CFP: James Kelman at 80 (Spring 2027, Glasgow, deadline 30 June 2026)
call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/cfp/2026/05/...
![2026 sees Glaswegian writer James Kelman reach his 80th year. In a career lasting over fifty years, Kelman has pioneered a highly distinctive literary practice across genres including the novel, the short story, the essay, and drama. But it is as a writer of fiction that Kelman’s influence looms largest. Kelman’s work in fiction is distinguished for its uncompromising formal stances and for the writer’s insistence on the directly political significance of those stances. As Kelman put it in an early interview, ‘Getting rid of [the] standard third party narrative voice is getting rid of a whole value system. You have to start examining every term’. His work has been hugely influential on generations of artists, and his reception has often been controversial. But his artistic commitments remain determinedly in place, and he continues to write and publish unique work.
This international conference sets out to consider the living legacy of Kelman’s writing, especially in the genres of the novel and the short story, and examines and reassesses his ongoing significance in the cultural and political worlds of the twenty-first century. We invite paper proposals on the innovations of Kelman’s fiction and its political significance, focusing on any period or aspect of Kelman’s work. The conference will be held at the University of Glasgow, in the spring of 2027 (exact date to be confirmed). More information to follow.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:c77ybxzktpxifuormkevuuzl/bafkreibvw6ljvnurgxhlmdlzajgwtxugm7hcr6jjiwzhe2ljft35r27xpi)
Universities Committee for Scottish Literature
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UCSL brings together Scotland’s universities in support of the study of Scottish writing old and new. We award the Ross Roy Prize and the Scottish Literary Studies Prize. ucsl-scotland.com
