The abstract deadline for the conference publication ‘Promises of Monsters’ is closing in, and some of the editors have rallied together to shamelessly steal a bunch of questions (and sometimes even answers) that they can ask themselves in order to shed some light on the upcoming issue. If you have questions that are not answered here, you’re always welcome to contact us at promisesofmonsters at gmail dot com, and if you’d like to read the full call for abstracts, you can find it here.
Before moving on to the actual questions, we’d like to stress that even though this is an issue based on the conference Promises of Monsters, which took place in Stavanger in April, this issue is open to all submissions, also from scholars and artists who didn’t participate in the conference.
The abstract deadline is the 17th of October.
And now to the stolen Q&A!

Ask the Editors!
Why monster studies?
Donna McCormack: Monster studies opens up the possibility of exploring a whole array of themes, topic, theories, representations, art, histories and more. It crosses disciplines; it’s serious, funny and scary; and it is deeply theoretical, ethical and political. It is the monster’s capacity to address what is often ignored or just in the sidelines, or at the centre of our thoughts as the most hated, despicable or enticing of beings that I find appealing. It seeks to grapple with how formations of exclusion, violence and surveillance work, and therefore pays attention to embodiment as central to our being in the world with others.
Why does the issue invite both art and academic contributions?
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