January 16–17, 2026 saw the continuation of the fifth (English-language) international conference in the series "Theoretical Aspects of Fantasy Literature Research". The conference was organized by the Center for Fantasy Literature Research at the T. H. Shevchenko Institute of Literature of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (headed by Doctor of Philological Sciences Tetiana Ryazantseva) in cooperation with the State University "Zhytomyr Polytechnic" (co-organizer from the university – co-chair of the Center for Fantasy Literature Research, head of the Department of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics at the Faculty of Pedagogical Technologies and Lifelong Education, Candidate of Philological Sciences Yevheniia Kanchura) and Atatürk University (Erzurum, Republic of Turkey; co-organizer from the university – lecturer of the Faculty of Literature, doctoral candidate at Odessa National I. I. Mechnikov University, Candidate of Philological Sciences Olha Boiko), as well as with the support of Associate Professor of the Department of English Philology and Philosophy of Language at the Faculty of Germanic Philology and Translation of Kyiv National Linguistic University, Candidate of Philological Sciences Olena Tykhomyrova and independent Ukrainian researchers – Candidates of Philological Sciences Diana Melnyk and Oleksandra Filonenko. The event brought together specialists from leading scientific institutions and universities of Ukraine, many European countries, Brazil, and Australia. The main principles of the conference, the "everyone listens to everyone" format, the thematic organization of sections, and the gradual transition from general to specific issues as the basis for forming the program remained unchanged. The scientific meeting was held online and was dedicated to the representations and functioning of music, dance, and theater, and more broadly – entertainment as an industry and form of leisure in works of the fantasy metagenre of the 20th and 21st centuries. Special emphasis was placed on the role of entertainment in the construction of secondary worlds and magical systems. On the first day, participants discussed the musical and choreographic discourse of fantasy literature; on the second – the interaction of the metagenre with polymodal art forms (circus, theater, cinema, television). Music, dance, and rhythm as key images of the functioning of the universe in the ontopoetics of fantasy literature were illuminated from the perspectives of philosophy and literary history, corpus linguistics, cultural studies, folklore studies, gender, discursive, intermedial, and other approaches. Each section ended with active discussions. The plenary session was opened by the head of the Center for Fantasy Literature Research at the T. H. Shevchenko Institute of Literature of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, leading researcher of the Department of Literature and Comparative Studies of this Institute, Doctor of Philological Sciences Tetiana Ryazantseva, who welcomed the conference participants on behalf of the Institute of Literature in a brief introductory speech and delivered the report "Miracles Are Created Here. The Center for Fantasy Literature Research at the T. H. Shevchenko Institute of Literature of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. A Brief History: 2015–2025". VIEW THE PRESENTATION The session continued with a lecture by the conference special guest, visiting researcher at the University of Groningen (Netherlands), Doctor Hamish Williams"Music, Metaphor, and Magical Mechanics in a Creative Perspective". The special guest on the next day of the conference was the head of the Department of Romance-Germanic Philology at V. H. Korolenko Poltava National Pedagogical University, Candidate of Philological Sciences Nataliia Krynytska – with the lecture "Ontopoetic Model of the World as Rhythm in Contemporary Fantasy". The materials of this year's conference are planned to be published as a separate edition. Video recordings of the presentations are also being prepared for release. Currently, the conference booklet containing the event program with abstracts of all reports is available on the Center for Fantasy Literature Research page on the website of the T. H. Shevchenko Institute of Literature of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine: conference booklet with program and abstracts. The Center expresses gratitude to the meeting participants and especially to colleagues who contributed to its organization and conduct. The result of these joint efforts once again demonstrated the effectiveness of creative cooperation between the scientific centers of the T. H. Shevchenko Institute of Literature of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and representatives of Ukrainian universities, as well as Ukrainian researchers currently working abroad. In developing conference programs, the Center for Fantasy Literature Research consistently follows clear theoretical and methodological guidelines, as well as standards of academic integrity. The expansion of academic contacts and international communication continues, which this year was significantly facilitated by the English-language format of the event. To increase the visibility of Ukrainian literary studies on the international stage, it has been decided that from 2026 onward, this scientific meeting and the publications of the Center for Fantasy Literature Research at the T. H. Shevchenko Institute of Literature of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine will be entirely in English. The organizers also sincerely thank and deeply bow to the Defense Forces of Ukraine, thanks to whose courage and resilience it is possible to research and discuss fantasy literature. Despite all hardships.
According to information from the T. H. Shevchenko Institute of Literature of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine