A Celebration of Sherlock Holmes

The 2022 conference, held on May 07, 2022, raised over $400 for children's hospice Tŷ Hafan (despite the COVID-related cancellation of our silent auction), and featured over 30 amazing talks and discussions about Sherlock Holmes!

Our 2022 Keynote speakers were Arwel Wyn Jones, Curtis Armstrong, Dr. Tom Ue, and Dr. Ashley Polasek. Our featured speakers were authors Michelle Falkoff, Tracy Clark, Susanna Calkins, Lori Rader-Day; Private Detective (rtd) John Rice; and Legal expert Stephen Lee.

Featured Professional Keynote Speakers

Arwel Wyn Jones is a Production Designer and Art Director on many productions from BBC Wales. He was installed as Production Designer on the Pilot for Sherlock in 2009, and returned to the role when the concept was approved to Series. He has worked in various capacities on Doctor Who and its spin off series since 2006

Curtis Armstrong is an American actor and singer best known for playing the role of Booger in the Revenge of the Nerds movies, Herbert Viola on the TV series Moonlighting, Miles Dalby in the film Risky Business, and famed record producer Ahmet Ertegun in the film Ray as well as for playing the role of Metatron on the TV series Supernatural. He will be speaking about “An Actor’s Search for Sherlock Holmes.”

Featured Academic Keynote Speakers

Dr. Tom Ue is Assistant Professor in Literature and Science at Dalhousie University and an Honorary Research Associate at University College London. His research, teaching, and public engagement reconsiders the global nineteenth century to reveals the close correspondence between canonical and less canonical writers, foreground the commonalities and differences in their thinking, and illustrate the persistence of their concerns in our own times.

Ashley D. Polasek, PhD, FRSA, is the Executive Director of The Ken Ludwig Company and the Editor-in-Chief of the interdisciplinary academic journal The Conan Doyle Review. In addition to publishing and lecturing widely on the subject, Ashley also serves as a technical advisor for television, film, and stage adaptations of Sherlock Holmes. She is a member of the Association of Adaptation Studies and The Baker Street Irregulars. You can find Ashley on Twitter @SherlockPhD., is the Executive Director of The Ken Ludwig Company and the Editor-in-Chief of the interdisciplinary academic journal The Conan Doyle Review. In addition to publishing and lecturing widely on the subject, Ashley also serves as a technical advisor for television, film, and stage adaptations of Sherlock Holmes. She is a member of the Association of Adaptation Studies and The Baker Street Irregulars. You can find Ashley on Twitter @SherlockPhD.

Featured Speakers

Crafting the Crime Fiction Novel

Private Investigator: JOhn Rice

John Rice began his private detective career when he was 10 years old. That’s the year his father, Edward F. Rice, started their family private detective agency.

E. F. Rice Co., Inc. investigated medical malpractice claims for Chicago-area hospitals. His dad was a pioneer in the field. He became a pioneer in investigating environmental pollution cases. He was a male “Erin Brockovich.” His investigation of Kerr-McGee in West Chicago resulted in a 5 billion dollar cleanup. He also investigated the Air Disaster at Lockerbie, Scotland.

But mostly he investigated car accidents and served process on defendants and witnesses. It was not glamorous but he had good stories to tell when he got home. He compiled some of these stories in his novel, The Doll with the Sad Face.

Lawyer: Stephen Lee

Stephen Lee is a lawyer who served as a federal prosecutor in Chicago for 11 years and has written and spoken about Sherlock Holmes. Before becoming a lawyer, he was a reporter for the Chicago Tribune.

Conference Schedule

9:30 am

Conference Open

Vendors Open

10:00-11:00

1A. Academic Keynote: “Sherlock’s Lenses.” Dr. Tom Ue.

1B. “Detection is, or ought to be, an exact science, and should be treated in the same cold unemotional manner”: Science and Technology in Sherlock Holmes.

Michael Boynton – Sherlock and Frankenstein: Intellectual Archetypes for the Modern Era
Lauryn Green – “The Failure of the Police”: Power Imbalance and Crime: The Role of the Independent Investigator in Conan Doyle's Work.
Yulia Belinskaya and Joan Rodriguez-Amat– Can AI EveR Be as Smart as Sherlock Holmes?

