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Submit to 2026 Ann Radcliffe Academic Conference

Call for Papers: 

The Ninth Annual Ann Radcliffe Academic Conference at StokerCon 2026

Conference Date: Friday, June 5, 2026

Conference Location: The Westin Pittsburgh

1000 Penn Avenue

Pittsburgh, PA 1522

and via Hopin

Conference Website: https://www.stokercon.com/

Stokercon 2026 will be the tenth anniversary of Stokercon, and the Ann Radcliffe Academic Conference is delighted to be a part of this banner year. Along with the HWA, we look forward to reflecting on the history of Stokercon and the horror genre, while considering the potential of our future. We are thrilled to be hosting our 2026 and 2027 conferences in Pittsburgh, home to the University of Pittsburgh’s Horror Studies Center, Horror Studies Collection, and a wealth of historic sites and horror-related venues to explore. 

We are delighted to take part in this banner year, and to prepare for our own ten-year anniversary in 2027. With these milestones  in mind, the co-organizers of the Ann Radcliffe Academic Conference are pleased to announce our call for papers. This year, we are eager both to welcome traditional academic presentations and to encourage inventive proposals and formats that engage with the study and critique of the horror genre and its media. This year, we especially seek to engage with the stories, histories, and cultures of Pittsburgh and the wider Appalachian region, as well as with the history of the HWA and Stokercon itself. 

The Ann Radcliffe Conference serves as a research showcase within Stokercon for scholars of horror, and an opportunity for building community and collaboration among participants. We look forward to continuing this tradition by inviting all interested scholars, researchers, creators, academics, and non-fiction writers to submit abstracts for completed research projects, works-in-progress, and projects invested in the academic analysis of the horror genre and its history in all its forms. As in previous years, this conference will be held in a hybrid format, with both in-person panels and recorded online presentations available via Hopin. Please note that while this conference is slightly different in its format and approach, all Stokercon participants are welcomed to take part in the Ann Radcliffe Academic Conference, and to submit proposals for presentation. 

We are eager to receive abstracts that expand scholarship, analysis, and theory across horror and gothic studies in fields or formats including (but certainly not limited to): 

  • Art
  • Cinema
  • Comics/Manga
  • Literature
  • Music
  • Podcasts/Radio
  • Digital and Analog Media
  • Poetry
  • Television
  • Video Games
  • Cartoons/Anime

We invite presentations that take an interdisciplinary approach to their subject matter and welcome scholarship that considers a diverse range of readings, interpretations, and application of theories. This includes work from a variety of viewpoints, scholarly backgrounds, and transmedial fields including, but not limited to:

  • Critical race theory
  • Environmental Studies 
  • Film theory and analysis 
  • Gender/LGBTQIA+ theory
  • Historical analysis and interpretation
  • Archival research 
  • Literary theory and analysis
  • Popular responses and audience studies 
  • Pedagogical approaches to horror and the gothic
  • Intersections with psychology, biology, and the history of medicine 
  • Philosophical approaches 
  • The history of the HWA and Stokercon, including the Ann Radcliffe Academic Conference

Presentation and Submission Guidelines 

  • Please upload a 250 – 300 word abstract to SUBMITTABLE LINK by March 27, 2026. Responses will follow as soon as possible.
  • Accepted presentations should adhere to a 15-minute time limit, in order to ensure adequate time for discussion and commentary. 

Please note in your abstract whether you plan to present your work in person or virtually. For those presenting virtually, recordings will need to be sent by April 17, 2026.

Please address any questions to AnnRadcliffeCon@gmail.com

In support of HWA’s Diverse Works Inclusion Committee goals, the Ann Radcliffe Academic co-chairs encourage the widest possible diverse representation to apply and present their scholarship in a safe and supportive environment. For more information, please see the Diverse Works Inclusion Committee Mission Statement at: http://horror.org/category/the-seers-table/

The Ann Radcliffe Academic Conference is part of the Horror Writers Association’s Outreach Program. Created in 2016 by Michele Brittany and Nicholas Diak, the Ann Radcliffe Academic Conference has been a venue for horror scholars to present their work alongside professional writers and editors in the publishing industry. The conference has also been the genesis of the Horror Writer Association’s first academic release, Horror Literature from Gothic to Post-Modern: Critical Essays, composed entirely of AnnRadCon presenters, released by McFarland in February, 2020.

Membership to the Horror Writers Association is not required to submit or present, however registration to StokerCon 2026 is required to be accepted and to present. Information regarding StokerCon registration, including day passes and full event registration, can be found on the Stokercon website: https://www.stokercon.com. There is no additional registration or fees for the Ann Radcliffe Academic Conference outside StokerCon registration. If interested in applying to the Horror Writers Association as an academic member, please see www.horror.org/about/.

Submit to HWA Grievance Committee

“Where members have a grievance over issues such as plagiarism, with a publisher over a contractual issue, or a similar matter; and that grievance has not been resolved after the member has made reasonable endeavors, the member may approach the HWA Grievance Committee. The Committee will consider the facts and endeavor to assist the Member in  getting a satisfactory resolution.”  - HWA Member Handbook


Function                                                                

HWA Grievance Committee is established to provide an avenue within the organization where members may freely and openly inform the association of events that may negatively affect the organization or its members. The Chairman of the Grievance Committee must appoint volunteers to act as committee members.  The committee must have a minimum of 5 volunteers including the chairman, but never exceed 9 members, including chairman. 

The committee DOES NOT:

  • Make decisions regarding the morality of members.
  • Take sides on any issue.
  • Play favorites.  


The HWA offers this service as a benefit to its members and acts solely as an investigator/mediator. The HWA does not provide legal advice to anyone. If a party to a dispute informs the HWA that such party is represented by legal counsel, the HWA will immediately cease its investigation or mediation unless all parties and their counsel agree otherwise. The HWA is not obligated to conduct an investigation or mediation with regard to any matter that, in its sole discretion, the HWA deems to be outside the scope of the Grievance Committee or deems might place any of the HWA or its officers, trustees, or members of the Grievance Committee in jeopardy or expose any of them to liability.


Purpose 

The purpose of the Grievance Committee is to help members resolve various complaints AFTER the member has utilized their own methods of resolution.  

The chairman will notify HWA leadership and Board of Directors of any negative trends found in grievances.


Steps of grievance committee upon receiving complaint:

  1. Ensure that complainant is a dues-paying member of the HWA.
  2. Ensure that complaint specifies type of grievance.
  3. Contact complainant within 72 hours.
  4. Contact defendant within 48 hours after receiving a completed grievance form from the complainant.
  5. Check complaint against the current bylaws of the association.

 

Grievance Submission: 

Complete the form below to submit a grievance to the HWA.