The groundbreaking anthology Early American Writings (2001)edited by Carla Mulford, Angela Vietto, and Amy E. Winans, incorporated writing that represented a range of authors and texts that showcased the broad diversity of literature of the early Americas. The volume not only reflected but inspired new areas of research and teaching that have continued today. In keeping with the theme of the 2026 NeMLA conference, (Re)generation, the goal of this session will be to continue this expansive vision of the literature of the early Americas and showcase scholarship that represents innovative ways of thinking about these literatures. The first move in this direction is expanding the range of texts beyond “early America” (when we typically just mean the early United States) as a focal point to include the Americas more broadly. The new approaches being sought might include new critical approaches; identifying new linkages between texts; unique comparative approaches; alternative considerations of form, such as the autobiographical, the captivity narrative, and the enslavement narrative; and new or little discussed texts, as well as textual fragments. Recent scholarship has focused on such areas as gift exchange, the influence of print culture, and texts typically considered to be non-literary, such as sermons, diaries, commonplace books, and almanacs. All of these approaches will be welcome, and submissions will be assessed based on the ways they interrogate what we mean today when we refer to the literatures of the early Americas. Ideally, this session will not only reflect the state of the field but will generate further areas of inquiry to be explored. Please submit a 300-word abstract and brief bio to the Call for Papers at https://cfplist.com/nemla/User/Dashboard by Sept. 30, 2025. Direct any questions to Mary Balkun at mary.balkun@shu.edu.