21 February 2023

Call for Papers “Printing Centers and Peripheries in the Early Modern Period”

The Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania kindly invites you to the international conference “Printing Centers and Peripheries in the Early Modern Period,” which will be held on October 5-6, 2023 at the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania in Vilnius in a hybrid format with both in-person and virtual participation.

The conference marks the 700th anniversary of the city of Vilnius. The relatively high level of religious and cultural tolerance in the city allowed for a wide range of ideas and viewpoints to flourish, which encouraged the establishment of printing houses and the dissemination of books in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Located on a periphery of the European press, Vilnius was able to establish itself as a center of book printing and dissemination, influencing publishing in neighbouring countries. 

We invite scholars to reflect on the formation and interdependence of printing centers and peripheries in different continents and cultures, as well as the roles of authors, publishers, distributors, readers, and custodians in the production and dissemination of a printed book in the early modern world.

We invite submissions that investigate the 15th- and 18th-century publishing:

• The development of printing press centers and peripheries.
• Roles of authors, publishers, distributors, readers, and custodians in the production and dissemination of a printed book.
• Publishing activities and their impact on the dissemination of knowledge and culture.
• The printing press market in the early modern period: business strategies and the economics of book production and distribution.
• Signs of a reading culture in printed book.
• The application of digital humanities approaches to the study of printing press history and the use of digital tools for the analysis of printed materials.

We welcome submissions of topics and short abstracts (up to 200 words) by April 30, 2023. Please submit your application by filling in the form on the conference website ›.

Venue: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania, Vilnius, Gediminas Ave. 51 (with ability to present virtually)

Conference language: English and Lithuanian (simultaneous translation).

Duration of the presentation: 20 minutes.

Contacts: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Following the conference, we intend to publish a selection of the presented papers in a peer-reviewed volume of proceedings.

Important dates:

• Abstract submission deadline: April 30, 2023
• Notification of acceptance/rejection: May 30, 2023
• Presentation slides (if any) submission deadline: October 2, 2023
• Conference: October 5-6, 2023
• Article submission deadline: January 31, 2024

Organizing committee:

• Renāte Berga (University of Latvia)
• Dr. Agnieszka Franczyk-Cegła (Ossoliński National Institute, Consortium of European Research Libraries (CERL) Provenance Working Group)
• Nijolė Klingaitė-Dasevičienė (Vilnius University Library)
• Dr. Viktorija Kurienė (Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania)
• Dr. Milda Kvizikevičiūtė (Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania)
• Dr. Dorota Sidorovicz-Mulak (Ossoliński National Institute)
• Silvija Stankevičiūtė (Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania)
• Dr. Ramunė Šmigelskytė-Stukienė (National Museum – Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, Lithuanian Institute of History)
• Dr. Viktorija Vaitkevičiūtė (Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania).

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