CFP GIFCon 2026 - The Technologies of the Fantastic (1/18/2026; Online 5/13-15/2026)

GIFCon 2026 - The Technologies of the Fantastic

deadline for submissions:
January 18, 2026

full name / name of organization:
Centre for Fantasy and the Fantastic, University of Glasgow

contact email:
GIFCon@glasgow.ac.uk

source: https://call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/cfp/2025/12/16/gifcon-2026-the-technologies-of-the-fantastic

The Centre for Fantasy and the Fantastic is excited to announce the call for papers for Glasgow International Fantasy Conversations (GIFCon) 2026, to be held online on 13-15 May, with the theme of ‘The Technologies of the Fantastic’.

Many addendums have been made over the years to Arthur C. Clarke’s famous third law: ‘any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic’ (‘Technology and the Future’), from Professor Barry Gehm’s corollary, ‘any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced’ (Analog) to Terry Pratchett, Ian Stewart, and Jack Cohen’s explanatory statement in The Science of Discworld that ‘Technology works because whoever built it in the first place figured out enough of the rules of the universe to make the technology do what was required of it … With magic, in contrast, things work because people want them to’. Such discourse leaves us asking what, if anything, fundamentally separates the technological from the magical?

Though scholars have attempted to clarify the division between science fiction and fantasy by suggesting that the latter is solely concerned with the impossible whilst the former is concerned only with fact, such binaries disregard the foundations of the fantastic prevalent in science fiction, in which ‘the only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible’ (Arthur C. Clarke Profiles of the Future). Similarly, the fantastic is filled with the technological. We can find technology in carefully constructed runes and magical glyphs that operate as locks and keys; in the textile metaphors of spell weaving; in the taxonomy of the naming of the wind and waves; and in the engineering of biomechanical monsters piloted by traumatized teens to fight angelic horrors.

This year, GIFCon invites the consideration of the technologies of fantasy, emphasizing those things that are too often overlooked both in the real world and in fantasy, whether through hierarchical practices that limit the definition of the scientific or because ‘technology’ has become so ubiquitous in everyday life.

GIFCon is a three-day virtual conference welcoming proposals from researchers and practitioners working in the fields of fantasy and cognate genres/subgenres across all media, whether from within academia or beyond it. We are particularly interested in submissions from postgraduate and early career researchers, and warmly welcome proposals from researchers whose work focuses on marginalized communities and subjects.

Topics for papers may include, but are not limited to:The rules of magic and magic systems.
The Science-Fantasy genre.
Who are these fantasy worlds made for? What does their magic and technology account for, and who do they overlook?
Nonwestern technologies and colonialist constructions of science in Fantasy.
Exploring Fantastic infrastructures: how cities, buildings, modes of transportation, paths, and worlds are shaped by fantastic interventions/inventions.
How the body (whether human, non-human, posthuman, or something in between) is shaped by technology.
Disability and impairment in fantasy literature.
The relationship between technology, time, and fantasy.
Fantasy as escapism from notions of advancement.
The response to technological growth in fantasy.
Echoes of the real world in technological fantasies: responses, adaptations and critique.
Fantasies created by science practitioners: how real-world science and scientists influence the genre.
Technological dystopias and/or utopias.
The relationship between Ecology and Technology in Fantasy.
Punk Practices: Rethinking technological and social practices through subgenres like cyberpunk, steampunk, or solarpunk.
Queer and Trans Theory approaches: how may queer and trans theory offer insights to the concatenation of the magical and technological?
What is left out in normative narratives of the scientific and technological? How does fantasy disrupt these narratives?

We invite proposals for 20-minute papers, which should be submitted using the proposal form. This form includes a 250-word abstract supplemented by a list of 5 keywords describing your paper and a 100-word biographical note.

We also welcome proposals for roundtables and workshops, consisting of 75-minute interactive online sessions which can be run on any aspect of our conference theme by either an individual or group. Generally, workshops have limited capacities and do not set preliminary reading, but participants sign up in advance and flexibility is possible. We encourage creative responses to the workshop call; please select ‘Workshop/Roundtable’ on the proposal form if you intend to lead a workshop or roundtable session.

The call for papers and workshops closes on Sunday, 18th January 2026 (11:59pm GMT). Please submit your proposal by this time to be considered for participation in GIFCon 2026.


