The Seventh Annual Ann Radcliffe Academic Conference at StokerCon 2026


**CALL FOR INITIAL PAPERS**

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Conference Date: June 4th

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Conference Location: The Westin Pittsburgh

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The 2026 StokerCon convention is eager to channel the creative potential of Stamford’s history, culture, and communities.

Likewise, the co-organizers of the Ann Radcliffe Academic Conference look forward to interrogating, exploring, and re-imagining the field of horror and gothic studies. The Ann Radcliffe Conference is intended as a research showcase within Stokercon, as well as an opportunity for building community and collaboration. Therefore, we invite all interested scholars, researchers, creators, academics, and non-fiction writers to submit presentation 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.

We are eager to receive abstracts that expand the scholarship across horror and gothic studies. This can include, but is by no means limited to, analyses and critiques of fields or formats such as:

Art

Cinema

Comics/Manga

Literature

Music

Poetry

Television

Video Games

Cartoons/Anime


We invite papers 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 interdisciplinary and transmedial fields including, but not limited to:

Critical race theory

Film theory and analysis

Gender/LGBTQIA+ theory

Historical analysis and interpretation

Archival research

Literary theory and analysis

Pedagogical approaches to horror and the gothic

Intersections with psychology, biology, and the history of medicine

Philosophical approaches


Presentation and Submission Guidelines:

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Please upload a 250 – 300 word abstract via the Submittable link below by March 31, 2026. Responses will follow as soon as possible.

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 15, 2024.


Please address any questions to AnnRadcliffeCon@gmail.com


CL​ICK HERE FOR SUBMITTABLE PAGE (https://horrorwritersassociation.submittable.com/submit)


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 Ann Radcliffe Conference presenters, published by McFarland in February 2020.

Membership to the Horror Writers Association is not required to submit or present, however registration to StokerCon is required to be accepted and to present. StokerCon registration, including full event registration and day passes, can be obtained by clicking HERE.

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/.

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