The John Updike Society has held four successful conferences, and the upcoming Fifth Biennial John Updike Society Conference is already shaping up to be one of the best. Below is a preliminary schedule for the conference. Registration information will follow shortly. Note that “on own” means that for logistical reasons the cost is not included in the basic academic conference registration. Note too that the day trip will be an additional cost. Most people in Belgrade speak some English, but bilingual graduate students will be available to help as guides. Those wishing to share research should see the Call for Papers.
DAY 1—Friday, June 1
5:30-7:15pm—Registration open
6:00-7:15pm—Reception hosted by the Faculty of Philology
7:30-7:40pm—Welcome by the Dean of the Faculty of Philology and President of the Society
7:40-9pm—Opening Keynote: Ian McEwan (talk, questions, booksigning)
DAY 2—Saturday, June 2
8:30am-1pm—Registration open
8:30-9:20am—Plenary Session (Panel: Translating Updike)
9:45-11am—Academic Sessions (two concurrent, three papers each plus moderator)
11:15am-12:15pm—Keynote: Prof. Alexander Shurbanov (Updike’s Bulgarian translator)
12:30-2pm—Lunch at Writer’s Union Club (where Updike had lunch; includes a look at the press conference room where Updike was interviewed)
2:30-5:30pm—Tour of the Tesla Museum (pictured below)
6-8pm—Reception at the residence of U.S. Ambassador Kyle Randolph Scott
DAY 3—Sunday, June 3
Optional (additional cost) all-day bus tour of Serbian sites: Oplenac (St George’s Church, Karadjordje’s Museum), Viminacium (Roman ruins, mammoth park), and Smederevo Fortress (pictured below; capital of Serbia in the Middle Ages, built 1427-30), with a lunch stop (on own); those who aren’t taking the tour have a free day to see sites on their own or relax in Belgrade.
DAY 4—Monday, June 4
8:30-11am—Registration open
8:30-9:20am—Plenary Session (Panel: On Meeting Updike Abroad)
9:30-10:45am—Academic Sessions (two concurrent, three papers each plus moderator)
11am-12:15pm—Academic Sessions (two concurrent, three papers each plus moderator)
12:30-2pm—Lunch on own
2:15-3:30pm—Academic Sessions (two concurrent, three papers each plus moderator)
4-5:30pm—Tour of Belgrade Fortress and Kalemegdan Park
5:30pm—Bus or boat ride to Zemun (pictured below; on own)
6pm-11—Tour of Zemun, dinner at Reka, Saran, or Salas (on own)
DAY 5—Tuesday, June 5
8:30-9:20an—Plenary Session (TBA)
9:30-10:45am—Academic Sessions (two concurrent, three papers each plus moderator)
11am-12pm—John Updike Society membership meeting
12:30-2pm—Lunch on own
2:30-3:30pm—Coffee (on own) at the Hotel Moscow, where Updike stayed in 1978
4-4:30pm—Visit to the Church St. Sava
4:30-5pm—Tour around National Library
5-6:30—Public event on Updike & Politics at the National Library (pictured below)
7:30pm—Closing dinner at a restaurant in Skadarlija, where the Updikes dined
