ALA 2026: The Novel of Ideas in American Fiction

ALA Annual Conference (May 20-23, Chicago, IL)

The Jonathan Bayliss Society invites proposals for a roundtable on the novel of ideas in American fiction. Although Philip Rahv claimed in 1940 that “Everything is contained in the American novel except ideas,” it’s possible he was mistaken, especially  if we think of writers such as Robert Pirsig, Walker Percy, Toni Morrison, Ursula LeGuin, Samuel Delany, Ayn Rand, David Foster Wallace, James Baldwin, Kate Chopin, Herman Melville, Jonathan Bayliss, and others. We are interested in papers devoted to particular novels or authors as well as more wide-ranging or theoretical approaches to the topic. Please submit abstracts of no more than 250 words along with your academic affiliation (if any) and a brief biographical note to Gary Grieve-Carlson (grieveca@lvc.edu) by January 23, 2026. Conference and hotel details are available at https://americanliteratureassociation.org/ala-conferences/ala-annual-conference/.