Literary Friends and Rivals: Hospitality and Literary Networks in Spain and Latin America (SAMLA)
Call for Papers
Literary Friends and Rivals: Hospitality and Literary Networks in Spain and Latin America
98th South Atlantic Modern Language Association (SAMLA) Convention
Thursday, November 5 - Saturday, November 7, 2026
Atlanta, Georgia
From epistolary correspondence to gatherings at homes and cafes, Spanish and Latin American writers regularly remained in contact and supported each other’s literary careers. This panel will center on networks of writers working primarily in Spanish who formed friendships and alliances, familial and romantic relationships, supported the careers of others, and sometimes engaged in acts of animosity and gatekeeping. By bringing to the fore examples of literary networks from the 18th century to the present day, the panel will focus on how these relationships shaped writers’ literary careers and personal lives.
There are many examples of literary friendships and rivalries between and within Spain and Latin America. Vicente Aleixandre had a set schedule for friends to visit his Madrid home, Velintonia. Pablo Neruda regularly traveled to Madrid, often visiting Velintonia while residing at the nearby Casa de las Flores. Norah Borges collaborated with Spanish writers by creating illustrations for Concha Méndez’s 1930 poetry collection Canciones de mar y tierra and Carmen Conde’s 1934 poetry collection Júbilos. Some writers problematized the perceived importance of groups like the Latin American Boom, as Julio Cortázar would insist in an interview that writers of his generation worked alone without significant editorial support. Examples like these will offer a point of departure for understanding the impact of such friendships, rivalries, and correspondence and how these accounts shaped literary history through the construction of literary networks and generational groups. How might mapping these networks help respond to questions about inclusion in literary canons, sources of influence and inspiration, and aesthetic practices? What can be revealed about sites of cultural capital, the exclusion of certain writers, and how writers received support during times of exile and censorship? This panel seeks to highlight the role of hospitality and hostility in shaping the literary works and careers of Spanish and Latin American writers from the 18th century to the present day.
Possible topics include but are not limited to:
Literary friendships, rivalries, patronage, and familial and romantic relationships
Mapping and documenting literary networks and shared aesthetic practices
The role of prestige and canonicity in writers’ relationships and the formation of groups and generations
Collaborations between writers and (inter)generational mentorship
Discrimination and solidarity: gender, sexuality, disability, race and ethnicity, class
Locations within networks: Tertulias, educational institutions, homes, towns and cities
Transatlantic and global Hispanophone networks
The effects of travel and exile, including connections with writers of languages other than Spanish
Submission Information
Please submit an abstract (about 200 words) and brief academic bio (100-200 words) in English or Spanish, noting any A/V requirements, by August 24 to Ballast by clicking the “Submit Abstract” button at the top right corner of this page. Please also send all materials to Angela Acosta (aa108@mailbox.sc.edu).
Submit abstracts for this panel on the SAMLA website: