In late April 1842 Charles Dickens made what he called a ‘run into Canada’. He considered it a country where ‘public feeling and private enterprise’ were ‘in a sound and wholesome state’, and he found ‘health and vigor throbbing in its steady pulse’. Of Toronto he said, ‘the town itself is full of life and motion, bustle, business, and improvement. The streets are well paved and lighted with gas. . . the shops excellent’. It is here that we will gather from 4-8 July 2013, to reunite with old friends, and make many new ones.

As well as a fine run of academic presentations and Dickensian discussion, delegates will be treated to several special events: a gala Dickens concert, with music provided by the Toronto Chamber Choir; a visit to historic Fort York (a strategic location in the War of 1812); and an excursion to Niagara Falls (which Dickens visited) and Ontario’s wine country.

 Papers (deliverable in twenty minutes) may be proposed on any aspect of Dickens and his works. One-page proposals should be sent, by 31 March 2013, to Dr Leon Litvack, School of English, Queen’s University, Belfast BT7 1NN, Northern Ireland, UK Email L.Litvack@qub.ac.uk

 Further information on the Symposium will be communicated individually to those who propose papers and others who express an interest in attending. Details will also appear on the Dickens Quarterly website: www.DickensQuarterly.org

The Robert B. Partlow, Jr. Prize

Applications are invited for this award, named in honor of the original Secretary-Treasurer and one of the founding members of the Dickens Society. It is in the form of EITHER one stipend of $500, OR two of $300 (if warranted), and is intended to defray costs of attending this Dickens Symposium, in order to deliver a paper on any aspect of Dickens’s life or work. The registration fee will also be waived.

 Eligiblity is restricted to students (graduate or undergraduate), and non-tenured faculty. Candidates should submit a CV, and a completed paper of 20 minutes duration, to the Symposium organizer (L.Litvack@qub.ac.uk). Should the paper be of publishable quality, the Dickens Quarterly shall have first right of refusal. The winner will be informed of the Society’s decision in April 2013.