The Fitzgerald Society will meet in Rome and Capri, 21–28 June, 2027!

Conference hosted by Roma Tre University in Collaboration with Linnaeus University

CALL FOR PAPERS

Please note: Abstracts are due September 1, 2026 to program director Martina Mastandrea (martinamastandrea@gmail.com)

Scott Fitzgerald visited Italy on two distinct occasions: first in the spring of 1921 during his and Zelda’s long-deferred honeymoon trip, and again from late 1924 to early 1925 during his unsuccessful attempt to economize. While the Fitzgeralds made brief stops in Venice, San Remo, Portofino, Savona, Pisa, Fiesole, Florence, and Naples, it was in the two host sites of this conference—Rome and Capri—that he spent the most time. It was here that he found inspiration for some of his most celebrated works, as well as several others that remain underexplored.

Unlike other American contemporary writers, Fitzgerald famously resisted Italy’s charms; he claimed the country “depressed [him] beyond measure.” This documented disdain has led to a general scholarly neglect regarding the profound influence the Belpaese had on his writing. Italy was where Fitzgerald completed the final drafts of The Great Gatsby, penned stories such as “The Adjuster” (1925) and “The Rich Boy” (1926), and conceptualized elements of Tender Is the Night (1934). He also witnessed the filming of the ancient Roman scenes in Fred Niblo’s Ben-Hur (1925), which he eventually reimagined as “The Grandeur That Was Rome”—the fictional film starring Rosemary Hoyt to which this conference owes its name.

This Call for Papers seeks to stimulate exploration into the “Italianicity” of Fitzgerald’s novels such as The Beautiful and Damned (1922) and Tender Is the Night (1934), as well as in lesser-known expatriate stories, i.e. “A Penny Spent” (1925), “One Trip Abroad” (1930), and the posthumous “The High Cost of Macaroni” (1954).

While consideration will be given to any proposal addressing significant aspects of Fitzgerald’s life and work, we also welcome abstracts on:

• Translation Studies: Research focusing on the translation of the Fitzgeralds’ works into Italian and other languages, and on how re-translations continue to shape their literary legacy
• Literary Contexts & Travel Writing: Given that the Fitzgeralds’ second stay was prompted by Zelda’s reading of Henry James’s Roderick Hudson, we encourage papers on travel writing and comparative studies with other 19th and
• 20th-century expatriates (e.g., Hawthorne, Fuller, Wharton, and Hemingway)
• Zelda Fitzgerald’s Artistry: In tribute to Zelda’s time in Rome—where she famously sketched Gatsby’s face “until her fingers ached”—we invite contributions exploring her versatility across various artistic media
• The Fitzgeralds and Cinema: Research regarding Scott and Zelda’s personal and professional engagements with the film industry as well as the transatlantic exchange of stardom during the 1920s and 1930s
• Fitzgerald and the Classics: Investigations into the influence of Greek and Roman literature, mythology, and classical philosophy on Fitzgerald’s narrative structures and thematic motifs
• Fitzgerald and Mare Nostrum: Literary explorations of the Mediterranean landscape, culture, and lifestyle as spaces of inspiration, disillusionment, or rebirth in the Fitzgerald’s biography and fiction
• Fitzgerald and race/white supremacy: Critical examinations of racial discourse, anxieties of cultural decline, and the reflection or critique of white supremacist ideologies in Fitzgerald’s texts and historical context
• Fitzgerald, (self-)hatred and Italophobia: Papers addressing the nuances of prejudice, cultural friction, and psychological conflict, with a specific focus on Fitzgerald’s representation of Italy, Italians, and Italo-Americans

Send abstracts (250 words and a short biographical note) to the conference program director Martina Mastandrea, martinamastandrea@gmail.com, before September 1, 2026.

We are looking forward to your abstracts!

Greetings! / The Conference Committee: Sara Antonelli, Till Lampel, Martina Mastandrea, and Niklas Salmose.