Manuscripts Matter Conference


A landmark conference, Manuscripts Matter, was held at the British Library, 19-20 October 2006, for the first time bringing together writers, collectors, dealers and academics from the UK and the US.

Programme

Speakers 19 October
Speakers 20 October

Foreword by Rt Hon Lord Smith of Finsbury
Addressing the challenges
A brief history
Recent successes

Delegates

Opening Remarks

Session 1 - Introduction
Welcome speech and introduction by Rt Hon Lord Smith of Finsbury
Andrew Motion on 'Our present discontents: British writers and the disposal of their manuscripts'
Gerry McQuillan talks about 'Death and Taxes: Improving the prospects for writers and their estates'

Session 2 - Historical Perspectives
Aongus Ó hAonghusa, Director of The National Library of Ireland, on the impact of measures introduced by the Irish Government and how they have helped the Library make substantial acquisitions in recent years

Session 5 - Authors' Panel

Session 7 - Nations and Regions
Chris Sheppard introduces the panel and of the work of GLAM
Stella Halkyard: "Within these Islands": Aspirations for Collecting Literary Archives and Manuscripts.
Chris Sheppard talks about the findings of the GLAM survey
Jessica Gardner draws on the GLAM survey findings to show the wide variety of uses and audiences for literary manuscripts

Session 9 - Scholars
'Early to the Feast: The Archival Education of Undergraduates'
Ronald Schuchard, Guggenheim Fellow, Emory University, discusses the importance of manuscripts in undergraduate teaching.

Closing remarks by Dr Clive Field, Director of Scholarship and Collections at the British Library

Philip Larkin. Draft of ‘Posterity’, from Larkin’s 1974 collection High Windows. Copyright © The Estate of Philip Larkin 2007. Reproduced by kind permission of the Society of Authors, as the literary representative of the Larkin estate, and the Brynmor Jones Library, University of Hull.