The John Dos Passos Society is proud to announce its 2026 biennial conference in Ponta do Sol, Madeira Island, Portugal. The conference will be held at the John Dos Passos Cultural Center in the municipality of Ponta do Sol, the home of the author's Portuguese ancestors.

We invite abstracts for twenty-minute presentations dealing with any aspect of John Dos Passos’s life, works, and/or professional relationships. Comparative approaches are also welcome.

For consideration, please send an abstract of 250-300 words and a brief CV to conference organizers Bernardo de Vasconcelos and Rosa María Bautista-Cordero at givascob@staff.uma.pt and rosa.bautista@uam.es by February 1, 2026. The conference language is English.

The conference registration fee is 175 euros for full-time scholars and 130 euros for graduate students and the general public. The registration fee includes the following:

1. One-year John Dos Passos Society membership;

2. Lunch on the first day of the conference and coffee breaks;

3. Tour to selected spots of the island of Madeira;

4. Certificate of participation.

Graduate students may apply for a travel grant by sending a short letter of motivation and their full paper to the conference organizers by March 15, 2026. Grants will be awarded to recipients after the conference.

About the venue

The JDPCC, nestled in the heart of the village of Ponta do Sol on the southwest coast of the island, grew around the Villa Passos, built in the first half of the nineteenth century and part of the village’s historical heritage. The house belonged to the family of Manoel Joaquim Dos Passos, John Dos Passos’ paternal grandfather, who emigrated to the United States in 1830. John Dos Passos's father, John Randolph Dos Passos, visited it in 1905, and Dos Passos himself visited it with his wife, Elizabeth Hamlin Dos Passos, and his daughter, Lucy, when in Madeira in July 1960.

Getting to Madeira

Funchal, Madeira’s capital city, is very well connected to mainland Europe with direct flights from most countries and capital cities.

If you are flying in from the US, you have multiple options. TAP Air Portugal flies direct to Lisbon from San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and a few East Coast cities (Miami, Washington DC, Boston and New York (Newark)). United Airlines also seems set to start their direct flights from New York (Newark) to Funchal as from May 16, 2026 (a little earlier than the IATA Summer season). And, of course, you have multiple other carriers flying to European capital cities and, from there, to Funchal.

Accommodation

Ponta do Sol, where the conference will be held, is located 25 km/15 mi from the island capital of Funchal. As participants may want to stay in either location, we have secured the following sponsoring hotels with reduced rates: the Enotel Group @ Enotel Sunset Bay (Ponta do Sol, 4* - https://www.enotel.com/enotel-sunset-bay) or Enotel Magnolia (Funchal, 4* - https://www.enotel.com/enotel-magnolia) and Estalagem da Ponta do Sol (Ponta do Sol, 4* - https://www.pontadosol.com/). See the Dos Passos Society website (johndospassossociety.org ) for further hotel registration details, including promo code.

Social Program

Besides the day tour on Saturday, the 23rd, there will be a closing Gala Dinner on Friday, the 22nd , at the Jard.in Magnólia (https://jardinmagnolia.pt/en/) and a day cruise (https://www.portosantoline.pt/en/one-day-cruise/) to the smaller island of Porto Santo on Sunday, the 24th. The dinner, which comprises a three-course meal, costs 65 euros, while the day cruise to Porto Santo will be approximately 60 euros

Important dates

Abstract Submission Deadline: February 1, 2026

Notification of Acceptance: February 28, 2026

Graduate Student Travel Grant Deadline: March 15, 2026

Registration Fee Deadline: April 1, 2026

Payment for Optional Gala Dinner (65 euros): April 1, 2026

Payment for Optional One Day Cruise to Porto Santo (around 60 euros): April 1, 2026