Frankenstein Speakers Bureau

$300,000
Indiana
National Endowment for the Humanities
Frankenstein turns 200 years old next year and as part of a monster birthday celebration, the federal
government will be funding a Frankenfest festival with a Franks-N-Steins beer garden and a special
Frankenstein speakers bureau.

Indiana Humanities has received a $300,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities
(NEH) to fund a fleet of programs inspired by the classic novel Frankenstein through the state over the next
year. i

The masterpiece was authored in 1818 by an English teenager, Mary Shelley. The novel tells the tale of
a young scientist named Victor Frankenstein who attempts to create life. The result is a grotesque monster
which horrifies Frankenstein and ultimately leads to the death and destruction of everything he loves.

A special Frankenstein speakers bureau is being set-up by Indiana Humanities as part of the One
State/One Story: Frankenstein program to lead discussions about the story in communities across the state. ii
The speakers receive a standard honorarium of $400 per talk, which should be about 45 minutes plus time for
questions and discussion with the audience. iii

The Frankenfest festival featured a Franks-N-Steins beer garden and an all-day read-a-thon of Frankenstein. iv

Some of the other Frankenstein-themed activities the grant will support include a statewide tour of
thought-provoking talks on the books key themes, film festivals, and a Sci-Fi and Horror Writers Festival. v
The statewide, multi-format program will use the novel to discuss the impacts of scientific and technological
change on human life and society. vi

Frankenfest kicked off the program September 30 in Indianapolis at the nations oldest surviving
pathology laboratorythe Indiana Medical History Museum. vii The festival included a Frankenstein read-a-
thon with celebrity readers, a pop-up exhibit of rare anatomical texts, curatorial talks, hands-on art activities,
Franken Yard Games, guided tours of the Indiana Medical History Museum, a theatrical performance, a Franks-
N-Steins beer garden and more Frankenstein fun. viii
 The Sci-Fi and Horror Festival will feature a
makers space for participants to create their
own monster and a marathon screening of the
Netflix show Stranger Things. ix

In addition to the program in Indiana,

another $173,000 NEH grant is supporting a
two-week institute on Frankenstein,
Cinderella, and the adaptations of these classic
texts in Arkansas. x

After two centuries, Frankenstein lives on,

Its alive! A Frankenstein speakers bureau funded by the National
Endowment for the Humanities pays speakers $400 to talk for 45 minutes.
selling tens of thousands of copies every year
and having been adapted into more than 100
movies, films and cartoons. xi Subsidizing a
speakers bureau and other activities to promote
discussions of an already well-read and popular
classic is a monstrous waste of taxpayer dollars.

i
INDIANA HUMANITIES RECEIVES PRESTIGIOUS $300,000 NEH GRANT FOR FRANKENSTEIN-RELATED
PROGRAMMING, Indiana Humanities, August 2, 2017; http://indianahumanities.org/indiana-humanities-receives-prestigious-
300000-neh-grant-frankenstein-related-programming .
ii
INDIANA HUMANITIES RECEIVES PRESTIGIOUS $300,000 NEH GRANT FOR FRANKENSTEIN-RELATED
PROGRAMMING, Indiana Humanities, August 2, 2017; http://indianahumanities.org/indiana-humanities-receives-prestigious-
300000-neh-grant-frankenstein-related-programming .
iii
One State/One Story: Frankenstein; Call for Speakers, Quantum Leap/Indiana Humanities, Eventbrite, accessed August 4, 2017;
http://quantumleapin.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Call-for-Frankenstein-scholars.pdf .
iv
Frankenfest registration page, Quantum Leap/Indiana Humanities, Eventbrite, accessed August 4, 2017;
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/frankenfest-a-kick-off-to-one-state-one-story-tickets-36612808897 .
v
INDIANA HUMANITIES RECEIVES PRESTIGIOUS $300,000 NEH GRANT FOR FRANKENSTEIN-RELATED
PROGRAMMING, Indiana Humanities, August 2, 2017; http://indianahumanities.org/indiana-humanities-receives-prestigious-
300000-neh-grant-frankenstein-related-programming .
vi
NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES GRANT AWARDS AND OFFERS, AUGUST 2017, National
Endowment for the Humanities, August 2017; http://www.neh.gov/files/press-release/neh_grants_august_2017_final_.pdf .
vii
Frankenfest, Quantum Leap/Indiana Humanities website, accessed August 4, 2017;
http://quantumleapin.wpengine.com/frankenstein/frankenfest/ .
viii
Frankenfest, Quantum Leap/Indiana Humanities website, accessed August 4, 2017;
http://quantumleapin.wpengine.com/frankenstein/frankenfest/ .
ix
Indiana Sci-fi and Horror Writers Festival, Quantum Leap/Indiana Humanities website, accessed August 4, 2017;
http://quantumleapin.wpengine.com/frankenstein/indiana-sci-fi-and-horror-writers-festival/ .
x
NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES GRANT AWARDS AND OFFERS, AUGUST 2017, National
Endowment for the Humanities, August 2017; http://www.neh.gov/files/press-release/neh_grants_august_2017_final_.pdf .
xi
Susan Tyler Hitchcock, Frankenstein: A Cultural History, W. W. Norton & Company, 2007.