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Midwest Modern Language AssociationThe forty-ninth annual convention of the MMLA will be held 8-11 November 2007 at the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel in Cleveland. Over two hundred sessions are slated on widely ranging topics, from "American Cultural Studies" to "Women in War Literature." Additional sessions have coalesced around the convention's informal theme, "Revisiting Realisms," and special events include a keynote address by Toril Moi. The MMLA Web site (www.uiowa.edu/~mmla) will provide further convention details as they develop.Preregistrants may request up to twelve advance papers for the regular preregistration fee of $60. A special rate of $30 (without complimentary papers) is extended to students and those who are unemployed, part-time, or retired. All registration materials and information may now be found online. Nonmembers are welcome at the convention, where anyone may register on-site for $45 (student, unemployed, retired) or the regular fee of $75. The MMLA's annual short-term fellowship at the Newberry Library, open to members only, was won for 2006-07 by Toni Bowers (Univ. of Pennsylvania) to support her project, "Bearing False Witness: Deceit, Disguise, and Religious Resistance in British Writing and Cultures, 1661-1711." Those interested in applying for the fellowship and wishing to join the MMLA may consult an online dues schedule that begins as low as $20 for graduate students and those unemployed or retired. Inquiries about special two- and three-year renewal rates are cordially invited, as are departmental memberships with unusual perks available at convenient multiyear rates. Membership forms printed from the MMLA Web site at http://www.uiowa.edu/~mmla/membonus.html should be sent with checks or money orders (US funds only) to the Midwest Modern Language Assn., 302 English-Philosophy Bldg., Univ. of Iowa, Iowa City 52242-1408. All members receive the MMLA Journal twice a year. The spring issue features shorter working papers by MMLA members, while the fall's special convention issue brings a year's shared focus on the convention's informal theme to fruition. For 2008, the spring issue's commitment to a brisker pace favors submissions of 12-15 pages drawing on 12-15 sources and due on 15 December. The fall's special issue on "Revisiting Realisms" invites essays of varying lengths; the deadline is 31 March 2008. A wide range of topics like virtual realism, true crime, realism and science, empiricism/skepticism/utilitarianism, and realism and modernism may be found on the MMLA's home page. Book reviewers are always welcome. Interested browsers are invited to check Web site guidelines concerning format and length (http://www.uiowa.edu/~mmla/revgdlns.html), as well as the posted list of complimentary copies received from university presses. Anyone requesting a specific book through mmla@uiowa.edu should match title to training by attaching a CV. For 2006, MMLA membership was 1,038, including 39 departmental members. Close to 1,000 attended the convention (http://www.uiowa.edu/~mmla/convention_2006.html), which was held 9-12 November 2006 at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago and focused informally on "High and Low / Culture." Conferees enjoyed special events like a President's forum on "How I Learned to Love the Low," a conversation with Rolling Stone regular Anthony DeCurtis conducted by David R. Shumway, two one-act plays produced by the Harold Pinter Society, special sessions at the Newberry Library, and a keynote address by Michael Bérubé. This past year the convention's three professionalizing workshops considered "Teaching across Disciplines: Theories and Practice of Interdisciplinarity," "Publishing in Academic Venues," and "Bridging the Gap: Transitions between Academic and Nonacademic Careers." Thanks again to 2006 President Kevin J. H. Dettmar for his considerable efforts. Officers for the current year are President, David R. Shumway (Carnegie Mellon Univ.); Past President, Kevin J. H. Dettmar (Southern Illinois Univ.); Vice President, Devoney Looser (Univ. of Missouri, Columbia); Executive Committee, Linda S. Coleman (Eastern Illinois Univ.), Craig N. Owens (Drake Univ.), Judith Holland Sarnecki (Lawrence Univ.), Thomas B. Byers (Univ. of Louisville), Jenifer S. Cushman (Coll. of Wooster), Richard R. Glejzer (North Central Coll.), Elizabeth Klaver (Southern Illinois Univ.), Katherine H. Lee (Indiana State Univ.), and Timothy A. Spurgin (Lawrence Univ.); Executive Director and Editor, Kathleen Diffley (Univ. of Iowa); Program Associate and Managing Editor, Carolyn Jacobson; and Assistant Editor, Adele Holoch. The annual convention in 2008 will be held 13-16 November at the Marriott Minneapolis City Center in Minneapolis. The next informal theme and the 2008 call for papers will be posted as usual in January at www.uiowa.edu/~mmla. For further information, feel free to contact the office by phone at 319 335-0331, by fax at 319 335-3123, or by e-mail at mmla@uiowa.edu. As always, the MMLA is grateful to the University of Iowa and particularly the Department of English for generous and continuing support. KATHLEEN DIFFLEY Executive Director
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