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Last updated December 18, 2025

CFP Salem Meets the Noir 2026: First Conference on Hispanic Noir Literature, TV and Film (2/8/2026; Salem, MA

Salem Meets the Noir 2026: First Conference on Hispanic Noir Literature, TV and Film

deadline for submissions:
February 8, 2026

full name / name of organization:
Salem State University

contact email:
salemeetsthenoir@gmail.com

source: https://call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/cfp/2025/10/19/salem-meets-the-noir-2026first-conference-on-hispanic-noir-literature-tv-and-film



This interdisciplinary conference aims to bring together scholars, writers, filmmakers, and students to share the interest and passion for the fictional criminal genre through their participation in panels, roundtables, workshops, film screenings, and curated cultural events in historic Salem.

Topics of interest include but are not limited to:

• Noir and the Gothic
• The Terrain of Rural Noir
• Motherhood, family and the Noir Domestic
• Noir, colonization, and Post Colonial Crime
• Noir in the Age of Global Neoliberalism
• Gendered Investigations and Female Agency
• Justice Reimagined: Interrogating Law, Order, Worlds
• Queer identities and LGBTQ+ Themes inNoir
• Border Spaces and Transnational Crime
• Adaptation Across Media (Film, TV, Graphic Novels, Podcasts)
• Masculinities in crises and Gender Fluid Reconfigurations
• Noir and Economic Trauma

We welcome proposals for individual submissions, round-table discussions or thematically aligned panels of speakers (20-minute presentations). Abstracts (max. 250 words) and brief biographical note (max. 150 words) should be submitted by no later than February 8, 2026. We will respond to applications no later than February 22, 2026.

Please find the full CFP,

CFP Salem Meets the Noir



Last updated December 7, 2025

CFP In a Conference Far, Far Away…Traversing Forms of the Folkloric (3/1/2026; New York 5/1/2026)

In a Conference Far, Far Away…Traversing Forms of the Folkloric

deadline for submissions:
March 1, 2026

full name / name of organization:
NYU Comparative Literature Graduate Conference

contact email:
nyufolkloreconference@gmail.com

source: https://call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/cfp/2025/12/15/in-a-conference-far-far-away%E2%80%A6traversing-forms-of-the-folkloric

In a Conference Far, Far Away…Traversing Forms of the Folkloric (Graduate Student Conference)



New York University: Friday, May 1, 2026



Since its formation in the nineteenth century, Folklore Studies has been seen as an inherently comparative and interdisciplinary field to the point where some are left wondering whether it would be better housed as a subfield of anthropology, ethnography, or literary studies. Part of the reason for this uncertainty may lie in both the breadth of materials categorized as relating to folklore studies (oral or written folk tales, myths, songs, jokes, articles of clothing, etc.) as well as the longstanding difficulty of defining “folklore” itself.



“In a Conference Far, Far Away,” brings together graduate students to present work that engages with and problematizes the category of folklore. We invite graduate students (MA, MFA, and PhD) to submit proposals for 15-20 minute presentations that explore and critically reflect on the myriad dimensions of the folkloric.



Organized by NYU’s Comparative Literature Department, with the aim of fostering interdisciplinary conversations, we welcome submissions from a variety of fields and disciplines. Topics may include, but are not limited to:


Memory

Oral history and embodied history

Speculative fiction (horror, fantasy, science fiction, apocalypse, etc.)

Mythos, magic, and fairy tales

Revolution

Repression of folklore

Adaptation, repetition, and appropriation

Material cultures

Museum studies

Religion

Ritual and performance

Musicology

Nostalgia

Nationalism

Eco-criticism



Please submit an abstract of 250 words and a short bio of 100 words to nyufolkloreconference@gmail.com by March 1, 2026.

Participants will be notified by April 1, 2026. We look forward to reading your proposals.



Last updated December 18, 2025

CFP Entangled Futures: Interstitial Fantasies from the Periphery (1/31/2026; Montreal 6/8-10/2026)

“Entangled Futures: Interstitial Fantasies from the Periphery”

deadline for submissions:
January 31, 2026

full name / name of organization:
Canadian Comparative Literature Association

contact email:
jillplanche@gmail.com

source: https://call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/cfp/2025/12/18/%E2%80%9Centangled-futures-interstitial-fantasies-from-the-periphery%E2%80%9D



CCLA – Fantastical Constellation Working Group Call for Proposals

CCLA Annual Conference / Colloque annuel de l’ACLC

The Fantastical Constellation Working Group invites proposals for a panel or round table topic, “Entangled Futures: Interstitial Fantasies from the Periphery,” as part of the Canadian Comparative Literature Association Annual Conference, 8-10 June 2026, hosted by the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at McGill University in Montréal.

