So...

Who's got two thumbs and has been asked to be the keynote speaker at the LOST conference in New Orleans in October?

THIS GAL!!

:-D

Lost Conference

This past week was the one-year anniversary of the end of Lost, and I commemorated it with a post on my thoughts on year later. In response, many of the most avid commentators back in the day returned to leave their thoughts on the post, and it was like a little family reunion.

While some people would say an anniversary lasts one day, I like to extend these things, so I’m thinking of this as Lost week. Today I wanted to talk to you about something I’ve been yammering about for over a year now: the Lost academic conference.

Many of you have heard me talking endlessly about Slayage – a biannual conference on the Whedonverse, where scholars and fans from around the world converge on a particular spot every two years and present or listen to papers on Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Dollhouse, the Buffy comics, Serenity, Fray, and Dr. Horrible. (When it began, it was just covering the first three.) Many of the scholars who present at that conference every couple of years have graciously joined the Great Buffy Rewatch, and have been entertaining you week after week with their thoughts on various episodes of Joss Whedon’s best show. Fans following along have been enjoying much deeper insights into the show.

Well, if you’re a Lost fan, that’s what this conference will bring. David Lavery, the same man who started the Slayage conference, is organizing a Lost one. Scholars from around the world will converge at one place to discuss every facet of Lost. Just the other day I was thinking how amazing it would be if so many of the Nik at Nite Lost fans could actually meet in one place, and I think this could be it. You don’t have to present a paper to attend, but you’ll get a chance to listen to so many different points of view – and you can weigh in, logging your comments in person, verbally. And hey, if Batcabbage comes, I’m sure he could stand up and offer an impromptu haiku.

The conference is to be held in New Orleans from October 6-8, 2011, and will be part of the larger PCA conference, meaning if you tire of papers on Lost (WHAT?!) you could zip next door and instead listen to papers on Mad Men, the Sopranos, Breaking Bad, Big Bang Theory, Twilight, Bob Dylan, the Saw movies... whatever you’d like. And you’re in New Orleans!!

However, right now the conference may be on the bubble. If you are interested in presenting a paper, the deadline for proposals has been extended to June 30, 2011, and I urge anyone reading this who is interested in presenting to send in a proposal as soon as you can, to ensure this conference actually happens. I’ve been dying to go and listen to these papers, and I will be presenting one of my own. I really hope to see many of you there, too.

So get those papers in now, and even if you’re not looking to present, set aside a few days in October to come down and join the fray. It’ll be our own little Lost convention.

Go here for more information and all the submission guidelines.

The Lost Conference

A few months ago I mentioned a pending international Lost academic conference, organized by David Lavery and Lynnette Porter, the authors of Lost's Buried Treasures, 2E: The Unofficial Guide to Everything Lost Fans Need to Know. Now the date and location have been announced: it will be held from January 12-15, 2011 in... Oahu!!

Just think: academic papers, tours of the Lost locations on the island... this was a gathering made for nuts like us. I'm planning to be there, and here's hoping some of you might make it as well! I'll keep y'all posted. The basic information can be found here.