1C. Screening: “A Study in Pink” – Sherlock (90 min)

1D. Silent Auction Opens.

1E. A Legal Perspective on Sherlock Holmes.

11:15-12:15

2A. Sleuthing, Clues, and Misdirection: Crafting the Crime Fiction Novel.

All panelists will be signing books after the panel

Michelle Falkoff
Tracy Clark
Susanna Calkins
Lori Rader-Day

2B. “I prefer bad manners in the theater to active violence in the streets”: Theatrical Production of Sherlock Holmes.

Kerry McGee – Shared Experiences as the New Pandemic Theatre: Using Non-Traditional Theatre Models to Revive Interest in Forgotten Detective Stories

2C. “I don't have friends; I've just got one”: Holmes and Watson: Exemplary Characters.

Joshua Harvey – Springing From the Chair: Examining Holmes’ Relationships through Musical Adaptations
Walter J Podrazik – Completing the Equation: The Countervailing Voice for a Deductive Mind (Or, The Game Is “A Foot”)
David MacGregor – Three and a Half Definitive Sherlock Holmeses: The Evolution of Popular Culture's Greatest Hero

2D. Screening. (Starts at 11:30) Without a Clue (107 min)

12:30-1:30

3A. Professional Keynote. Arwel Wyn Jones.

3D. Screening. (Starts at 1:00). “Hounded” – Elementary (45 min)

1:45-2:45

4A. An Actor's Search for Sherlock Holmes. Curtis Armstrong.

Moderated by Dr. Ashley Polasek

4B. “I abhor the dull routine of existence”: Cross-media Adaptation of Sherlock Holmes.

Owen M. Smith – Ratiocination Meets the Irrational: Sherlock Holmes and the Cthulhu Mythos
Ilyas Cinar – Turkish Television Sherlock: Politics of Adaptation in Kanal D's Galip Derviş
Gordon Dymowski – Seeing the Puzzle in Everything: An Overview of CBS’ Elementary
Kristin Noone – It’s Elementary, My Dear Magician: Rewriting Sherlock Holmes in Mercedes Lackey’s Elemental Masters Series

4C. A Chat with a Private Detective: John Rice.

4D. Screening. (starts at 2:00). “The First Case” – Miss Sherlock (45 min)

3:00-4:00

5A. Keynote: “Adapting Arthur Conan Doyle: Collaboration and Competition.” Dr. Ashley Polasek.

5B. “A … brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose”: Mental Health and Sherlock Holmes.

Sam Close - Neurodivergence and Mental Health in Lady Sherlock
Gordon Dymowski – Living for Brain Work: Two Explorations of Sherlock Holmes and Mental Health
Josh Harvey – Elementary and the 12-step Experience
Monica Schmidt - The Seven-Per-Cent Evaluation

5C. “There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact”: Genre and History. 804.

Carey Millsap-Spears – “The Abominable Bride”: Sherlock’s Gothic World
Johanna Draper Carlson – Sherlock Holmes in Comics
William Staton – Holmes and Humor: Comedy as a Tool of Investigation in BBC's Sherlock

5D. Screening. The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (113 min)

5E. Jones and Armstrong autographs

4:15-5:15

6A. Holmes: Remixed – Discussion Panel.

Samantha Close
Anne Smith

6B “Sex doesn’t alarm me”: Sexuality and Asexuality in Sherlock Holmes.

Jennifer Wojton – Asexy Sherlock?: Fan Communities and Advocacy/Representation of Asexual Identities
Karma Waltonen – (A)sexuality in BBC's Sherlock
SJ Singh – The Inherent Queerness of Sherlock Holmes
Lisa Rothman – Who Gets to Interpret a Character? Intersections of Asexuality in Sherlock Holmes

6C. “I founded the Empty Hearse so like-minded people could meet, discuss theories…”: Fandom of Sherlock Holmes.

Lucy Miree – There is no Master’s Degree in Sherlockology: Flattening the Holmes Fan Hierarchy and Recontextualizing Love of the Great Detective
Allison Broesder – Foundational Fandom Spotlight: Sherlock Holmes
David Kocik – Creepy Watson and the Limits of the Term "Fan Labor"

6D. Silent Auction Closes.

Please note all times and panelists are subject to change. We will keep you updated as quickly as we can.