How to Propose a Paper for the ACLA Annual Meeting

Updated 2026-09-27

ACLA paper proposals are submitted through the association's online portal, and the key constraint is that you propose to a specific seminar rather than to the conference as a whole. For ACLA 2027 (May 20–23, 2027, at the University of Houston), the proposal portal is open through September 22, 2026. To submit, you browse the list of proposed seminars, pick the one that fits your work, and submit your paper proposal to it before the deadline. After acceptance, you register for the meeting separately through the ACLA store.

The two-step structure: seminar first, paper second

ACLA's annual meeting is organized around seminars, and the Call for Papers works in two stages:

Seminars are proposed and published. Seminar organizers submit their topics, and ACLA publishes the resulting list.
Participants propose papers to those seminars. You do not invent your own panel; you join an existing seminar by proposing a paper that fits its stated topic.

This is why the first practical step is always browsing the seminar list, not drafting an abstract in isolation. A strong proposal is one that clearly speaks to a specific seminar's description.

Step-by-step: submitting a proposal

1. Confirm the deadline and conference details

For ACLA 2027, the meeting runs May 20–23, 2027 at the University of Houston, and the proposal portal remains open through September 22, 2026. Treat that date as a hard cutoff.

2. Browse the proposed seminars

Read through the published seminars and note the ones whose topics, period, or method match your project. Pay attention to each seminar's description — it tells you what kinds of papers the organizers want.

3. Prepare your proposal

Write a proposal that states your argument, your primary materials, and how the paper engages the seminar's theme. Because seminars are the unit of selection, a proposal that could fit any seminar usually fits none well.

4. Submit through the online portal

Submit your paper proposal via the ACLA portal before the deadline. The portal is the official channel; the announcement notes it "will remain open through September 22, 2026."

5. Wait for the seminar organizer's decision

Acceptance is decided at the seminar level, so timing and criteria can vary by seminar.

6. Register for the meeting

Once your paper is accepted, you register for the annual meeting. Registration is handled through the ACLA store (the site's registration link points to acla.org/store/purchase/conference), with payment processed via Stripe.

What to check before you submit

Question	Why it matters
Does my paper match a specific seminar's stated topic?	Proposals are evaluated against the seminar, not the conference at large.
Is my proposal in before September 22, 2026?	The portal closes on that date for ACLA 2027.
Have I planned for registration costs?	Acceptance does not include registration; you register separately through the store.
Am I a member?	Membership is separate from the meeting and is described as joining "a community of scholars dedicated to comparative literature."

Common snags

Proposing to the conference instead of a seminar. There is no general submission track; you must choose a seminar.
Missing the portal window. The deadline is fixed and tied to the conference cycle, so late proposals have no route in.
Assuming acceptance equals attendance. You still need to complete registration through the ACLA store.
Overlooking related programs. ACLA also runs a Book Subvention Program (the Tartar First Book Subvention) and offers prizes and travel grants; these are separate from the annual meeting proposal process and have their own calls, which appear in the site's news and announcements.

Where to start

Go to acla.org, open the ACLA 2027 meeting details, and read the current seminar list before writing anything. The announcement "Propose a paper for ACLA 2027!" confirms the portal is open and directs you to browse proposed seminars first — that browsing step is the real beginning of a successful proposal.