Call for Proposals
The Annual Conference of the Midwest Chapter/MLA Research Committee invites proposals for contributed papers, posters, and lightning sessions for the 2026 Midwest Annual Meeting, themed “Care and Comfort.” Contributed content will be presented virtually on October 22nd and 23rd.
Papers presenters will have 15 minutes, and lightning talks presenters will have 5 minutes. Poster presenters will be asked to provide a 5-minute video or audio recording ahead of time about your poster. The posters and recordings will be made available to conference attendees in advance. More details to follow in August after presenters have been notified of acceptance.
We welcome presentations from the 2026 MLA meeting in Milwaukee. Please consider presenting it again at the Midwest MLA 2026 conference!
The deadline for submissions is Thursday, July 30th. Notifications of acceptance or rejection will be made by Thursday, August 20th.
Please use this Qualtrics Form to submit your proposal.
Here is the information you will need to submit:
1. For what kind of presentation are you submitting this proposal? (Paper, Poster, or Lightning Talk)
2. Select if this abstract submission is a research or program description based project: (Research or Program Description)
3. Primary author (who will serve as point of contact)
4. Primary author’s preferred email
5. Primary author’s institution
6. List any additional authors and their institutions
7. Are you a member of the Midwest Chapter?
8. If your submission is accepted, would you or your co-author be a first-time presenter at a Midwest or other chapter of MLA conference?
a) If yes, please list the first-time presenter at Midwest or another chapter of MLA:
9. Title of your presentation
10. Abstract:
a) Required: 250 word limit and a blinded abstract (remove identifying information about your institution and individuals' names).
b) Preferred: Prepared as a Structured abstract. For more information about structured abstracts, visit here: https://www.mlanet.org/resources/how-to-write-a-structured-abstract/.
11. If you are submitting a research project, would you like to be considered for the Midwest Chapter of MLA’s Research Award? You can find information about the awards here: https://mwcmla.org/awards#research
12. Would you like to be considered for the Midwest Chapter of MLA's Fan Favorite presentations? You can find information about the awards here: https://mwcmla.org/awards#research
13. If your proposal is accepted for inclusion in the conference, does the Midwest Chapter/MLA have your permission to include your submission in the proceedings? (Your response will not impact the evaluation of your submission.)
14. If your proposal is accepted for inclusion in the conference, does the Midwest Chapter of MLA have your permission to record the presentation and make available on an unlisted YouTube channel available only to conference attendees? (Your response will not impact the evaluation of your submission.)
Please contact Emily Johnson-Barlow at emj11@uic.edu if you have any questions.
Members of the Research Subcommittee of the 2026 Midwest MLA Annual Conference Planning Committee: