Call for Papers: Edited Volume on Adoption in Popular Media

deadline for submissions: 

June 15, 2026

full name / name of organization: 

Stacy Fowler / St. Mary’s University

contact email: 

sfowler@stmarytx.edu

This edited volume seeks 5,000-8,000 word essays focused on portrayals of adoption in popular media. With the aim of curating a collection that analyzes distinct yet interconnected aspects of adoption in popular culture, proposals from a variety of disciplines and perspectives are encouraged, including sociology, psychology, history, genealogy, political science, film studies, legal scholarship, and/or literary criticism. Submissions from established, emerging, and international scholars are welcome, as are collaborative proposals from interdisciplinary writing partnerships. Relevant proposals about adoption in any medium are welcome, including film, television, anime, literature, comics, manga, music, social media, and marketing. The book is under contract with McFarland Publishing.

Possible focuses:

Perspective of the birth mother                           Queer families and adoption

Perspective of the adoptive mother                     Rape pregnancies and adoption

Perspective of the child                                      Laws and legal challenges of adoption

Birth fathers: "forgotten" part of the process?      Adopting older children

Open vs. closed adoptions                                  To seek or not to seek: a complicated question

Transracial adoptions                                         Adopting war orphans

Nature versus nurture                                        Adoption after the fall of Roe v. Wade

Potential source material:

Films: Martian Child, Losing Isaiah, Philomena, Stuart Little, Any Day Now, October Baby, Juno, Orphan, Like Dandelion Dust, Mother and Child, Then She Found Me, Secrets & Lies

Television: This is Us, Diff’rent Strokes, Riot Women, Trying, The Umbrella Academy

Literature: Welcome Home by Eric Smith, That Kind of Mother by Rumaan Alam, Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng, Luster by Raven Leilani, A Little Ray of Sunshine by Kristan Higgins

Songs: “I’m Adopted” by Slugs and Bugs, “Family” by Dolan, “Lullaby in Blue” by Bette Midler, “Amos Story” by Aaron Ivey, “When Love Takes You In” by Steven Curtis Chapman

Timeline:

June 15, 2026: Deadline for submitting proposal

July 15, 2026: Contributors notified of acceptance

October 15, 2026: First draft due

January 15, 2027: Final copy due; completed essays should be 5,000-8,000 words (inclusive of notes and bibliography) and adhere to the Chicago Manual of Style, 18th edition.

Submissions and contact:

Interested contributors should email Stacy Fowler at sfowler@stmarytx.edu by June 15, 2026, with the following information:

• 300-500 word abstract of proposed essay topic;
• Contact information and institutional affiliation, if applicable; 
• Resume/CV and short biographical statement.