Broadside Day 2017: Call for papers

Tuesday 9th of August 2016

The Broadside Day is our annual gathering of people interested in Street Literature – a field which includes broadsides, chapbooks, prints, woodcuts, penny histories, last-dying speeches, catchpennies, and all other cheap printed material which was sold in urban streets, country fairs and other events up to the early 20th century.

This year, we will be the guests of the Bodleian Library, Oxford, which holds one of the most extensive collections of British street material in the world, dating from the 16th century onwards. Their broadside ballads are already available online, but there is a great deal more to be discovered in their holdings.

The day comprises short papers, displays, and other presentations on a variety of aspects of the trade. We are inviting speakers who may wish to present. Suggested topics include:

  • The subjects of the material (the songs, stories, and news items)
  • Street literature collectors
  • Authors
  • Printers
  • Street-sellers
  • Printing techniques, and
  • The role that street literature played in spreading literacy, propaganda, and dissent, and in generally keeping the poor entertained and informed


Organised jointly by the English Folk Dance & Song Society, The Traditional Song Forum, and the Bodleian Library.

To submit a paper, please contact Steve Roud: [email protected] (closing date for submissions Saturday 1 October 2016). The event will take place on Saturday 25 February 2017.

To be added to the mailing list for further information on the Broadside Day, and/or EFDSS conferences and Library Lectures, contact Laura Smyth: [email protected].