Friday-Sunday, 4-6, October 2024
DePaul University-Loop Campus, Chicago, IL
Address: DePaul Center, 1 E. Jackson Blvd. Chicago, IL 60604 Phone: (312) 362-8000

This is the third year of having our conference at a university instead of a hotel; conference participants will be responsible for securing their own lodging.

The Popular Fiction area of the Midwest Popular Culture Association/Midwest American Culture Association is now accepting proposals for its 2024 conference in Chicago, IL. We are looking for papers that address any form of popular fiction including, but not limited to the following genres:

• Crime Fiction/Mysteries/Detective Stories/Police Procedurals

• Thrillers/Suspense Novels

• Action and Adventure Novels

• Speculative Fiction/Science Fiction/Fantasy

• Romance Novels/Erotica

• Western Novels

• Religious/Inspirational

• Horror Novels/Stories of the Supernatural

• Historical Fiction

• Women’s fiction

Some potential themes that papers might examine could include the following, but all entries will be considered:

The mixing of themes, plots, tropes between different genres Representations of gender and sexuality, race and ethnicity, and class and economics in the literature Forgotten or semi-forgotten authors or works of literature that warrant a new investigation in the 21st century

Submit paper, abstract, or panel proposals (including the title of the presentation) to the “Popular Fiction” area on the Submissions website at https://www.mpcaaca.org/submit-panels

Individuals may only submit one paper. Do not submit the same paper to more than one Area.

Deadline for receipt of proposals is May 15, 2024.

Please include your name, affiliation, and e-mail address of each author/participant. A preliminary version of the schedule will be posted on our website around August 2024. The final version will be posted online prior to the conference.

Special Notes Regarding Proposal Submissions: (1) AV equipment will be provided. The Association does not provide laptops, cords, or speakers. (2) If necessary, indicate and submit potential scheduling conflicts along with your proposal. (3) If you wish your presentation to be listed as MACA (rather than MPCA), please include this request with your proposal.

Please plan to attend the entire conference. Panels will run at the following approximate times: Friday 9:00 am-6:00 pm, Saturday 9:00 am-5:30 pm, and Sunday 9:00 am-2:00 pm. Special events may include game night on Thursday evening, featured speakers and awards ceremony on Friday evening, and a keynote speaker on Saturday evening. These events will be free for conference registrants. Area Chairs are strongly encouraged to attend the Annual Meeting (all members are welcome to attend).

New this year: Virtual Panels will be running concurrently with in-person panels. No in-person panels will be offered virtually, but all who register will have access to the virtual panels. Please indicate when submitting if you prefer to deliver your presentation in-person, virtually, or no preference. Virtual panels are available on a first-come, first-served basis. (Zoom is the planned platform and panels will be scheduled in Central Time Zone.) If you have any questions about virtual panels, please email president@mpcaaca.org.

MEMBERSHIP DUES & REGISTRATION FEES: Membership renewal forms for the 2024 calendar year and 2024 conference registration forms are now available on our website <https://www.mpcaaca.org/event-details-registration/mpca-aca-annual-meeting>. All participants must register for the conference. Registration for Full-Time Faculty: $150, Part-Time faculty/Independent Scholars/Graduate Student/Area Chair: $125, Virtual only (no difference in rank): $100, and Undergraduate students: $50. Registration fees go up after September 15, 2024. Any unregistered presenters will be dropped from the program after September 15. Payment on-site will be by cash, check, or via credit card on Square. To preregister, send a check anytime to Paul Booth, Communication, DePaul University, 1 E. Jackson, Chicago, IL 60604. Make check payable to Midwest Popular Culture Association. A registration-membership form may be printed from our website at <http://www.mpcaaca.org>.

Day passes will be available for guests of the conference who are not presenting a paper.

Attendees are financially responsible for all costs related to their participation in the conference, e.g., transportation, lodging, meals, registration, membership, etc. Graduate students are invited to apply for competitively awarded travel grants from MPCA/MACA. Details on these grants are available here.

Cancellation Policy: If you submit a proposal (or if you accept an invitation to appear on a panel), you are promising to attend the conference if your proposal is accepted, and you are promising to pay the conference registration fee, the Association membership fee, and a late fee of $15 if applicable. If your proposal is accepted and you do not attend the conference, it is expected that you will (1) notify all members of your panel, your Area Chair, and the MPCA/MACA President (Julia Largent Kuttler) of your cancellation; (2) provide such notification as early as possible; (3) arrange to have your paper distributed at the panel; (4) arrange for somebody else to carry out any other duties you may have; and (5) pay your membership and registration fees (plus late fee if applicable). If conditions 1-5 are met, you may file a written request, after the conference, for a refund of half your registration fee. For co-authored papers, all authors are welcome and encouraged to attend, but only one author is required to attend.

COVID-19: The Midwest Popular Culture Association continues to monitor the COVID-19 situation closely. At this point, we intend for the conference to go ahead as planned in-person in October of 2024. Please note that the deadline for registration is September 15, 2024. In the event that the conference is moved into a virtual setting, postponed, or canceled, we will notify you and provide you with information as to how the organization will respond as soon as possible. Please check the MPCA website or follow MPCA on Twitter or Facebook for the latest information.