The Faculty of English, University of Cambridge; Stanford Text Technologies, Stanford University, and the University Library Research Institute are delighted to announce that registration is open for the international conference ‘The Craft, Texture, and Aesthetics of Letter Forms from Antiquity to the Present‘.

Venue: University of Cambridge, Faculty of English and online.

Dates: 2-4 September, 2025.

‘The Craft, Texture, and Aesthetics of Letter Forms’ will bring together scholars, practitioners and heritage experts to explore the matter of lettering, its practice and study. By marrying a range of disciplinary and professional approaches, we hope to recover the aesthetic, historical, and material significance of letter formation in all its rich variety. We will do this across all material supports – whether stone, vellum, paper, metal or wood – and across media ranging from letters inked, engraved and incised, to those freshly pixelated for our computer screens. In the process, we aim to treat letterforms holistically, as phenomena that migrate dynamically between different times, different cultures, different media, different professions, and ultimately different disciplines.

In-person places are limited but panels will be livestreamed. For further information and how to register for in-person or online attendance: https://www.english.cam.ac.uk/events/lettering/ 

If you have any enquiries about conference please direct them to letterforms@english.cam.ac.uk