The Fantastical Constellation Working Group proposes an all-encompassing engagement with current issues in postmagical realism studies to explore the process of worlding; examine howspeculative modes blend scientific and magical elements to create new forms of expression that move beyond traditional magical realism in our complex post-truth era of developing new technologies and unsettlement of global orders.

“Entangled Futures: Interstitial Fantasies from the Periphery” draws on physicist and feminist theorist Karen Barad’s concept of agential realism, rooted in quantum physics. Barad proposes that entities do not exist as separate, independent beings that later interact, but are mutually constituted through “intra-actions” between human and non-human forces—an approach that reframes how scientific and political practices are intertwined. Building on this sense of dynamic interconnectedness, the panel explores how speculative and fantastical narratives emerging from the peripheries—whether geopolitical, cultural, or aesthetic—reconfigure relations among science, technology, and imagination. Here, the “periphery” extends beyond geography to include cultural and political margins, as well as hybrid artistic formats such as performance, film, and digital art, to name a few, where experimental practices unsettle conventional boundaries between genres and media. “Entangled futures,” then, imagines divergent pathways shaped by dystopian, utopian, and speculative tropes, while the term “interstitial” foregrounds the generative spaces between borders, bodies, and identities where new forms of posthuman and postmagical expression emerge.

Such theorization might look to Mads Rosendahl Thomsen’s contention that posthumanism is an important focus for all forms of artistic expression, going beyond non-human and machinic representations, and Premesh Lalu’s argument for magical realism’s capacity to “eke out a more generous form of life through an affirmation of humanity,” combining “science with the specifically human attributes of memory, judgment, and imagination to withstand the speed of machines.”

We propose, then, a theme with a strong theoretical anchor while remaining broad enough to attract diverse proposals from scholars working across different disciplines and literary traditions. We invite proposals that explore how fantastical literature from the margins—be it geographical, cultural, or aesthetic—challenges traditional boundaries.

Proposals might engage such topics as:

Bodies, Technologies, and PosthumanismPosthumanism and the body: how do texts from marginalized perspectives reimagine the human body and its relationship with technology, particularly as the blurring of boundaries between the biological and the technological raises profound ontological and ethical questions concerning personhood and agency.Cultural and political: subcultures and political margins. (It is known that Silicon Valley tech-moguls read science-fiction, as well as view films like The Matrix, and use them in marketing their technological ideas.) Are there science fiction or broadly fantastical narratives, ideas, or imaginaries (dystopias, utopias, revolutionary and evolutionary ideas) that influence, or are used in the (political) margins?

Translation and Cross-Linguistic EstrangementTranslation through the margins: How does translation, as a practice and concept, figure in rearticulating the fantastic? How is the estrangement function of science fiction and fantasy in overlooked languages kept alive or smoothed out through translation into English?

Decolonial and Queer FuturesPostmagical realism and peripheral decolonized futures: How do contemporary works blend scientific and magical elements to create new forms of expression that move beyond traditional magical realism?Queer and decolonized futures: Histories have been rewritten as herstories, decolonial histories, and queer histories. Can categories of identity constructed within power relations—like temporality and space—subvert linear projects of progress imposed on them by the world and higher powers and, through queer practices, become a space of constant negotiation of difference and resistance; become an antagonist in relation to their own microcosm, critical and judgemental (Mendlesohn).The other: Fantasy of the other; other forms of oppression.

Temporalities and RetrofuturismRetrofuturism: In the field of international politics and strategy, ‘scenario methodology’ has gained traction in recent years — creating hypothetical and alternative models of the future based on an analysis of the current geopolitical situation. Given the tendency to focus on the world’s most liminal geographical areas, how do post-magical realism and science fiction expand our horizons by giving voice to the most marginal geographical realities?Temporality: understandings of time in speculative fiction.

War, Ruins, and ReconstructionWar as subject and the future: War is a common theme or background in science fiction narratives. Most current digital technologies depend, or are generated in, the military context of WWII or Cold War. Benjamin points to Italian Futurism’s aestheticization of war as foundational to the fascist political aesthetic. Is war in science fiction’s visions of the future presented as an aesthetic—such as ruins, postapocalyptic or heroic and action-packed aesthetic—as a way of pushing certain ideologies/agendas, or is war an unavoidable part of interstitial fantasies inevitably entangled with technological/scientific progressive fantasies?

