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May 3-9, 2026

This conference aims to foster thoughtful student discussion about how medieval texts and ideologies are adapted and mobilized in post-medieval periods and contemporary culture. This is a 100% online and asynchronous conference. Presentations will be video recordings. Participants will have 1-2 weeks to view the videos and place comments below them. This conference is FREE of costs.

Call for Conference Presentations

Students are invited to present and/or participate in the first annual virtual UNICORN Student Congress on Medieval Studies and Medievalism, sponsored by the UNICORN Castle.

What to Present: The theme is general—anything to do with the Middle Ages and/or the concept of medievalism(s). We welcome creative, critical, and playful approaches: literature, history, art, music, pop culture, fandom, games, digital media, and beyond.

How to Present: You’ll submit your videotaped, fifteen-minute presentation to the conference organizers. (More information will be provided once presenters have submitted proposals for the conference.) If you are not comfortable with video recording technology, someone will be available to help you. Each presentation will be posted to a password-protected page.

How to Participate, May 3-9, 2026: Everyone registered for the conference and game jam will have the opportunity to view and write comments on the presentations.

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Game Jam

Participants will have roughly two weeks, from Saturday, April 18th to Saturday, May 2nd, to create medieval-themed games that align with the theme of the game jam, which we will release on Monday, April 18th at 12:00pm here and by email. The finished games will be featured during the UNICORN Castle Student Congress on Medieval Studies and Medievalism.

How to Participate: It’s simple! Create an itch.io account and register for this game jam.

Theme: We will release the theme of the game jam on on Saturday, April 18th at 12:00pm. We will post it at the itch.io sight and also email it to all registered participants.

Game Jam Rules:

Game jam participants may work alone or in teams of any size.
Participants can submit a digital game using any game engine, a tabletop game, or a card game. Tabletop and card game submissions should include gameplay videos of the game as well as a design document or rulebook that details the game’s rule and play.
All submissions must relate to the game jam’s theme, which we will release here and by email on Monday, April 18th at 12:00pm.
All submitted games must be appropriate to academic audiences.
Paid third-party assets are not allowed. You can use third-party premade assets and audio as long as they are free and open source. All third-party assets used should be credited in the game.
Participants are not allowed to use generative AI tools this game jam.
All video game submissions must be playable on a MAC or a PC and must be able to be uploaded to the Game Jam’s itch.io page.
All submissions must be submitted through the itch.io game jam page by the Saturday May 2nd 8:00 PM deadline and should be playable at the time of submission.

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All Deadlines

Deadline to Register to Attend the Conference and Game Jam

Registration is FREE, but we are happy to accept donations, which will go toward funding prizes and future UNICORN Castle work!
April 30, 2026: If you are not planning to make a presentation or to participate in the game jam, register by April 30, 2026.
- You will receive link and password information by May 2, 2026.
- This registration form will be available soon.

Conference Presentations Deadlines

March 1, 2026: Deadline for Proposals—Complete this FORM.

- Provide your name.
- Provide your school email address.
- Provide your university/college affiliation.
- Provide the name and email address of your sponsoring professor.
- Copy and paste a presentation proposal that is no longer than 300 words into the appropriate box on the FORM. The proposal must include:
  - a clear statement that defines and limits your topic
  - a description of your research plan that clearly states the area of medievalism you wish to explore, why it is important, and how you plan to go about researching it
  - preliminary research, including at least two potential scholarly sources

April 1, 2026: Notification of Acceptance for Proposal.

- By this date, you and your sponsoring professor will receive notification that your proposal has been accepted.
- At that time, we will be asking your sponsoring professor to provide verification that you have been working on your presentation and that it will be ready to be uploaded by the next deadline.

May 2, 2026: Deadline to Share Your Presentation

- Your presentation must be a recorded video that is no longer than 15 minutes.
- Do not email videos to us!
- Videos must be shared in one of the following ways:
  - submit the link to a video that has been uploaded to Vevo or YouTube (as an unlisted work) or some similar, accessible, online platform.
  - submit the link to a video that has been uploaded to Google Drive.
- Videos must be accessible to anyone who has the link. It is preferred that we have the ability to embed your video into a page, but not required.
- Video presentations will be linked/posted to password protected pages within the online conference.

Game Jam Deadlines

April 15, 2026:: Deadline to Register for the Game Jam

- Register HERE (https://itch.io/jam/unicorn-castle-jam)
- You must be registered in order to

April 18, 2026: Game Jam Theme Announced
This will have something to do with the larger theme of medievalism(s).

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Prizes

Conference Presentations

FIRST PRIZE: $300 and permanent inclusion as part of the UNICORN Castle Museum and/or Game(s)

SECOND PRIZE: $200 and permanent inclusion as part of the UNICORN Castle Museum and/or Game(s)

THIRD PRIZE: $100 and permanent inclusion as part of the UNICORN Castle Museum and/or Game(s)

HONORABLE MENTIONS: Your name and presentation title will be listed on the program for that year’s conference, and the program will be published for all to see.

Game Jam

FIRST PRIZE: $300 and permanently linked as part of the UNICORN Castle Museum Game(s)

SECOND PRIZE: $200 and permanently linked as part of the UNICORN Castle Museum Game(s)

THIRD PRIZE: $100 and permanently linked as part of the UNICORN Castle Museum Game(s)

HONORABLE MENTIONS: Your name and game title will be listed on the program for that year’s conference, and the program will be published for all to see.

For more information, contact:
Dr. Carol Robinson (clrobins@kent.edu)
Dr. Carol Jamison (cjamison@georgiasouthern.edu)
Dr. Kevin Moberly (kmoberly@odu.edu)