CALL FOR PAPERS

MELUS 2026 | Austin, Texas

Beyond the Page: Storytelling Across Media and Borders in Precarious Times

Co-Hosted by Southern Methodist University and The University of Texas at Austin

Co-Organizers: Frederick Luis Aldama (UTexas-Austin) and Christopher González (SMU)

Conference Dates: Thursday, April 30 – Saturday, May 2, 2026
Optional outings and welcome activities will take place on Wednesday evening, April 29, and Sunday morning, May 3.

CONFERENCE THEME

The 2026 MELUS Conference invites scholars, writers, artists, and educators to explore the evolving life of story—how it migrates across media, crosses borders of identity and geography, and adapts to the demands of the present. In an age marked by political division, cultural erasure, and institutional instability, multiethnic storytelling in the United States not only persists—it innovates. It finds new forms, new voices, and new platforms to carry forward its histories, critiques, and dreams.

This year's theme, "Beyond the Page: Storytelling Across Media and Borders in Precarious Times," calls for critically creative and creatively critical work that examines how multiethnic narratives and poetry thrive across narrative and poetic forms. We welcome explorations of literature in conversation with film, television, digital media, podcasts, performance, oral histories, visual art, music or sonic narratives,and graphic storytelling. We invite inquiry into how these narratives and poetry—across genre, medium, and voice—resist boundaries and imagine new paths for expression, recognition, and justice.

CONFERENCE LOCATION & CONTEXT

Set in Austin, Texas—long a crossroads of cultures, activism, and artistic invention—MELUS 2026 is co-hosted by Southern Methodist University and The University of Texas at Austin, with generous support from both institutions. Austin exists at the intersection of shifting demographics, vibrant creative communities, and the complex politics of the U.S. South and Southwest. It is also a flashpoint for national conversations about censorship, migration, education, and access to culture—making it a resonant and urgent setting for this year's convening.

The city's rich multicultural heritage, from its Indigenous roots to its Mexican, African American, and Asian American communities, provides a dynamic backdrop for exploring multiethnic literatures. Austin's thriving film industry, music scene, literary festivals, and digital media landscape also make it an ideal location to consider storytelling across diverse platforms and audiences.

TOPICS OF INTEREST

We especially encourage proposals that address:

• Multiethnic narratives in film, TV, music, and transmedia storytelling
• Oral histories and community archives
• Visual culture, comics, and graphic narrative
• Podcasting and digital storytelling platforms
• Storytelling in times of crisis: climate, migration, war, disinformation
• Book bans, censorship, and the politics of literary access
• The future of ethnic studies and the humanities
• Pedagogies of resistance and care
• Genre-blurring and aesthetic experimentation
• Transnational, diasporic, and borderland perspectives
• Public humanities and storytelling beyond the academy
• Indigenous storytelling traditions and innovations
• AI and multiethnic narrative: challenges and possibilities
• Digital archives and the preservation of multiethnic literary heritage
• Fan cultures and participatory storytelling in multiethnic communities
• Translingual and multilingual narratives across media
• Poetry and poetics in multiethnic traditions
• Drama, theatre, and performance studies
• Spoken word, slam poetry, and oral poetics
• Music, soundscapes, and sonic storytelling
• Dance, embodiment, and performance as narrative
• Visual arts, installation, and cross-media performance
• Hybrid and experimental literary forms
• Period-based studies of multiethnic literature (e.g., 19th-century, modernist, contemporary)

SUBMISSION FORMATS

We welcome:

• Individual paper proposals (250-word abstract)
• Full panel proposals (3-4 papers, 500-word panel description plus individual abstracts)
• Roundtable discussions (4-6 participants, 500-word description)
• Creative readings (poetry, fiction, nonfiction, performance)
• Alternative formats (workshops, screenings, performances, digital exhibits)
• Lightning talks (5-minute presentations as part of a curated session)
• Poster presentations (especially encouraged for graduate students)

MELUS is committed to building inclusive and accessible scholarly spaces, and we especially encourage submissions from graduate students, contingent faculty, independent scholars, artists, and community organizers. Limited travel grants and hotel grants will be available to support participation from historically underrepresented groups and those with financial need.

CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS

Special Events:

• Film screenings and discussions with Austin-based filmmakers
• Visit to the Harry Ransom Center's archives of multiethnic literature and media
• Community storytelling workshop with local artists
• Digital humanities workshop on archiving multiethnic narratives
• Publishing roundtable with editors from academic and trade presses

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS: TBD

IMPORTANT DATES

• Submission Deadline: November 15, 2025
• Notification of Acceptance: January 15, 2026
• Early Registration Deadline: February 28, 2026
• Conference Dates: April 30 – May 2, 2026

SUBMISSION & CONTACT INFORMATION

Conference Website: TBD

Submit proposals at: melus2026@gmail.com

Questions? Contact: melus2026@gmail.com

MELUS (The Society for the Study of the Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States) is dedicated to the scholarly study of the multi-ethnic literatures of the United States. Since its founding in 1973, MELUS has advocated for the recognition, study, and teaching of multiethnic literature, creating spaces for critical conversation across disciplines, methodologies, and perspectives.