Final Call for Book Chapter Proposals/ Abstracts

Matrifocal Narratives in Indian Fiction

Co-Editors: Sushree Routray, Rashmi Gaur, and Rahul K. Gairola

Submission Deadline: December 31, 2025

Motherhood holds a particularly venerated space in Indian culture that is shaped by biological determinism, mythological traditions, religious texts, and gendered ideologies (Bagchi, 2017; Bhowmick, 2022; Mitra, 2020). At its centre lies the privileged archetype of the mother goddess, an enduring figure enshrined in cultural reverence. Such idealisation constructs a sacred vision of caregiving wherein readers of fiction perceive nurturing as a divine essence, thus reinforcing a hegemonic view of mothers as both creators and caretakers of life. However, such glorification routinely masks the material realities of motherhood. As Indrani Karmakar (2022) highlights, such exaltation perpetuates a “slippery area of glorification” that not only erases ambivalence and struggle, but moreover marginalises maternal subjectivity beyond reproduction and care (1). This co-edited volume thus critically evaluates stories in which mothers and motherhood hold central positions which shape the structure, significance, and narrative ideology of myriad literary texts.

In this context, matrifocality refers not only to a thematic centring of mothers, but also to narrative perspectives which commence with the mother “in her own right,” thus offering experiences as a narrative’s organising principle (Podnieks and O’Reilly 2010, 3). For our purposes here, postcolonial Indian fiction disseminates matrifocality throughout a geo-historical context in contrast to Western narratives of maternity. For example, such postcolonial fictions of motherhood often unfold in dialogue with, and in resistance to, dominant caste and patriarchal norms. Writers including Mahasweta Devi, Kamala Das, Bama, Avni Doshi, Geetanjali Shree, Anuradha Roy, and Shashi Deshpande, among others, demonstrate how maternal figures negotiate caste, gender, community, and memory — not to uphold conventions, but rather to interrogate the mythologies surrounding motherhood itself. In our current historical moment, the socio-political stakes of this study are arguably timely with respect to shrinking gender rights and the politicisation of motherhood worldwide. 

Our volume thus proposes a critical examination of matrifocality in Indian fiction, analysing how literary works represent the mother anew, either challenging or reinforcing motherhood’s cultural and social constructions. We are moreover interested in matrifocal narrative styles, techniques, plot, form, and other formal aspects of Indian fiction. Contributions may explore, but are not limited to, the following themes:

Themes and Sub-themes

1. Reimagining the mother: Literary Explorations

• Representations of matrifocality in Indian literature.
• The evolving archetype of “the mother” in contemporary and classical Indian fiction.
• Mothers as agents of resistance and change in Indian fiction.

2. Matrifocal Families and Alternative Kinship Models

• The portrayal of mother-led households in Indian narratives.
• Beyond patriarchy: The centrality of maternal figures in familial structures.
• Intersections of caste, class, and matrifocality.

3. Motherhood and Agency: Power, Vulnerability, and Care

• Maternal authority versus maternal sacrifice.
• The intersections of mothering practices and feminism.
• Motherhood as resistance in socio-political contexts.
• Motherhood and old age, widowhood, and advanced mental health issues.

4. Matrifocal Narratives and Intersectionality

• The intersection of gender, sexuality, and matrifocality in Indian fiction.
• Queer matrifocality and representations of non-normative maternal figures.
• Dalit, Adivasi, and other marginalised voices in matrifocal storytelling.

5. Matrifocality in Myth and Folklore

• Reinterpreting Indian myths and folktales through a matrifocal lens.
• Maternal archetypes in epics such as the Mahabharata and Ramayana.
• Oral traditions and the mother as storyteller.

6. Maternal Geographies: Space, Place, and Belonging

• The maternal figure as a symbolic space of refuge, resistance, or control.
• Narratives of mothers in rural and urban settings.
• Transnational matrifocal narratives in Indian diasporic literature.

8. Matrifocality in Popular and Regional Literature

• Matrifocal themes in vernacular and regional Indian literature.
• Maternal figures in graphic novels, popular fiction, and adaptations.
• Folk narratives, ballads, and songs centred on the mother.

9. Transcending the Biological: Non-Biological Mothers and Caregivers

• Stepmothers, adoptive mothers, and other mothering in Indian fiction.
• Representations of caregiving beyond the biological mother-child relationship.
• Surrogate motherhood and its implications for matrifocal narratives.

Submission Guidelines:

Please submit an abstract of 300-350 words describing your topic along with a short bio-note of 150 words to  sroutray@hs.iitr.ac.in, rgaurfhs@iitr.ac.in, luhar7@gmail.com. Complete chapters (6,000–6,500 words) will be due about four months following acceptance of proposals. We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Please ensure that your abstract contains the following information in *one single PDF document*

Proposed paper title

Your name and title (Dr/ Mr/ Mrs/ Ms)

Email address for all correspondence 

Five *keywords* of your proposal

Body of proposal (paper concept note) thoroughly invigilated for correct grammar and spelling with a very clear thesis statement; this should preferably be presented as two incisive paragraphs that are free of any errors in English. This should clearly relate to the CFP and one of its concerns or clearly articulate a new concern that is original. 

A succinct bio-note that details your name, current affiliation/ profession, university where your postgraduate credentials have been awarded, significant publications (3-5) to date, and country/ countries of residence. 

** Please note: Any junior scholar wishing to submit an abstract to our proposed volume must have at least one senior co-author who holds a PhD degree and is affiliated to a recognised academic institution. We are unable to accept chapter proposals/ abstracts from postgraduate students.

Important Dates

• Deadline for abstracts: Dec 31, 2025
• Notification of abstract acceptance: Jan 31, 2026
• Completed Manuscripts: June 30, 2026
• Expected Publication: Jan 31, 2027

Co-editors

Sushree Routray successfully defended her PhD thesis in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Uttarakhand (India), in December 2025. She earned her Master’s degree in English Literature from The English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU), Hyderabad (India). Her research interests include Motherhood Studies, Feminist Phenomenology, and South Asian Literature. Routray’s scholarly research has been published in, amongst others, Asian Studies Review, Women's Studies International Forum, Louisiana State University Press, Cambridge Scholars Publishing and Macmillan Press.

Rashmi Gaur is a distinguished Professor of English in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Uttarakhand, (India). She is an accomplished author who has published several books and research articles in respected, refereed journals for over three decades. Her expertise spans Gender Studies, Indian Literature, Modern Fiction, and Communication Studies, and she has for decades designed, taught, and delivered lectures, tutorials, and invited talks on the aforementioned topics. 

Rahul K. Gairola is a Senior Research Fellow of the Digital Narratives Studio (DNS), The Chinese University of Hong Kong; Honorary Fellow of the Indo-Pacific Research Centre at Murdoch University (IPRC) in Perth, Western Australia; and 2024 Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Münster, Germany (EU). He is the Editor of The Routledge/ Asian Studies Association of Australia (ASAA) South Asian Book Series and an Area Editor for Oxford Bibliographies in Literary & Critical Theory. He has published seven books, over 50 peer-reviewed research articles, and several works of digital and public scholarship. Gairola has presented papers and held research grants/ fellowships around the globe for over two decades. He has previously taught at Murdoch University (Australia); the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Uttarakhand (India); The City University of New York (USA); and the University of Washington, Seattle and Bothell (USA).