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Call For Papers

The Fairy Tales Area of the Popular Culture Association (PCA) seeks individual paper and panel submissions for the annual conference to be held April 8-11, 2026, in Atlanta, GA.

We are looking for projects on fairy tales as a folkloric and literary phenomenon as it is present in contemporary culture across the domains, genres, and expressive means. We also welcome proposals on nursery rhymes, mythological motives, legends, and other adjoint narrative forms that perform similar functions, or otherwise overlap with fairytales as a culture phenomenon.

We encourage proposals from a broad range of disciplines and approaches, proposals reflective of cultural diversity across the regions and the globe, and those focused on developmental trends in the formats of storytelling. Undergraduate submissions are welcomed, although students are encouraged to seek a faculty guidance on preparing their submissions and presentation.

Individual submissions should include the name and contacts of the author(s), the title of the paper/presentation, and an abstract of approximately 250-350 words.

Groups proposing panels should email the area chairs in advance of submission and indicate the panel’s proposed title, brief, two three sentences, description of the panel, names and affiliation of the presenters, titles of their papers, and the abstracts. After the panel proposal is approved by the area chairs, each presenter will have to submit their paper individually to the database; the area chairs will combine the submissions into the desired panel.

When reviewing the abstracts, we look for cogent, tightly focused ideas that provide enough detail to see where the author is headed, and for the evidence that the author accounted for the time constraints of the panel. A typical panel runs 90 minutes with four presenters, so each paper should be written for a length of 15-18 minutes (within the range of approximately 2200-2700 words.)

Preference will be given to proposals that are conceptually, theoretically, and methodologically articulate.

Submissions are only accepted from current members, through the PCA website.

Contact for the PCA Fairy Tale Area:

Dr. Olena Leipnik, soc_ovl@shsu.edu

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 - Dec. 31, 2025
• Regular Registration Begins for Presenters - Jan. 1, 2026 
• Travel Grant Decisions / Notifications - Jan. 31, 2026
• Regular Registration Ends for Presenters - Jan. 31, 2026
• Late Registration Starts for Presenters - Feb. 1, 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