The MMLA’s permanent section on American Literature After 1870 invites papers which, building on the conference theme, examine the topic of “post-book” American literature. In an 1868 essay, John William De Forest first used the term “The Great American Novel,” which has had an outsized impact on the American literary imagination ever since. This panel asks how the term applies in an age of sophisticated narratives that often live outside of the printed page, or in transmedia combinations with the printed page. While acknowledging the continuing importance of print texts both old and new, our panel seeks papers that examine the changes to literary analysis, objects, and pedagogy associated with a contemporary “post book” orientation.

For consideration, please send an abstract of no more than 250 words and a brief bio to najung@wisc.edu by May 10, 2022.