54th Annual CEA CONFERENCE Call for Papers

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March 26-28, 2026

Hilton Charlotte University Place

SUBMISSION  DEADLINE NOVEMBER 1, 2025

On May 20, 1775—a year before the signing of the Declaration of Independence—the citizens of North Carolina declared their own independence from Great Britain in the Mecklenberg Declaration. Today, more than 250 years later, North Carolinians continue to celebrate “Meck Dec” and their history as “a free and independent people.

In the spirit of public proclamation and historic resolve, the College English Association announces its 55th annual conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, and our theme, DECLARATIONS. The CEA conference features papers, panels, and roundtables that address our discipline from multiple perspectives.

DECLARATIONS: For CEA 2026, we are especially interested topics related to DECLARATIONS in texts, disciplines, people, cultural studies, media, and pedagogy. Consider such topics as the implications of political declarations across time and place, cultural declarations of identity, declarations in the media (including social media) and how they impact society, pedagogical declarations of teaching philosophy and their implementation, or personal declarations through autobiography and memoir.

GENERAL TOPICS: As always, our CEA conference welcomes submissions on a wide range of areas, including literary studies, creative writing, rhetoric, composition, technical communication, linguistics, and film. We further encourage papers on areas that influence our work as academics, including student/instructor accountability and assessment, student advising, academic leadership in departments and programs, and the place of the English department in the university.

A feature of the CEA Conference is the use of “Roundtable Sessions.” Each such session features presenters who deliver “flash essays.” These 500-750 word papers are designed to encourage lively discussions of the conference theme. Roundtables offer a chance for presenters to test a notion, discover other resources, or begin imagining the next steps towards developing ideas into longer, more typical conference papers or even journal articles. 

Click on the button to learn more about CEA roundtables!

Charlotte is a vibrant city, named in honor of Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, queen consort of George III. During the American Revolution, General Cornwallis dubbed it “a Hornet’s Nest of rebellion” after North Carolinians drove out the occupying British army. Things continue to buzz in the Queen City: its skies are blue, its craft beers are cold, its restaurants will feed you a bahn mi for lunch and BBQ for dinner, its neighborhoods are eclectic, and its light-rail will take you everywhere.

Our conference hotel, the Hilton Charlotte University Place, is located on Delta Lake (rent a paddleboat!) and surrounded by local shops and restaurants for every taste and budget. Guests can buzz over to UNC-Charlotte and explore the lovely campus, with its lush walking and running trails. The light-rail LYNX Blue Line, a few steps away, will whisk you downtown and back safely. 

As always, the CEA extends a special invite to graduate students not only to attend the conference but to submit their presentations to the CEA Outstanding Graduate Student Paper competition. The award carries a grand prize of $250 and publication of the winning essay from those whose papers have been accepted. Click on the button to learn more about how CEA supports graduate students.

The submission deadline for proposals of 200-300 words is November 1, 2025. Only one submission per individual, please. Notifications of proposal status will be sent in early December. Electronic submissions can be made here: https://www.conftool.pro/cea2026/ starting August 15, 2025. Note that all presenters must be members of CEA. Please direct any questions to the Conference Chair, Emily Jane Pucker: Emily.Pucker@gcsu.edu

Take a look at these helpful hints on writing an engaging (and succint!) conference proposal.