The Nordic Network for Narratives in Medicine network meeting will be dedicated to the role of narratives in medicine, with particular attention to how stories of illness, care, and clinical practice are created, reshaped, silenced, or amplified in an increasingly tech-driven world. Against a backdrop of social media, AI, VR, digital health infrastructures, and other technologies: how do new technological conditions influence narrative practices in healthcare? And how well do patients, clinicians, next of kin, and students make sense of illness and care?

Key note speakers at the network meeting

• Hanna Meretoja, Professor of Comparative Literature and director of the research centre SELMA: Centre for the Study of Storytelling, Experientiality and Memory at the University of Turku, as well as a novelist. 
• Pia Dellson, Senior Physician in Oncology and Psychiatry at Skåne University Hospital, teacher in medical humanities and communication at Lund University, as well as a poet. 

Call for papers

Read the call for papers and submit your abstracts no later than 5 June 2026 to: Asa.Thormahlen@med.lu.se 

Call for papers Nordic Network 2026 (PDF 217 kb, opens in a new window)

Programme and registration

The Nordic Network for Narratives in Medicine also welcomes participants who won't be presenting papers. Complete programme and link to registration will be presented here no later than August 2026. 

Papers will be presented in Swedish, Norwegian, Danish and English. 

Organisation

The network meeting is organised by the Nordic Network for Narratives in Medicine in collaboration with the Birgit Rausing Centre for Medical Humanities, Lund University. Contact coordinator Katarina.Bernadsson@litt.lu.se if you have questions about the network, the call for papers or the conference content. 

What is the Nordic Network for Narratives in Medicine? 

The network has about 170 members from all Nordic countries. The members are academic staff from a wide range of disciplines and/or practitioners within healthcare. Read about the network and the latest newsletters (in Swedish) on Birgit Rausing Centre for Medical Humanities website: 

Nätverksmöten och nyhetsbrev | Birgit Rausing Centrum för Medicinsk Humaniora