OGOM’s ‘Ill met by moonlight’: Gothic encounters with enchantment and the Faerie realm in literature and culture was a huge success, despite all the anxieties and problems with it being on line. It worked so well only because of the wonderful plenaries and contributors, all those who took part, and invaluable assistance from various people.
So I want to offer my thanks to people here. To Sam George, first and foremost, for the inspiration and research that birthed the conference. Daisy Butcher and Kaja Franck provided invaluable assistance, chairing, handling responses, and dealing with technical glitches. Then thanks to all the brilliant plenaries and those who presented such excellent papers. And everyone who took part made their own contributions, entering into a real dialogue and boosting the spirit of the conference.
My sister Caryl gave Sam and I generous hospitality, fabulous catering, and much patience. Special thanks to Matthew Frost and Bethan Hirst from Manchester University Press for their virtual booth. Thanks to Gray Associates of Sheffield for fabulous programme and poster design.
Recordings of the sessions will be available on line to attendees once we have edited the files. We will also be posting photos of people in their Fae garb, the results of the flash fiction competition, and images from your fairy makeovers. Highlights of the conference can be seen on Twitter with the hashtags #OGOMCon2021 and #GothicFairies, particularly with Kate Harvey’s (@harveygothick) virtuoso live tweeting (thanks, Kate!).
We’re aiming to publish at least one edited collection and a special journal issue, as with previous OGOM conferences. There was such a wealth of superb research that it will be hard to choose and thus we hope more publications will be added.
The conference was groundbreaking in its treatment of fairies as Gothic entities. Very much inspired by Prof. Dale Townshend’s recovery of the eighteenth-century sense of Gothic as enchantment, OGOM is opening up new directions in Gothic studies beyond the usual emphasis on horror and leading to the development of an ethical Gothic. We hope you will follow us and take part in future events.
