CFP Disney: A Companion (1/1/2026)

Disney: A Companion

deadline for submissions:
January 1, 2026

full name / name of organization:
Lorna Piatti-farnell and Simon Bacon

contact email:
lpfarnell@gmail.com

source: https://call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/cfp/2025/07/26/disney-a-companion

The editors invite abstracts for a forthcoming edited volume entitled Disney: A Companion, which will offer a comprehensive critical exploration of The Walt Disney Company’s cultural, historical, aesthetic, political, and industrial significance. The Companion is intended for the Peter Lang Genre Fiction and Film Companion series (https://www.peterlang.com/series/gffc), and aims to bring together a wide range of interdisciplinary perspectives that interrogate Disney’s enduring legacy and its evolving role in global media and culture.



Since its founding in the 1920s, The Walt Disney Company has shaped not only the animation industry but also broader cultural discourses around childhood, storytelling, consumerism, technology, representation, and national identity. Disney’s innovations in animation – from the early days of Steamboat Willie and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, to the more recent digital revolutions seen in Frozen and Encanto – have established it as a central player in the development of visual culture. However, Disney’s influence and reach extend well beyond animation, and its characteristic fairy-tale narrative set ups. They encompass live-action films of different genres, television, comics, theme parks, corporate acquisitions and partnerships (including Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, and 20th Century Studios), streaming platforms, and merchandising. Disney has not only contributed to the development of the animated film as we know it, but also arguably shaped how generations of audiences have experience transmedia storytelling on a wider scale. All of these aspects of the ‘Disney phenomenon’ form a complex conglomerate deserving of sustained scholarly attention across disciplines and contexts.



Taking this as a point of departure, this Companion seeks to engage with Disney not merely as a brand or an entertainment company, but as a key site for creative, cultural, social, historical, political, and industrial negotiations.



Topics might include, but are not limited to:

• Aesthetics and Technologies: techniques and styles in traditional, digital, and hybrid animation; evolution of character design and character identities; Disney’s visual storytelling strategies; evolving digital technologies; collaboration with and influence on other studios; audio-visual and industrial considerations, including the use of music and songs; critical approaches to the aesthetic, industrial, and cultural category of the ‘Disney film’.
• Franchises, Adaptations, and Transmedia Storytelling: convergence culture and the evolution of serial storytelling within the Disney empire, including Disney+ and the Disney Channel; case studies on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars, and beyond, through a Disney lens; transnational reimaginings; paratextual materials, fan practices, remix culture, and counter-discourses surrounding Disney texts.
• The Body and Embodiment: how bodies are animated, idealized, and regulated in Disney media; discourses of beauty, physical transformation, and anthropomorphism; disability, and the relationship between the body and mental health in Disney narratives; body transformations and the construction of the self.
• Representations of ‘Good and Evil’: ethical boundaries and moral binaries within the Disney multiverse; constructions of heroes and villains, and the virtues/values associated with them; politicised understandings of purpose and goals; magic and witchcraft as central Disney tropes; monsters and the monstrous.
• Race, Ethnicity, and Representation: critical approaches to racial and ethnic portrayals in Disney films and television; Indigeneity and complex representations of ‘Otherness’ within Disney properties.
• Gender and Sexuality: changing depictions of femininity and masculinity; Feminist critique and queer readings of Disney narratives; gender performativity in animation and live-action; representation in the Disney Princess franchises and beyond; LGBTQI+ representation in both Disney texts and Disney fan communities.
• Ecology and the Environment: environmental critique within Disney films; corporate practices and environmental considerations; Disney parks and environmental discourses.
• Historical Perspectives: Disney's role in the development of the American film industry; propaganda and nationalism in wartime productions; corporate history and its intersections with broader historical events.
• Consumerism, Childhood, Nostalgia, and Fandom: the commodification of childhood and family entertainment; Disney’s influence on children’s culture and education; nostalgia and intergenerational fandom; critical explorations of ‘Disney adult’ fan communities; Disney cosplay and fan-narratives (including fan-vids, fan-fiction, and beyond); Disney and pedagogical discourses.
• Merchandise, Toys, and Marketing: audience-specific merchandise lines, including critical considerations of ‘Disney Princesses’ products and properties; rare items, collectibles, and exclusivity; branding and marketing strategies in diverse international contexts; Disney parks and the consumer experience.
• Creativity, the Cultural Industries, and Globalization: Disney’s global reach, including localized content and international reception; considerations over creativity and intellectual property; the cultural impact of Disney properties as creative channels; Disney properties, including theme parks, as cultural institutions in the transnational landscape.

The editors invite abstracts of 250-300 words on or around any of the above topics. Final essays will be 3,000 words in length.

The deadline for submission of abstracts is 1st January 2026. Please email your abstracts (together with a short bio, 150 words max) for consideration to both editors: Lorna Piatti-Farnell, lorna.piatti-farnell@sae.ac.nz; and Simon Bacon, baconetti@googlemail.com.


