Submissions are invited for abstracts to present at BOOKISH: a symposium on book and publishing histories in Waitaha Canterbury, Thursday 5th November 2026.
This symposium seeks to bring together a broad range of presentations that reflect on the rich histories of books and publishing in Waitaha Canterbury.
Encouraging a range of papers that explore the production, collection, circulation, and reception of books and printed matter in this region, we hope to illuminate the significance of publishing practices within the networks of communication and knowledge production that have shaped this place.
We invite diverse contributions from researchers, writers, publishers, librarians, curators, and artists to share new histories, and to suggest new perspectives on current practices in Waitaha Canterbury.
Topics might include (but are not limited to):
+ indigenous histories or perspectives on book and print culture;
+ pacific histories of book and print culture;
+ storying of place and identity;
+ communities of authorship or readership;
+ small press and independent publishing;
+ histories of bibliography, librarianship, and archival practice;
+ the book and publishing in commercial contexts;
+ formal and informal networks of distribution and exchange;
+ issues of accessibility;
+ book and publishing histories in digital and post-digital contexts;
+ materialisms of the book;
+ books and publishing as agents of change;
+ ecocritical perspectives on books and publishing.
Please send short abstracts of c.300 words and a brief biography to damian.cairns@canterbury.ac.nz by 14 September 2026. Please indicate if you would be interested in contributing your paper to a potential proceedings publication.
Papers should be 20mins, with 10mins for questions/discussion. If you would like to present in another format we’d love to hear about it so, please get in touch.