Multicultural Shakespeare vol. 36 no. 50 (2027) thematic volume: call for papers
CALL FOR PAPERS “Shakespeare: Remembered Futures, Imagined Pasts. Shakespeare in Comics and Manga” -- Multicultural Shakespeare vol. 36 no. 50 (2027) thematic volume
In A Theory of Adaptation Linda Hutcheon stated that for audiences adaptations are an “ongoing dialogue with the past […which] creates the double pleasure of the palimpsest: more than one text is experienced - and knowingly so” (Hutcheon 116). For years the discussion and research concerning comics and manga adaptations of Shakespeare’s works have been scattered across a number of seminars, book chapters or articles, mainly focused on the topic of Shakespeare in visual media and visual arts. Comics and manga adaptations were often brought down to a mention in a footnote or an anecdote, simply acknowledging their existence without further insight into the topic. The recent publications regarding the broad topic of Shakespeare and comics (e.g. Casey and Christopher eds.; Myklebost) have contributed greatly to the popularization of the topic and an attempt of a scholarly approach to the subject. However, the history of Shakespeare and comics, manga, cartoons, and graphic narratives is long and varied and as such the there are still blanks in the research still in need of academic attention.
Comics adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays have had a long, often unexplored tradition, and over that time a great number and a variety of instances have appeared, some of which may soon be lost or forgotten altogether, but deserve to be preserved for future generations. As Henderson and O’Neill (2021: 5) observed, an adaptation “does something odd to our sense of temporality – at once reinforcing a sense of history, with the adaptation perhaps motivated by bringing Shakespeare into our own times, and also teasing out connections across timeframes and our larger awareness of spacetime itself.” (Henderson and O’Neill 2021: 5). Our aim is to bring the attention to the lesser-known titles and authors, newspaper and magazine publications which may soon be lost.
We are looking for articles that will focus on reclaiming the past of comics and manga adaptations, their beginnings and roots, to acknowledge their present existence but also predict their future. We are particularly looking for articles about comics and manga Shakespeare adaptations and comics creators which have hardly been discussed before.
With the above in mind, possible research topics may include, but are not limited to:
- Shakespeare, comics/manga and audiences
- History of Shakespeare comics/manga adaptations
- Future of Shakespeare comics/manga adaptations
- Shakespeare comics/manga and pedagogy
- Shakespeare comics/manga creators and artists
- Shakespeare comics/manga and adaptation studies
- Non-English Shakespeare comics adaptations
- Comics and adaptation of Shakespeare sonnets
- Shakespeare comics/manga and biography
- Shakespeare comics/manga and issues of genre
Each article submission should include an abstract (ca. 250-300 words) and a list of ca. 4-6 keywords.
Articles should be no less than 6,500 words (abstract, keywords, notes and bibliography included). We recommend a maximum limit of 9,000 words. Ideally, we are looking for contributions of ca. 7,000 words.
Complete article submissions should be sent to the journal via the OJS system:
Submissions | Multicultural Shakespeare: Translation, Appropriation and Performance (lodz.pl)
Important deadlines:
- Deadline for abstracts (250-300 words): 31 January 2027
- Notification of acceptance: 14 February 2027
- Deadline for articles: 30 July 2027
Bibliography
Hutcheon, Linda. A Theory of Adaptation. London, New York: Routledge, 2012.
Henderson, Diane and Stephen O’Neill, eds. The Arden Research Handbook Of Shakespeare and Adaptation. London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2022.
Casey, Jim, James Casey, and Brandon Christopher, eds. Shakespeare and Comics: Negotiating Cultural Value. Vol. 8. London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2024.
Myklebost, Svenn-Arve. Shakespeare Comics: Art, Time and Character. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2025.
Ronan Paterson has worked as actor, director and writer for theatre, film and television companies in a number of European countries, including the National Theatre and Opera companies of four countries. He began teaching alongside his professional work, and has been variously head of department, head of subject or route leader for drama, theatre or media performance at Newcastle College, University of Winchester, Bath Spa University, Queen Margaret's University Edinburgh and most recently Teesside University, where he is now a Research Associate. He has published in Europe, America, Asia and Africa on Shakespeare in Performance, Shakespeare in Film and Shakespeare in Comics and Manga, and has curated three exhibitions of the latter. A frequent speaker at international conferences, he co-ordinated the Shakespeare 400 commemorative at Elsinore Castle.
Anna Wołosz-Sosnowska is an assistant at the University of Lodz (Department of English Studies in Drama, Theatre and Film). She defended her PhD at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland; her dissertation focused on 21st-century comic book adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays from the perspective of comics semiotics. She has presented papers at various international conferences and published articles on the subject of comics adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays, including “Comics As Creative Inspiration For Performative Art Forms” (Litteraria Pragensia, 2020) and “Representations of The Soliloquy in Comics on the Example of William Shakespeare’s ‘To Be Or Not Be’” (Myślenie Szekspirem,eds. Jan Grzanka and Marta Gibińska, 2023). She also edited Issue 4 of the Kill Shakespeare Backstage Edition (2015). She is a member of the Polish Association for the Study of English, the Polish Shakespeare Association, the European Shakespeare Research Association, and a founding member of the Comics Studies Society. She currently serves as a managing editor for the Polish Journal of English Studies. Since 2025, she has served as a jury member for the Graphic Shakespeare Competition.
