Speaking Schedule

Need an engaging, dynamic Harry Potter expert to speak at your event? Looking for someone to explain to your audience why imaginative literature is so powerful and why adults still love fairy tales? Travis Prinzi, author of Harry Potter & Imagination: The Way Between Two Worlds (Zossima, 2008) and editor of the forthcoming Hog’s Head Conversations: Fantatsic Essays on Harry Potter (Zossima, 2009), is available for speaking engagements at universities and colleges, libraries, schools, churches, pubs, bookstores, and events. Travis has been a popular speaker on Harry Potter at several venues, including as a Keynote Speaker for Convention Alley 2008. Download Travis’s promotional flyer. If you’re interested in having Travis speak at your venue, please contact him via E-Owl, or the information provided in the flyer.

Praise from Travis Prinzi’s Previous Speaking Engagements:

“Response from attendees [of Convention Alley 2008] was overwhelmingly positive. He was very open and attentive to questions—he focused on the asker and gave a lot of thought to the answer. Interactive, animated, thought-provoking. Travis has the ability to make academic analysis not only accessible but interesting to laypeople—and this is critical as the analysis of the Harry Potter books moves from the speculative to the analytical. A good balance of academic facts and theories. Many attendees were writers themselves, and Travis’s analysis helped them understand what their own writing may be projecting to their audiences.” ~ Sheryll Townsend, organizer of Convention Alley

“With insightful literary analysis and a keen grasp on issues of contemporary relevance, Travis Prinzi opened up Rowling’s Harry Potter books for my students in fresh new ways that engaged our interests and challenged our assumptions. Out of an obvious love for the series and its characters, Prinzi made difficult concepts easy to understand and sparked discussion that led us deeper, not only into the wizarding world, but also the profound problems facing our own muggle communities.” ~ S. Joel Garver, PhD, Professor of Philosophy at LaSalle University, PA

“Travis Prinzi has been a favorite speaker at HPEF, Inc. conferences since 2007. He most willingly engages himself with his audience to share his knowledge and talent. His presentations give breadth and depth to the Harry Potter fandom while also bringing enjoyment to his audience. As an organizer, I feel he is an ideal guest. He communicates well and provides information in a timely manner. He is polite, humble and a pleasure to speak with. If our audiences are any indication, Travis will be extremely well-received and gain new fans wherever he goes.” ~ Jennifer Clack, Advisory Board Member, HPEF, Inc., Chair – Infinitus 2010.

Travis Prinzi’s Speaking Schedule

• July 8, 2009 @ 2pm – Summer Reading Program at the Henrietta Public Library: “Harry Potter: A Fairy Tale for All Ages.” There might be some Wizard Rock involved as well! Books will be available for purchase and signing!
• July 11th, Writers and Books in Rochester, NY: Half-Blood Prince movie release party – The showing of the last two HP movies, with my reading of a text from one of the Potter books and a presentation in between! Books will be available for purchase and signing!
• July 14, 2009 @ 7pm – Brighton Memorial Library
• July 18-21, Featured Speaker, Azkatraz 2009, San Francisco, CA: “The Postmodern Potions Master,” “How Half-bloods became Purebloods;” Moderator for “Life of Severus Snape” panel; Panel member for discussion on feminism and romance; Podcast Palooza, with John Granger, James Thomas, and HP Progs (Monday night); live readings of Harry Potter & Imagination, and book signings. [Register for Azkatraz!] Books will be available for purchase and signing!

Previous Engagements:

March 20, 2009, Augustana College: Culture Wars and Harry Potter, for “The Postmodern World of Harry Potter” class (Audio available here!)

February 19, 2009, The Old Toad: Potter’s Politics: The Moral and Social Imagination of J.K. Rowling

October 31 – November 1, Northern Illinois University

• “Quills, Queries, and Quests: Education and Politics in Potter” – Audio available here.
• Panel Discussion: “Harry Potter and the Bridge Between Two Worldviews” (with John Granger and David Gras)

July 10-13: Portus 2008, Dallas, TX

• “Hogwarts, A (Haunted) History: Lovecraftian Fear in Harry Potter”
• “Christ in the Forest: Aslan and Harry Walk to their Deaths”
• Portus Podcast Palooza with HP Progs
• Podcasting Panel Discussion

June 19-21: Convention Alley 2008, Ottawa, ON – Keynote Speaker

• “Of Fountains, Fabians, and Freedoms: Dumbledore as Fabius Maximus and Libertarian Headmaster”
• “Quills, Queries, and Quests: Literacy and Education in Harry Potter”

April 9 – 10: LaSalle Univeristy

• “Race, Gender, and Class in Harry Potter”
• “Wizards at War: Harry Potter as Commentary on Terrorism”

August 2007: Prophecy 2007

• “The Fountain Told a Lie: Dumbledore’s Deconstruction of the Wizarding World”
• “Shadow, Sociopath, Sinner: A Threefold Look at Voldemort” – Audio available here.
• “The Meaning of the Phoenix: Love’s Victory Over Death” – Audio available here.