Last updated July 28, 2025

CFP International Congress on Fantastic Genre, Audiovisuals and New Technologies (9/21/2025; Spain/Online 11/19-21/2025)

VIII INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF FANTASTIC GENRE, AUDIOVISUALS AND NEW TECHNOLOGIES

deadline for submissions:
September 21, 2025

full name / name of organization:
FANTAELX

contact email:
congreso@festivalcinefantaelx.com

source: https://call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/cfp/2025/06/30/viii-international-congress-of-fantastic-genre-audiovisuals-and-new-technologies

The VIII edition of the Congress will take place on November 19, 20 and 21, 2025 in the Auditorium of the Congress Centre “Ciutat d’Elx” (Spain) (in person format), and via our website (online format). There are 3 participation options:

> Option 1: In this modality, the proposals of the Communications will follow the main thematic line of the new edition of the Congress and the Festival: Japan and its imprint on the Fantastic Genre.

> Option 2: In this modality, the abstracts will follow the generic thematic line of the Congress: The Fantastic Genre and its possible interconnection with the different platforms of culture, audiovisual and new technologies.

> Option 3: In this modality, abstracts submitted will follow the following thematic line: Visual arts and digital culture.

Accepted Communications in the Congress will include:

OPTION 1:

1) Presentation of the paper at the Congress (online or in person).
2) Certificate of Communication and Attendance.
3) Proceedings book with ISBN.
4) Academic publication in the publishing house Tirant Lo Blanch (1st in the absolute General Index of SPI) with a book chapter in Spanish and on paper with ISBN and delivery of the book on paper.


OPTION 2:

1) Presentation of the paper at the Congress (online or in person).
2) Certificate of Communication and Attendance.
3) Proceedings book with ISBN.
4) Academic publication in Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca (first quartile in the absolute General Index of SPI) with digital book chapter in Spanish with ISBN.

OPTION 3:

1) Presentation of the paper at the Congress (online or in person).
2) Certificate of Communication and Attendance.
3) Proceedings book with ISBN.
4) 4) Academic publication in Peter Lang publishing house (7th in the absolute General Index of SPI in Foreign Publishers) with book chapter in English and on paper with ISBN and delivery of the book on paper.

SUBMISSION OF ABSTRACTS

The deadline for submission of abstracts is 21 September 2025 (included).

For further information, please visit: https://www.festivalcinefantaelx.com/en/congress-call-for-papers/


Last updated July 3, 2025

CFP Edited Volume on Star Wars and Politics in the Disney Era (9/30/2025)

CFP: Edited Volume on Star Wars and Politics in the Disney Era

deadline for submissions:
September 30, 2025

full name / name of organization:
Dominic J Nardi

contact email:
dnardi@umich.edu

source: https://call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/cfp/2025/07/28/cfp-edited-volume-on-star-wars-and-politics-in-the-disney-era

This edited volume seeks to collect scholarship on the treatment of political themes and world-building in the Star Wars franchise since Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012. Scholars have thoroughly explored political topics in George Lucas’s works, but have paid less attention to how Star Wars projects under Disney have continued, changed, or challenged the franchise’s approach to politics. To advance the scholarship on this subject, we welcome proposals from a variety of disciplines and perspectives, including literary criticism, cultural history, political science, film studies, and fandom studies.



Possible / Suggested Topics:

We are willing to consider relevant proposals about Star Wars stories in any medium — including films, TV shows, novels, comics, and video games — published since Lucasfilm reset the Star Wars canon in April 2014. Below are some topics that essays selected for the volume might address. Please consider this list a starting point for ideas rather than an exhaustive checklist of desired coverage. 

• Everyday heroes and weapons of the weak in Rogue One and Andor
• Political idealism in The High Republic multimedia project
• Magical weapons to identify rightful rulers in Rebels, The Mandalorian, and The Book of Boba Fett
• Luthen’s accelerationism in Andor
• Links between the Empire and organized crime
• Post-conflict justice in the Aftermath and Alphabet Squadron novels
• Information warfare and propaganda, including the Star Wars Propaganda artbook
• Political parties in Bloodlines as a commentary on American polarization
• Star Wars Visions and Ronin as non-Western perspectives on politics in Star Wars
• Mistreatment of veterans in Rebels, The Bad Batch, Andor, and Obi-Wan Kenobi
• Transplanetary corporations and the military-industrial complex
• Income inequality and the donor class in The Last Jedi
• Pre-Mor Authority and the Empire’s use of contractors
• Political dynasties and/or cults of personality
• How political debates during the 2010s and early 2020s affected responses to the Sequel Trilogy
• Interconnections between the State and carceral institutions
• Tensions between political and religious institutions
• Nemik’s manifesto as political rhetoric

Submission and Contact:

Interested authors should email the following to sweede01@luther.edu and dnardi@umich.edu by September 30, 2025:

• 300-500 word abstract of your proposed chapter;
• Contact information - name, email address, and any institutional affiliation;
• Resume/CV for each author/co-author (in any format).

