Young Scholars Literary Symposium
At shenandoah university
Mysteries and Mayhem
Saturday, Feb. 21
Noon-5 p.m.
Film Event
7-10 p.m
Hosted by Shenandoah University’s Department of English in Winchester, Virginia
Why do we continue to crave mystery stories? What do they tell us about our need for suspense and our desire to solve riddles, including the most famous of all: Whodunnit? What do these stories of murder and mayhem teach us about the nature of evil, ideas of sin, and the essence of a villain? What do we hope to see in the survivors of these threats? –And what do we expect from the detectives and heroes who reveal the truth in these stories? We seek papers and creative projects that explore these and related questions.
The SU Young Scholars Literary Symposium is a one-day academic and creative expression conference held on SU’s Winchester campus. This event brings together outstanding undergraduate students, as well as educators and independent scholars, to share their academic and creative work related to the symposium’s annual theme. Participants may present their research papers as well as their creative projects (fan fiction, creative writing, interpretive dance, dramatic performances, digital or fine arts, etc.).
For over 100 years, Americans have enjoyed the great works of Agatha Christie and so many other great mystery, crime, and detective story writers. We invite you to join us in a celebration of both mysteries and mayhem at our fourth YSLS.
Contact Information
YSLS is hosted by the English department. For more information, contact Sarah Canfield or Rachael Hammond at ysls@su.edu.
YSLS congratulates Natalie Gales for her winning artwork, featured on these pages and in other YSLS 2026 materials.
