Greetings, fellow scholars of Middle-earth!

Gentle reminder to all that we are still taking abstracts for our Call for Papers for the 2026 Popular Culture Association National Conference in Atlanta! Let's make this the best year ever for exploring the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and his ongoing legacy.

We recognize growing concerns surrounding travel and the challenges it presents. To ensure everyone can participate, we will happily accept remote papers! These can be submitted as either pre-recorded video presentations or delivered live via Zoom. 

Please note: All presenters, whether in-person or remote, must still submit their abstract through the official PCA submission portal and pay the conference registration fee.

We look forward to reviewing your exciting abstracts and hope to see you all in Atlanta!

Tolkien Studies Area (TSA)

Popular Culture Association (PCA) Annual Conference

April 8 - 11, 2026

Atlanta Marriott Marquis

 

Extended Deadline for Paper Proposals Dec. 5, 2025 (if the deadline has passed and you're interested, please contact me directly).

 

PCA WEBSITE

 

The Tolkien Studies Area (TSA) welcomes proposals in any area of Tolkien studies including, but not limited to, the topics listed below. We welcome scholars in all period specializations, from all disciplines, using any critical theory. We encourage interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary as well as collaborative work. The TSA defines "Tolkien studies" as including, but not limited to, Tolkien's Legendarium; adaptations, transformative works, and translations; cultural studies; critical race studies; digital and new media studies; fan and reception studies; feminist, gender, and queer studies; literary studies; medieval and medievalist studies; media and marketing; religious studies; source studies; tourism studies; and translation studies.

 

Academics, independent scholars, graduate students, and undergraduate students are invited to submit individual paper proposals, paper session proposals, and/or roundtable proposals. Presenters may present one paper and participate in one roundtable session.

 

All presenters must join the Popular Culture Association as members as well as pay a registration fee to attend the conference. These are separate fees that have been restructured to a tiered system taking into account that PCA members range from undergraduates to retirees, with salaries ranging from part-time, minimum wage to retiree pensions and social security.

 

All PCA sessions are scheduled in 1.5-hour slots. Paper sessions consist of four presenters, each speaking for fifteen minutes, followed by a group Q&A.

 

Roundtables are informal interactive discussions between five to seven participants and the audience. A roundtable focuses on a timely topic and is designed to raise questions and brainstorm for future scholarship. If you have an idea for a special topic for an academic journal issue or for an anthology, email the chairs to find out how to organize a paper session and/or roundtable on the topic!

 

For individual paper proposals, please submit contact information (name, institutional affiliation [or "independent scholar"], e-mail address, and telephone number), your presentation's title, and a 500-word proposal describing your topic, chosen theory, methodology, argument, and its relevance to current scholarship.

 

For a paper session proposal, please submit your contact information, all the presenters' contact information, and a 100–300-word proposal for the session. All participants for your proposed paper session or roundtable must register for the conference and submit their individual proposals through the PCA database so they can be added to the paper session.

 

If you wish to organize a roundtable, please contact the chairs directly. Only Area Chairs or PCA Admins can enter roundtables into the PCA database. Please note that the TSA can schedule only two roundtables; however, there are no limits on the number of paper sessions we can present!

 

Possible Topics

Adaptation & Translation Studies

Games (board, video, or online)

Any of the extent films

Amazon’s Rings of Power

Translations of Tolkien's Legendarium

Cultural Studies:

Production & Reception

Academic Tolkien

Archives & Tolkien

Class & Tolkien

Disabilities & Tolkien

Economics & Tolkien

Feminisms & Tolkien

Genders & Tolkien

Intersectional Tolkien

Mythologies & Tolkien

Queer Tolkien

Race, Racisms and Tolkien

Religions & Tolkien

Sciences & Tolkien

Spiritualities & Tolkien

Digital Humanities

Tolkien Corpora

Digitizing Tolkien

Fan Studies

Fan Archives

Fan Art

Fan Collectors

Fan Cosplay

Fanfiction (online or pre-internet)

Fan Podcasts

Fan Tourism

Fan Vidding

Literary Studies

Tolkien & Genre

Tolkien's Medievalisms

Tolkien & Modernisms

Tolkien & Postmodernisms

Tolkien & Romanticisms

Tolkien & the Victorians

Tolkien & War

Posthumous Publications

Analyzing Tolkien scholarship

(by period, theme, or topic)

Tolkien & Contemporary Fantasy

(Ex. Jemisin, Martin, Pratchett)

Pedagogical

Tolkien in the Classroom

Teaching Tolkien

 

Important Dates to Remember:

 

• Database opens for Submissions - Sept. 1, 2025
• Early Bird Registration Begins - Sept. 1, 2025
• Deadline for Paper Proposals - Nov. 30, 2025
• Travel Grant Applications Due - Dec. 15, 2025
• Early Bird Registration Ends for Presenters - Jan. 15, 2026
• Regular Registration Begins for Presenters - Jan. 16, 2026 
• Travel Grant Decisions / Notifications - Jan. 31, 2026
• Regular Registration Ends for Presenters - Feb. 15, 2026
• Late Registration Starts for Presenters - Feb. 16, 2026
• Preliminary Program draft available - Feb. 6, 2026

 

 

Those Presenters Not Registered by Feb. 15 Will be Dropped from the Program

 

CONFERENCE IN ATLANTA, GA - April 8-11, 2026