Bicentenary Conference
The Brontë Society’s 2018 conference will celebrate the life and work of Emily Brontë in her bicentenary year. Variously described as visionary, determinedly private, and singular, Emily is the most enigmatic of the Brontë siblings, and this conference affords us opportunities to delve deeper into the complexities of her personality and her limited but extremely influential literary output. We’re delighted to announce three keynote speakers: Professor Stevie Davies, novelist, literary critic, biographer and historian, who has published four books on Emily Brontë; Professor John Bowen, Professor of Nineteenth-Century Literature at the University of York, and contributor to BBC2's Being the Brontës, and recently Radio 4's In Our Time, discussing Wuthering Heights and Beyond Belief, discussing Jane Eyre; and Dr Hila Shachar, a member of the Centre for Adaptations at De Montfort University, whose research focuses on the adaptation of literary works and cultural afterlives. The keynotes will address, respectively, the lyricism of Emily’s work, landscape, and adaptations, and panel sessions will engage with a broad range of topics. Full programme details will be released in March.
The location for this year’s conference is spectacular York, a city steeped in ancient history, and renowned for its exquisite architecture, quaint cobbled streets, and iconic York Minster.
The conference venue is the elegant 4-star York Marriott Hotel, located just outside the city centre, with views over the historic York Racecourse. The hotel is fully accessible with all conference rooms on the ground floor, offers complimentary on-site parking, and is situated 1.4 miles from York railway station, a short taxi ride away.
The conference fee (£395 Single Room, £750 Double Room) includes two nights’ accommodation at York Marriott, and all meals and refreshments from Friday afternoon through to Sunday afternoon, and there will be a special optional excursion to the Borthwick Institute for Archives at the University of York, whose holdings include Charlotte Brontë’s will.
To see the full conference programme please use 'Downloads' button on the left side of this page.
We have released a limited number of day delegate tickets. We have divided the weekend into three separate packages, so you can decide to book one day only, two days or all three.
The special rates are as follows:
Friday 7 September – afternoon speakers + keynote speaker + dinner + after dinner event: £50.00
Saturday 8 September – whole conference day + lunch (day package, ending 6pm): £100.00. There is an opportunity to book dinner and the after dinner event on Saturday evening for an additional £50.00
Sunday 9 September – morning speakers + lunch: £50.00
Click below to see the programme of the conference.