Selected authors will be notified by November 1, 2025, and will be invited to contribute a first draft of a full-length chapter by May 4, 2026. Essays should be between 5,000-7,500 words.



About the Editors

Derek Sweet (sweede01@luther.edu) has been a professor in the communication studies department since 2005, focusing on the topics of rhetoric and public address. Some of his course topics include Public Address, Advanced Public Address, Rhetoric of Everyday Life, Rhetoric of Spirituality, and Media & Popular Culture. He also coedited The Transmedia Franchise of Star Wars TV (Palgrave 2020) and wrote Star Wars in the Public Square (McFarland, 2015).

Dominic J. Nardi (dnardi@umich.edu) is a political scientist who researches the depiction of politics in science fiction and fantasy. He coedited and wrote chapters for The Transmedia Franchise of Star Wars TV (Palgrave 2020), Discovering Dune (McFarland 2022), and Studio Ghibli Animation as Adaptations (2025). He received his PhD from the University of Michigan and teaches at George Washington University.


Last updated July 28, 2025

CFP Adaptation and Terry Pratchett--Essay Collection (10/31/2025)

Adaptation and Terry Pratchett--Essay Collection

deadline for submissions:
October 31, 2025

full name / name of organization:
Anne Hiebert Alton & William C. Spruiell

contact email:
anne.hiebert.alton@cmich.edu

source: https://call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/cfp/2025/06/03/adaptation-and-terry-pratchett-essay-collection

We invite proposals for an edited collection of essays on Adaptation and the work of Terry Pratchett. The book proposal will be submitted to Palgrave Macmillan or Bloomsbury Academic’s Perspectives on Fantasy series in the Spring of 2026.

Perhaps best known for his 41-book Discworld series, Terry Pratchett was also the author of numerous other works of fantasy and science fiction. While enormously popular during his lifetime, since his premature death in 2015 his works have only grown in critical statue, with several scholarly articles, books and book chapters, and collections of essays appearing in the last decade.[1] However, none have paid extensive attention to the multitude of adaptations of Pratchett’s works. Spanning areas including drama, film (animated, live-action, and CGI), spoken word recordings and performances, graphic and musical arts, and games (video, RPG, and board), these many and varied adaptations embody Linda Hutcheon’s notion of remediated narrative: the “repetition without replication” that brings together “the comfort of ritual and recognition with the delight of surprise and novelty” (7, 173).[2]

Ideally this volume will include essays that discuss a variety of types of adaptations, as well as showcase not only Pratchett’s Discworld novels but also his other works, including Nation, the Johnny Maxwell series, the Bromeliad trilogy, The Carpet People, various short stories, and perhaps Good Omens. Topics might focus on such areas including, but not limited to, the following:

Theoretical issues: 

• Adaptation, Interdisciplinarity, Reception, Inter-semiotic translation, etc.Is Pratchett’s work intrinsically adaptable? Is there something about it that makes it particularly appealing to experience through adaptation?
• Are some Pratchett works more adaptable than others?
• Given that adaptation necessarily involves change, are there patterned aspects or common threads for what Pratchett adaptations focus on (fidelity debates aside), regardless of mode?
• How do Pratchett adaptations work? How might they change the experience of the source text, and through that the ground on which any further interpretation is based?

Modes 

•  How do the potentials of different forms/modalities (or languages) interact with Pratchett’s texts – do they encourage adaptation into some forms at the expense of others? Do they affect the choice of what to adapt beyond what the economics of sales figures would suggest?
• What characteristics of Pratchett’s texts pose particular difficulties or challenges for adaptation, or (conversely) enable interestingly expanded possibilities for meaning in the new form?
• How do results from particular adaptations vary between modes/forms?

Roles of participants

• What kinds of roles do various participants in Pratchett adaptations – the initial author, the adaptor(s), the performer(s), the designer(s), the collaborator(s), etc. – play?
• What contributions might or should they make or be expected to make?

Treatments of specific source texts and their adaptations

• How are Pratchett’s works transformed through adaptation? What happens to the source text’s story as a result of adaptation?
• What are some of the contrasts between various adaptations of the same source text – e.g. Guards! Guards! comic book vs. stage play vs. television series vs. game(s); or The Amazing Maurice musical vs. CGI film; or Small Gods graphic novel vs. BBC radio drama vs. instrumental music rendering – into different modes, and why/how do these matter?
• If, as Sanders suggests, adaptations “highlight often perplexing gaps, absences and silences within the original” (126), what gaps can be identified in Pratchett adaptations and how do various adaptations engage with these gaps?[3]

Deadlines/Timeline: Proposals of a maximum of 500 words, along with brief author bios, should be sent by Friday 31 October 2025 to Professors Anne Hiebert Alton and William C. Spruiell via email at anne.hiebert.alton@cmich.edu. Notification of acceptance will be sent by 31 December 2025. Please send any questions to the same address.



