Myth and Fairy Tales Area, SWPACA--DEADLINE EXTENDED!
Call for Papers—DEADLINE EXTENDED!
Myth and Fairy Tales Area
Southwest Popular / American Culture Association (SWPACA)
47th Annual Conference, February 25-28, 2026
Marriott Albuquerque
Albuquerque, New Mexico
EXTENDED proposal submission deadline: November 14, 2025
Proposals for papers and panels are now being accepted for the 47th annual SWPACA conference. One of the nation’s largest interdisciplinary academic conferences, SWPACA offers nearly 70 subject areas, each typically featuring multiple panels. For a full list of subject areas, area descriptions, and Area Chairs, please visit https://swpaca.org/subject-areas/.
All scholars working in the areas of myth and/or fairy tales are invited to submit paper or panel proposals for the upcoming SWPACA Conference. Panels are now forming on topics related to all aspects of myths and fairy tales and their connections to popular culture. To participate in this area, you do not need to present on both myths and fairy tales; one or the other is perfectly fine. Presentations considering both genres are of course welcome and can stimulate interesting discussions. Proposals for forming your own Myth or Fairy Tale-focused panel – especially panels focused on one particular myth/tale – are encouraged.
Paper topics might include (but are certainly not limited to):
- Where Fairy Tales and Myth Overlap
- Non-Western Myths and Fairy Tales
- Revised Fairy Tales
- Fairy Tales in/as “Children’s Literature”
- Disney
- Urban Fairy Tales
- Ethnic Myths and Fairy Tales
- Gendered Readings of Myths and Fairy Tales
- Postcolonial Myths and Fairy Tales
- Myths and Fairy Tales in Advertising Culture
- Reading Myths and Fairy Tales in the Popular Culture of Past Centuries
- Performing Myths and Fairy Tales: Drama and/or Ritual
- Genres of Myths and/or Fairy Tales: Film, Television, Poetry, Novels, Music, Comic Books, Picture Books, Short Stories, or Graphic Novels
All proposals must be submitted through the conference’s database at https://swpaca.org/app
For details on using the submission database and on the application process in general (including submitting proposals for roundtables and preformed panels), please see the FAQS & Resources tab on https://swpaca.org/
Individual proposals for 15-minute papers must include an abstract of approximately 200-500 words and a brief summary of 100 words or less.
For information on how to submit a proposal for a roundtable or a multi-paper panel, please view the above FAQs and Tips page.
The extended deadline for submissions is November 14, 2025.
SWPACA offers monetary awards for the best graduate student papers in a variety of categories. Submissions of accepted, full papers are due January 1, 2026. More details are here: https://swpaca.org/graduate-student-paper-awards/. SWPACA also offers travel fellowships for undergraduate and graduate students as well as contingent faculty: https://swpaca.org/travel-awards-students-faculty/.
Registration and travel information for the conference is available at https://swpaca.org/albuquerque-conference/. For 2026, we will be returning to the Marriott Albuquerque (2101 Louisiana Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87110), which boasts free parking and close proximity to shopping and dining.
In addition, please check out the organization’s peer-reviewed, scholarly journal, Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy, at https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dialogue/.
If you have any questions about the Myth and Fairy Tales area, please contact the Area Chair, Dr. Lexey Bartlett, Fort Hays State University, at labartlett@fhsu.edu. If you have general questions about the conference, please contact us at support@swpaca.org, and a member of the executive team will get back to you.
This will be a fully in-person conference. If you’re looking for an online option to present your work, keep an eye out for details about the 2026 SWPACA Summer Salon, a completely virtual conference to take place in June 2026.
We look forward to receiving your submissions!