All Programming Submission Responses Out!

Thank you to everyone who submitted programming for Barricades 2024! We’re in the process of putting a schedule together and are so excited to share it with you all.

Everyone who submitted programming should have received an email response. If you have not, please check your spam folder. If there is still nothing, please send an email to [email protected] and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

See you at the Barricades!

Barricades is looking for panelists!

We're looking for fans with opinions on femme/butch dynamics and gender presentation in Les Miserables, especially the dynamic between Marius, Cosette, and Eponine! This panel is focused on the original text, with room for discussion of headcanons and fan interpretation.

If you'd like to participate, please email [email protected] or join our planning server !

Jean Baptiste Hugo announced as Guest of Honor at Barricades 2024

Barricades 2024 is pleased to announce Jean Baptiste Hugo as one of our Guests of Honor for this year's convention. Jean Baptiste Hugo is the great-great-grandson of Victor Hugo. He has extensively photographed Hugo's home in exile on Guernsey, a project about which he said this: “In 2014, I was about to start a series of photographs of Hauteville House, where Victor Hugo stayed in exile for 15 years. I had the intention, picturing in my mind the dark gothic rooms, to use the legendary black and white 400 Tri-X Kodak film, known for its grainy quality and its rich black tones. It just happened that around that same period I started looking into the extraordinary colour possibilities offered by digital photography, having considered it for years , I must admit, as very inferior to black and white film. The introduction I was given to digital colour photography inspired me enough to try and capture as faithfully as I could the colourful atmosphere of my ancestor’s folly on Guernsey and, I am glad I did, as it allowed me to engage in an exploration of colour and texture in a very creative way which I am still pursuing today through other photographic subjects.”

100 Days to Barricades!

We are 100 days away from Barricades 2024! All submissions for panels are in, and our programming calendar is currently in progress! Stay tuned for the complete schedule, as well as our final Guest of Honor announcement, coming soon!

If you have not yet registered, you can do so on our website . Tickets are £12, and scholarships are available upon request to [email protected].

LAST CALL - BarricadesCon Program Submissions due 3/31

Deadline to submit progamming for Barricades 2024 is TODAY, 3/31! You can find our submission guidelines on our website here. If you have a panel you'd like to present or an activity you'd like to propose, submit by clicking here.

What is a Fan Convention?

We’ve said many times that Barricades: A Les Mis Convention is a fan convention, but what exactly does that mean? 

Fan conventions have been around since the 1930s in various forms. At their core, these events are gatherings of fans on a specific topic. At a convention, fans have the opportunity to present and attend panels and other programs, engage with experts, and meet other fans. 

So, what is Barricades? Barricades is a fan convention dedicated to Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables. Our convention is exclusively virtual, allowing fans across the globe to gather together. Each year, we invite our community to submit panels to present at the con, as well as organizing specific meetups and activities. At plenary sessions, we hear from Guests of Honor who have been invited based on specific expertise or contributions to the ongoing legacy of Les Mis. This year, our Guests of Honor include Christina Soontornvat and Luciano Muriel, and a third guest to be announced! Stay tuned! 

You can learn more about Barricades and register on our website. Registration costs £12 -  scholarships are available upon request to cover the cost.

Reminder – there are six days left to submit a panel idea for Barricades con by our March 31 deadline!

Less than a week until the deadline to submit programming for Barricades 2024!

Considering submitting programming for Barricades but not sure exactly what you want to do? There are three categories of panel we’re looking for. If you’re not sure which category your idea fits, submit it anyway; the review panel can help you decide where it fits if the idea is accepted. 

Here are the categories of program we’re taking submissions for: 

Academic Track

A presentation on any discussion topic backed up by scholarly research. Possible ideas include close readings of the text itself and panels that place Les Misérables in context with other works, or within the context in which it was written.  Academic panels on subjects adjacent to Les Mis (e.g. the social/political context of events that take place within the novel, 19th century French history, discussions of the themes that feature in Les Misérables through the lens of a specific field of study) will also be considered. 

Fan Track 

The possibilities are endless! Want to tell us all about your favorite fan theories/fanworks? Want to discuss an aspect of the brick in a low-pressure, informal way? Got a favorite adaptation, or staging of the musical? Want to debate which cast recording is the best recording? Are you working on a piece of transformative work or fandom-related project, and willing to discuss your creative process? We welcome submissions from all fans, whether you’ve just joined or been here for decades! Fan track submissions do not need to take the form of a formal presentation; informal discussions, Q&As or questions for other fans are all totally fine to submit. 

Social 

We’re also accepting ideas for light-hearted panels and opportunities to hang out with other fans; send us your silliest ideas for a good time!  Want to do a Les Mis meme review? A 19th Century France themed D&D campaign? Want to build a collaborative AU together? To debate who would win an all-ami battle royale? Go to our submissions page and let us know! 

For more information, please check our submissions page and website for further guidance.

The deadline to submit both Academic and Fan Track programming for Barricades: A Les Mis Convention 2024 has been extended to Sunday, March 31, 2024.

Submissions can address any aspect of Les Misérables. If you’re looking for a bit of inspiration, some excellent programming from Barricades 2022 included: 

Les Mis Survival AUs: Building Character Community and Exploring What-Ifs by KCrabb88 and everyonewasabird 

South African Themes in Liesl Tommy’s Les Miserables by Christie McBride

Codes in Context: Queer Possibilities of Enjolras and Grantaire by Amelia Roberts

Fandom and Activism by starbright-cobweb and Isaac (yetintrepid)

Notification of proposal acceptance is still by April 15. 

For more information, please head over to our Submissions page linked here.

