[csaa-forum] CALL FOR PAPERS: The Pleasures and Politics of Popular Erotic Fiction (Edited Collection)

[special K ..]

CALL FOR PAPERS: The
Pleasures and Politics of Popular Erotic Fiction (Edited Collection)

 The publication of EL James’ Fifty Shades of Grey in 2011 marks a particularly visible moment in
what appears to be a proliferation of erotic fiction, written by and for women,
since the end of the twentieth century. More than just an instance of a
particular genre of fiction, Fifty Shades
has spawned considerable discussion of the significance of ‘women’s popular
erotic fiction’ generally. 

The
Pleasures and Politics of Popular Erotic Fiction
seeks to explore this phenomenon, its social and textual origins and its
attendant conceptual and political effects. In doing so, the book aims to
examine the discursive regularities and popular debates framing the production
and reception of women’s popular erotic fiction; the cultural anxieties and
transformations such texts express; the ways in which they reinscribe and
negotiate relations of gender, sexuality, race, and kinship. We are interested
in exploring the ideological forces underpinning their development and
visibility as both a ‘new’ and ‘popular’ form; the ever-growing proliferation
of subgenres and their role in shaping popular ideas about romance, relationships,
desire, and the erotic. 

 We invite proposals for contributions to an edited
collection of critical research on the cultural significance of ‘women’s
popular erotic fiction’. Possible areas of research include (though are not
limited to):

·        
The cultural work of the different
subgenres (BDSM, paranormal romance, erotic crime fiction, ménage a trois,
‘neighbour from hell’, sex confessionals) and the ways of speaking about,
categorising and marketing these texts.

·        
The rise of independently published
online erotic fiction (production and consumption) and the discourses
surrounding it. 

·        
Debates around originality and
derivativeness. 

·        
The continuities and departures of
erotic fiction from its predecessors in romance fiction and chick lit, as well
as those from more ‘respectable’ literary traditions. 

·        
The role of popular erotic fiction in
reinforcing and/or transgressing the hegemony of whiteness, heterosexuality,
patriarchy, the family, etc. 

·        
The role of this fiction in
circumscribing an idea of ‘the West’, as well as the possibilities offered by
non-western forms of popular erotic fiction. 

·        
The pleasures of reader consumption and
the discourses surrounding it.

·        
The function of romance in women’s
erotic fiction. 

 Expressions of interest, including an abstract (250-300
words), a short author bio and list of recent publications, may be forwarded via
email to the editors by 24 May, 2013. The anticipated due date for accepted
contributions (6,500 –7,500) is 29 November, 2013. 

Dr Kristen Phillips, Claire Trevenen, Curtin
University (Bentley, Western Australia)

Contact email: k.phillips at curtin.edu.au,
Claire.Trevenen at curtin.edu.au
 

 		 	   		  
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