When: June 22-24, 2006
Where: Herkimer County Community College, 100 Reservoir Road, Herkimer, NY 13350
What: This conference is to mark the centennial year of the tragic death of Grace Brown on Big Moose Lake, NY and the sensational murder trial of Chester Gillette, in Herkimer, NY, which became the inspiration for Theodore Dreiser’s famous novel An American Tragedy (1925, the classic film A Place in the Sun (1951) and the world premiere opera An American Tragedy (2005). The conference will bring together literary, legal and historical scholars from around the United States, and the world, who will discuss the significance of this historical murder case, Dreiser’s famous novel and the evolution of the story in film, television and opera over the past one hundred years. The conference is open to both scholars and the general public.

There is a new website for this conference with updated lists of presenters, conference schedule and fee structure. Please see http://www.herkimer.edu/dreiser/index.htm to get the most up-to-date information.