[1] In addition to numerous articles, other published work includes Daniel Lüthi’s monograph Mapping a Sense of Humor: Narrative and Space in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld Novels (2023); book chapters in Caroline Webb’s Fantasy and the Real World in British Children’s Literature (2015) and Andrew Rayment’s excellent Fantasy, Politics, Postmodernity: Pratchett, Pullman, Miéville and Stories of the Eye (2014); and at least six collections of essays: Discworld and the Disciplines: Critical Approaches to the Terry Pratchett Works (ed. Anne Hiebert Alton and William C. Spruiell, 2014); Philosophy and Terry Pratchett (ed. Jacob Held and James South, 2014); Discworld and Philosophy: Reality is Not What It Seems (ed. Nicholas Michaud, 2016); Terry Pratchett's Narrative Worlds: From Giant Turtles to Small Gods (ed. Marion Rana, 2018); Terry Pratchett’s Ethical Worlds: Essays on Identity and Narrative in Discworld and Beyond (ed. Kristin Noone and Emily Lavin Leverett, 2020); and Power and Society in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld: Building a Fantasy Civilization (ed. Justine Breton, 2025).

[2] Linda Hutcheon, A Theory of Adaptation, 2nd ed., Routledge, 2013.

[3] Julie Sanders, Adaptation and Appropriation, 2nd ed., Routledge, 2016.



Last updated June 8, 2025

CFP NeMLA 2026 Panel Session: The Murder and Its Afterlife: Regenerating the Wicked Witch (9/30/2025; Pittsburgh 3/5-8/2025)

NeMLA 2026 Panel Session: The Murder and Its Afterlife: Regenerating the Wicked Witch

deadline for submissions:
September 30, 2025

full name / name of organization:
Noah Gallego, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

contact email:
noahrgallego@gmail.com

source: https://call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/cfp/2025/06/12/nemla-2026-panel-session-the-murder-and-its-afterlife-regenerating-the-wicked-witch

send submissions to https://cfplist.com/nemla/Home/S/21574.

Conference dates: March 5-8, 2026 in Pittsburgh, PA

Deadline for abstracts: September 30, 2025

Contact panel chair for inquiries: Noah Gallego @noahrgallego@gmail.com



Upon the release of his beloved children’s classic, The Wizard of Oz (1900), L. Frank Baum introduced the masses to one of the most enduring villains of American literature: the Wicked Witch of the West. While she played a marginal role in the original book, Victor Fleming’s 1939 movie adaptation rebranded her as the main antagonist who has become an icon in western popular culture, responsible for traumatizing generations of young children. Such was the impact and intrigue of the Wicked Witch that American novelist Gregory Maguire composed a prequel speculating her origin story as the greenified, Dorothy-hating crone. In the spirit of the Broadway musical inspired by Maguire’s novel finally being adapted to the silver screen, this panel seeks to capitalize on “Wicked-mania” and solicit papers that will explore the Witch’s legacy and regeneration throughout film and beyond. Since her debut over a century ago, there have been dozens of under-examined dramatic representations beyond The Wizard of Oz and Wicked that this panel invites scholars to investigate. While on the surface, the Wicked Witch is a horror to behold, this panel seeks to uncover the even more horrific implications of her character. Scholars have claimed her and her Winkie army to be analogs of the Wehrmacht (MacDonnell 1990), a mestiza figure (McCabe 2008), a queer woman (Wolf 2008), and even a monstrous vegan (Sebastian 2022). Interested parties are welcome to expand on these themes as well as initiate new critical discourses as they pertain to the Wicked Witch. Prospective candidates are welcome, but not required, to consider representations of the witch outside of Wicked and The Wizard of Oz and examine other portrayals as in The Wiz (1974), the recovered 1976 Sesame Street episode, season 3 of Once Upon a Time (2013-14), and the film, Oz the Great and Powerful (2013).

In the spirit of the recent cinematic adaptation of the Broadway megamusical Wicked (2024) and its forthcoming companion film Wicked: For Good (2025), this session invites scholars from across the disciplines to submit proposals critically exploring the various iterations of L. Frank Baum’s infamous Wicked Witch of the West throughout the media since the first adaptations of the Oz franchise were released in the early twentieth century. Interested parties are welcome to probe Maguire’s revisionist work on which the musical is based in addition to other under-examined productions featuring the green-skinned menace. Inquiries may consider themes such as: gender, sexuality, queerness, monstrosity, disability, race, ecocriticism, and class.



Last updated June 12, 2025