which has embraced stories about vampires and werewolves and regards them as a part of our mythical heritage, it is not very surprising that the audience is craving new monsters with whom they can identify. These magical beings are filling the pages of books and the screens of televisions in an ever increasing number; nowadays, it is not enough to dazzle the audience with reoccurring plots and ideas about our favorite bloodsucking fiends and their furry counterparts, instead authors, screenwriters and other artists need to extend their realms to include other creatures like dragons, centaurs, mermaids and zombies to name but a few. The aim of the conference is to relate the undead, shape-shifting, monstrous, othered, magical and marginal in literature, art, and other media to questions concerning sexuality, gender, social change and otherness. It will provide an interdisciplinary forum for the development of innovative and creative research and examine these creatures in all their various manifestations and cultural meanings.

We welcome any theoretical or (inter)disciplinary approach to any topic related to all aspects of creatures of the night: art; literature; film; television; comics and graphic novels; video, role-playing, and multi-player online games. Though not at all an exhaustive list, potential presenters may wish to consider the following. We would particularly like to encourage submissions that examine Gender, Sexuality and Otherness.