Eco-critical Imaginaries

Eco-criticism: the climate crisis in speculative fiction.

Theatrical and Performative Fantasies

Theatricality and performance: How do ideas of entanglement and alterity manifest in fantastical theatre or performance art, beyond “spectacle and the fantastic . . . to connect to the audience’s imagination, their beliefs, and their hopes in the fantastic for a better world or at least a way to make it better” (Magoffin).

Instructions for proposals:

All sessions will be in hybrid format. For participation in (a) Paper Panel (papers of 20 minutes); or (b) Roundtable (5-minute introductions to be followed by discussion).

Please submit a proposal of no more than 250 words.

Include a brief bio (max 100 words) with contact information.

Also, please indicate:

- whether you will present in person or online.

- any technical requirements for your presentation.

- the forum in which you wish to participate

Deadline for submissions: January 31, 2026.

Please submit your proposal to:

Jill Planche – Email: jillplanche@gmail.com

Agata Mergler – Email: agatamer@yorku.ca

Elisa Leonzio – Email: elisa.leonzio@gmail.com



References

Barad, Karen. Meeting the Universe Halfway. Quantum Physics and the Entanglement of Matter and Meaning. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. 2007.

Collins, John. “Interweaving with Premesh Lalu: The Long Global Shadow of Apartheid. Interview with Premesh Lalu. Voices, 28 Feb 2025. https://www.weavenews.org/stories/2025/2/28/interweaving-with-premesh-lalu-the-long-global-shadow-of-apartheid

Magoffin, Ashley. “Magical Realism: From Concept to Stage. Part 2.” Struggling Artist. Blog. 29 Jan 2021. https://thestrugglingartist1996.wordpress.com/2021/01/29/magical-realism-concept-to-stage-part-2/

Mendlesohn, Farah. Rhetorics of Fantasy, Wesleyan University Press, Middletown 2008.

Thomsen, Mads Rosendahl. “TheNonhuman, the Posthuman, and the Universal,” Part IX – The Worldly and the Planetary, The Cambridge History of World Literature, edited by Debjani Ganguly. 17 August 2021.



Last updated December 18, 2025

CFP Science Fiction and Fantasy - Tennessee Philological Association Annual Conference (1/23/2026; Henderson, TN 2/26-28/2026)

CFP: Science Fiction and Fantasy - Tennessee Philological Association Annual Conference

deadline for submissions:
January 23, 2026

full name / name of organization:
Tennessee Philological Association

contact email:
nich.krause@auburn.edu

source: https://call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/cfp/2026/01/09/cfp-science-fiction-and-fantasy-tennessee-philological-association-annual-conference

February, 26-28, 2026 at Freed-Hardeman University

The Tennessee Philological Association (TPA) is now accepting submissions for the 2026 Conference to be held at Freed-Hardeman University February 26-28, 2026.

TPA welcomes submissions on any subject in literature, creative writing, English pedagogy, and diverse media. Abstracts for papers dealing with any aspect of literature, creative writing, language, and linguistics (including foreign languages) should be no more than 250 words. Papers must be kept to a twenty-minute reading time not to exceed ten pages. Papers should be read in English. Panel proposals (three to five members) should be no more than two pages. Panels are for one-hour sessions, should be on theme, and should not merely consist of multiple papers pre-grouped. Panels which do not follow these guidelines will be broken up. Graduate and Undergraduate submissions should email their completed papers to Official.TPA.Secretary@outlook.com at the time of their submission. All participants whether reading a paper, taking part in a panel discussion, or attending as a guest must complete a registration. Those who do no will not be allowed to participate.

Themed Call: Science Fiction and Fantasy

*Papers addressing this year's theme are eligible for consideration for publicatior in the TPA Bulletin.*

The Tennessee Philological Association invites proposals for papers, panels, workshops, and roundtables for our upcoming annual conference. This year's theme: "Science Fiction & Fantasy." We welcome submissions that investigate how science fiction and fantasy texts--across eras, cultures, and media-shape--challenge, and expand our understanding of language, narrative, and the human experience. We hope to see your insights on "the fiction of ideas" (Bradbury) and the "heightening of reality" (Le Guin) and to help us to explore the worlds we can never visit and the ones we never want to leave. From Tolkien to Dinniman, from Butler to Garber, take us on an adventure we will not soon forget.

Deadline for Consideration: January 23, 2026

You may use this link for registering and submitting your abstract: https://forms.gle/k27QFhB324XRHAyX6.



Last updated January 9, 2026