In 2024, The Atlantic published a widely discussed article entitled “The Elite College Students Who Can’t Read Books” in which author Rose Horowitz grapples with the fact that more and more college students, and adults in general, are reading less, either because they can’t perform the sustained reading that an entire volume requires or because other distractions are more appealing to them. And yet reading, particularly longer works, has many benefits: deepening empathy, strengthening neural pathways, and even lowering blood pressure. Many adult readers discovered their love of reading in childhood when they encountered imaginative worlds and characters through books. One of those enthralling novels that many discover their reading love through is C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Coinciding with the 75th anniversary of its publication, this conference welcomes papers relating to C.S. Lewis and The Inklings, as well as inquiries into the topics of imagination and reading. Some areas of inquiry could include, but are not limited to:

The Inklings

Where is reading seen in the Inklings’ work–in their personal papers and/or fiction? How does reading, or the imagination at work in the act of reading, enlighten or change the ways these works are read? What do the Inklings’ views (or any author’s views) on imagination tell us about their own acts of creation in writing? There have been works written about Lewis’ and Tolkien’s reading practices, but what about the other lesser-known Inklings?

Imagination

Is imagination only for certain types of people or age groups? How might the human imagination fit into a theological framework? Is imagination important (or even necessary) for spiritual formation? If children have the most familiarity with the imagination, how should we interpret Jesus’ message that unless “you become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven”? How does imagination fit into this call? Does imagination have a place in liturgy or in the corporate church setting? With many rediscovering the Ignatian practice of lectio divina, how does the spiritual application of imagination affect reading practices or vice versa?

Reading

Are there any ways to encourage students and adults to do “deep reading”? Can the novel form be rescued from extinction? Where does reading appear in novels, poems, plays, and short stories? How does the act of reading inform the characters or other elements of the genre? Does the popularity of “BookTok” hold any promise for the act of reading? How does positive social peer pressure encourage the act of reading? What about the lack of reading? Are there characters or themes that highlight a society or world without the act of reading? Is there a placement for reading? What does this replacement say about imagination, in turn? What is the connection that we have between reading and imagination? Can one be present and not the other?

Our speakers will include Dr. Austin Carty, author of The Pastor's Bookshelf: Why Reading Matters for Ministry (Eerdmans); Dr. Rachel M. Roberts, co-author of Deep Reading: Practices to Subvert the Vices of Our Distracted, Hostile, and Consumeristic Age (Baker Academic); and our keynote speaker will be NY Times bestseller Patti Callahan Henry, author of Becoming Mrs. Lewis and Into the Wardrobe.

Please submit abstracts of 250-300 words to Dr. Katherine Cooper Wyma at by June 15, 2025. Undergraduate students must submit their entire paper for consideration; eligible undergraduate papers will be entered into the national CCL Undergraduate Writing Contest for a cash prize and publication on the CCL website. Graduate students are encouraged to apply for the CCL Travel Grant. Presenters should be members of the Conference on Christianity and Literature prior to presenting.