Welcome

The International Society for the Study of Narrative (ISSN) is a nonprofit association of scholars dedicated to the investigation of narrative, its elements, techniques, and forms; its relations to other modes of discourse; its power and influence in cultures past and present.

"Narrative" for us is a category that may include the novel, epic poetry, history, biography, autobiography, film, the graphic arts, music, performance, legal writing, medical case histories, and more.

The Society sponsors the International Conference on Narrative each year. The first conference was held at Ohio State University in 1986, and in subsequent years, the meeting has been held at sites across the United States, Canada, and France. At each conference, approximately 250 speakers address issues of narrative from a variety of positions and perspectives.

Executive Committee

• President:
  Emma Kafalenos, Washington University in St. Louis
• First Vice President:
  Richard Walsh, York University
• Second Vice President:
  Susan Lanser, Brandeis University
• Past President:
  Irene Kacandes, Dartmouth College
• Secretary-Treasurer; Editor, Narrative:
  Jim Phelan, The Ohio State University
• Conference Liaison:
  Alan Nadel, University of Kentucky
• Electronic Communications Coordinator:
  Edward Maloney, Georgetown University

Executive Council

• Porter Abbott, University of California, Santa Barbara, 2011-2013
• Nancy Easterlin, University of New Orleans, 2011-2013
• Kurt Koenigsberger, Case Western University, 2012-2014
• Erin McGlothlin, Washington University in St. Louis, 2012-2014
• Frederick Luis Aldama, The Ohio State University, 2013-2015
• Liesbeth Korthals Altes, University of Groningen, the Netherlands, 2013-2015