The deadline to submit both Academic and Fan Track programming for Barricades: A Les Mis Convention 2024 has been extended to Sunday, March 31, 2024.

Submissions can address any aspect of Les Misérables. If you’re looking for a bit of inspiration, some excellent programming from Barricades 2022 included: 

Les Mis Survival AUs: Building Character Community and Exploring What-Ifs by KCrabb88 and everyonewasabird 

South African Themes in Liesl Tommy’s Les Miserables by Christie McBride

Codes in Context: Queer Possibilities of Enjolras and Grantaire by Amelia Roberts

Fandom and Activism by starbright-cobweb and Isaac (yetintrepid)

Notification of proposal acceptance is still by April 15. 

For more information, please head over to our Submissions page linked here.

Guest of Honor Announcement: Luciano Muriel

Barricades 2024 is pleased to announce Luciano Muriel as one of our Guests of Honour for this year's convention!

Muriel is a playwright, novelist and secondary school teacher. He's been awarded with the National Theater Prize "Castelló a Escena" for Vals para el pez piedra, the International Award of Youth Theater of the Editorial DALYA for Stop Amargura, the first prize in the XXVII National Contest «Calamonte Joven» for Angélica, with the Prize “Sapere Aude” of the Ávila Arts and the Youth Humanities Award of Castilla y León for Grantaire, a text that was also selected by the Aid for Youth Creation 2017 program of the National Institute of Youth (INJUVE) for its production.

Muriel's panel will detail the creative process behind the show Grantaire, from the discovery of the character during the first reading of Victor Hugo's Les Miserables to the opening night og the staging at the Teatro Pradillo of Madrid. It will cover questions including: Why Grantaire? Why a dramatic monologue? Why include Amaral songs? What did the awards and subventions entail? Muriel promises all the answers to these and many other questions!

The date and time of Muriel's panel are still being finalized.

Excerpt from The Secret Name of All the Virtues: A Comparative Analysis of the Developments of Jean Valjean and Javert by Raven.

If you have an idea for programming for Barricades 2024, please submit it to https://barricadescon.com/submissions/. Submissions for both academic and fan track programming close March 15.

If you want to see more Les Mis fan and academic content, join us at the barricades on July 12-14, 2024! Tickets available at https://barricadescon.com/registration/.

Are you a Les Mis enthusiast, whose research has taken a deep dive into academia? A scholar who incorporates Les Mis adjacent topics into your studies? Do you wish to share the discoveries of your sleepless nights with an enthusiastic community?

Barricades invites fans and scholars to submit proposals for the convention’s academic track, which will form the programming of the con. Submissions could address any aspect of Les Mis and its adaptations, and take a variety of forms, including but not limited to presentations, workshops or open discussions. All programming takes place online.

Deadline for submissions: 15 March 2024

Programming submission form available here.

Find out more from our website:

Academic Track Submissions

Fan Track or Academic Track?

Here are some examples from last year of academic track submissions:

Theatres of crime in Les Misérables: Analysing the Patron-Minette by Anna

Cholera in the Time of Les Miserables by Karen Davidge

Hugolâtres and Haters: Reactions to Les Misérables from Victor Hugo’s Contemporaries by Psalm

The Canonical Racialised Language of Les Misérables by Nemo Martin

This is not by any means an exhaustive list; we welcome and encourage submissions that address topics beyond those listed here. If you have a panel that doesn't quite fit in either Fan or Academic Track, feel free to submit as a Crossover panel!

Excerpt from The Canonical Racialised Language of Les Miserables by Nemo Martin.

If you have an idea for programming for Barricades 2024, please submit it to https://barricadescon.com/submissions/.

Submissions for both academic and fan track programming close March 15. If you want to see more Les Mis fan and academic content, join us at the barricades on July 12-14, 2024!

Tickets available at https://barricadescon.com/registration/.

Barricades is excited to announce that Christina Soontornvat will be joining us as a Guest of Honor in July!

Christina Soontornvat is an award-winning author, engineer, and STEM educator. Her many works for children include picture books, chapter books, and the bestselling graphic novel, The Tryout. She is a three-time Newbery Honor recipient, most recently for The Last Mapmaker, which was also named a Best Book of the Year by The New York Times. Her novel, A Wish in the Dark, is a twist on Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables and set in a Thai-inspired fantasy world that explores the difference between law and justice.

If you'd like to attend the con and hear about Soontornvat's work, tickets are available here.

Excerpt from the Make Your Own Tricolor Cockade Workshop by Melannen.

If you have an idea for programming for Barricades 2024, please submit it to https://barricadescon.com/submissions/. Submissions for both academic and fan track programming close March 15.

If you want to see more Les Mis fan and academic content, join us at the barricades on July 12-14, 2024! Tickets available at https://barricadescon.com/registration/.

Excerpt from The Convent was Bad, Actually: We Have the Receipts by Ellen Fremedon and PilferingApples.

This video is from a series of excerpts shared with the permission of presenters from Barricades 2023. If you have an idea for programming for Barricades 2024, please submit it to https://barricadescon.com/submissions/.

Submissions for both academic and fan track programming close March 15.

If you want to see more Les Mis fan and academic content, join us at the barricades on July 12-14, 2024! Tickets available at https://barricadescon.com/registration/.

Excerpt from Cholera in a Time of Les Miserables by Karen Davidge.

This video is from a series of excerpts shared with the permission of presenters from Barricades 2023. If you have an idea for programming for Barricades 2024, please submit it to https://barricadescon.com/submissions/.

Submissions for both academic and fan track programming close March 15. If you want to see more Les Mis fan and academic content, join us at the barricades on July 12-14, 2024! Tickets available at https://barricadescon.com/registration/.