gender studies and sexuality

Since 1988, The Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Journal of Florida Literature has published material relevant to the life, works, and friends of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Yearling and many other widely respected and beloved works, including Cross Creek, Cross Creek Cookery, South Moon Under, and Golden Apples.

The Charlotte Perkins Gilman Society will host two panels at the 37th Annual American Literature Association Conference, May 20-23, 2026 in Chicago. We invite proposals for presentations on any aspect of Gilman’s life and work.

Possible topics include but are by no means limited to:

SSAWW at 25: Understanding Histories, Imagining Futures 

American Literature Association, 37th Annual Conference

May 20-23, 2026

The Palmer House Hilton, Chicago, IL

SSAWW at 25: Understanding Histories, Imagining Futures 

Call for Book Chapters

Reimagining Futures in Steampunk, Cyberpunk, and Solarpunk Narratives

CONCEPT NOTE

Call For Papers

Travel is perhaps the most enduring and evocative leitmotif of life, both in a very real and

metaphoric sense. Essentially spinning from that chequered gamut, Travel Literature records

human interactions and experiences within the diverse landscapes and cultures of the world. Its

significance lies in its ability to document encounters with differences, recording their observations

of previously unknown lands and articulating evolving perceptions of space, place, and identity.

One of the earliest examples of this is found in the works of Herodotus. His Histories blend

accounts of his journeys with observations on cultures, customs, and geographies of the ancient

Femspec, an interdisciplinary feminist journal, is seeking new reviewers to contribute to the journal. We particularly welcome contributions from postgraduate, early-career, and independent researchers. Femspec is interested in reviews of new titles within feminist, science fiction, fantasy, and folklore genres. This is not limited to printed text, and we welcome reviews of new TV and film. Please see the list below for suggested review material, but do get in touch with any suggestions. We are also keen to publish reviews of new scholarly works. Again, do get in touch to discuss this.

Recently published and forthcoming books:

The International Crime Fiction Association is delighted to announce the thirteenth Captivating Criminality conference, held from Thursday, 25 June to Saturday, 27 June 2026 at Bamberg, Germany, with a workshop for ECR/PGR on Wednesday, 24 June 2025. This year’s topic, crime fiction, conflict, and representation, attempts to appeal to researchers of crime fiction in all its variety and presented on various media, ranging from the “classical” detective novel via filmic representations of crime to podcasts and social media. As a genre of fundamentally human expression, much of crime fiction from all places and times is concerned with discussions of both conflict and representation.

Call For Papers

The Claude McKay Society (CMKS), now  an author member society in the American Literature Association (ALA), will convene one or two panels at the ALA conference at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago, May 20-24, 2026. Harlem Renaissance author McKay is presently enjoying a healthy resurgence.

The Bonnie Jo Campbell Society is sponsoring a panel at the upcoming American Literature Association Conference in Chicago, IL (May 20-23, 2026).

As a native Michigander, Campbell is associated strongly with the American Midwest, where much of her fiction takes place. This panel hopes to interrogate that relationship, either through analyses of the Midwest in Campbell's work, or in relationships with other Midwestern writers and their fiction.

Please send an abstract (200 words) and a brief bio to Dr. Ross Tangedal (ross.tangedal@uwsp.edu) for consideration by January 1, 2026.

Please see this Call for Proposals for an upcoming special issue of Feral Feminisms: 

 https://feralfeminisms.com/cfps/ 

This special issue, “Scrapwork: Foraging Feminist Fragments” will be guest edited by Dr. Amber Moore (University of British Columbia) and Dr. Kaye Hare (University Canada West). 

Memory, Myth, and Meaning: Cather in Dialogue with America 250

Willa Cather Spring Conference | Thursday, June 4 - Saturday, June 6, 2026 

This year marks the centennial of My Mortal Enemy, one of Cather’s least affirmative works and one not produced in the Cather Scholarly Edition (translation: much important work remains to be done!)  We invite papers on new approaches to My Mortal Enemy, including but not limited to the following considerations of style, form, provenance, and themes:

Call For Papers

The Erotica, Sexuality, Pornography, & Kink Area of the National Popular Culture Association (PCA) invites scholars to participate in the PCA’s annual conference. Details of the conference can be found at https://pcaaca.org/page/submissionguidelines

The College of Arts and Humanities at Bethune-Cookman University welcomes proposals for the annual Zora Neale Hurston Conference, which will be held virtually on February 12-13, 2026. “Their Eyes were Watching Words: Publishing, Editing, and Censorship” is a tribute to Hurston’s skilled navigation of the complex world of publishing and censorship. Our invited speakers this year are Roxane Gay and Dana Williams.

You are invited to submit scholarly, pedagogical, or creative proposals exploring any of the following: