PAMLA 2026 (November 12–15 in Seattle, Washington) still has many sessions open to proposals at our CFP page! Indeed, we have sessions you might expect to see at any conference, but at PAMLA, we also offer some real surprises! In fact, there are a lot of interesting, strange, unusual, and even weird sessions open to proposals (until June 30), including but not limited to:
- Trash Cinema – This session invites scholarly investigations into the “aesthetic of the abject” through the lens of Trash Cinema. We seek to move beyond simple labels of “bad” or “low-brow” to explore the historical, ideological, aesthetic, and material significance of paracinema and the grindhouse tradition. Whether examining the shoestring ingenuity of B-pictures, the transgressive energy of cult classics, or the cultural impact of exploitation genres, we welcome papers that analyze how these “orphan films” challenge mainstream cinematic hierarchies and reveal the hidden anxieties of their eras. Proposals analyzing in a thoughtful and nuanced way any trash film, director, producer, studio, movement, or genre are welcome. (https://pamla.ballastacademic.com/Home/S/20181)
- Con America: Frauds, Scams, and Deceptions in AmeriCON Culture – This is roundtable welcomes brief papers that attempt to analyze any American con, fraud, scam, swindle, hoax, deception, or con/con artist in American culture or history. It is our hope that by tracing, historicizing, and analyzing a variety of American cons, we can begin to see and theorize the history and ubiquity of cons and conning in American culture and consider the differences between various American cons, frauds, and deceptions. Those accepted to the roundtable will have seven to ten minutes to present their work. (https://pamla.ballastacademic.com/Home/S/19895)
- Puppetry and Media Culture: The Muppets, Jim Henson, and Beyond – In this session, which welcomes approaches from media history, performance studies, childhood studies, and material culture, we will discuss and analyze works of puppetry across theater, film, television, and digital media. Papers exploring the cultural phenomenon of the Muppets or any other cultural production by Jim Henson—from Sam and Friends (1955) to Muppet*Vision 3-D—are particularly welcome. We also strongly encourage proposals focusing on the global traditions of puppetry that influenced Henson, post-Henson company productions, or contemporary works influenced by his legacy. Papers may utilize any useful theoretical approach. (https://pamla.ballastacademic.com/Home/S/19892)
- PAMLA Polygloss Celebration I: Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Lydia Davis Story –In this roundtable, reader/writers will offer very brief creative or scholarly responses to Lydia Davis’s 1976 two-sentence story, “The Thirteenth Woman,” which Davis described as her “first seminal story.” These varied commentators/explicators/creative interpreters will share their work with each other ahead of time, so as to allow all to prepare loving and respectful responses to their fellow participants. Audience members will likewise be able to respond to the story, bringing the number of glosses to thirteen. (https://pamla.ballastacademic.com/Home/S/20100)
- The Art and Joy of the Complaint: Criticism, Kvetching, and the 21st-century Jeremiad – This is a roundtable designed for people who wish to analyze, comment on, or practice the arts of kvetching, complaining, criticizing, satirizing, and Jeremiad performance as these undervalued genres relate to the contemporary college or university, the Humanities, society, or the state of intellectual and scholarly pursuits or rhetoric in general. (https://pamla.ballastacademic.com/Home/S/19891)
How to Submit Your Abstract for PAMLA 2026
Ready to join the conversation in Seattle? PAMLA features more than 150+ open sessions across a massive range of disciplines.
- Visit the PAMLA CFP Portal to log in or create an account.
- Select your preferred session and submit a proposal with a title, an abstract of 50 words, and a description proposal of up to 500 words.
- Complete your submission before the extended deadline on June 30.
We look forward to reviewing your proposals and seeing you at the Hyatt Regency Seattle this November!