2026 Sturgeon Symposium

Call for Papers: 5th Annual Sturgeon Symposium: “Changing Words, Changing Worlds: SF as a Literature of Resistance”

The J. Wayne and Elsie M. Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction is pleased to announce our 5th Annual Sturgeon Symposium, to be held October 15-16, 2026.  In addition to presenting the annual Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for best science fiction short story, which will include a reading from the winner, we look forward to hosting a guest speaker (TBD), while also showcasing work in SF by artists and scholars from around the world.  

Event Details: 

The symposium will take place over two days at the KU Hall Center for the Humanities, featuring both virtual and in-person sessions to accommodate both international and local attendees: 

• Thursday AM: All-virtual panels
• Thursday afternoon/evening:
  • Presentation of the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for best science fiction short story and a reading from this year's winner
    • Reception
      • Evening creative readings
• Friday: In-person panels will be held throughout the day

Call for Papers: 

Much can be said of speculative fiction, but the genre ought never to be confused with passivity. SF is propulsive. The verve with which our imaginations are awakened to dream the impossible, make real the improbable, and create wonder in the uninspired. SF is active, wielding language, whether domestic, otherworldly (Klingon, Dothraki, Elvish, etc.), or dystopia (newspeak); building new frontiers, both brilliant and strange; and deconstructing machinations of reality control, including authoritarian illusions, rhetoric, and media.

In this tradition, we focus 2026’s theme on “Changing Words, Changing Worlds: SF as a Literature of Resistance.” We invite papers, panel proposals, and roundtable discussions that engage with SF (speculative fiction, science fiction, fantasy, futurisms, and other modalities of speculation). We hope to organize discussions that stimulate countercultural perspectives and stir our communities into a heightened sense of urgency and self-awareness to confront the prevailing issues of today.

We especially encourage proposals for fully-formed panels and roundtables.

Topics may include but are not limited to: 

• Language and resistance in SF
• SF and the mechanics of oppression
• SF worlding (building, destroying, remaking worlds)
• Colonialism/imperialism in SF
• The role of language in disciplining (and/or disrupting) ideas and knowledge 
• SF’s engagements (critical or not) with hegemonic institutions
• The possibilities and pitfalls of utopia/dystopia in SF 
• Genre as political critique (and/or the politics of genre)
• Queer narratives as resistance in SF
• The (dys)functionality of oppressive regimes in fictional worlds: what makes them thrive and/or fail?
• Contesting personhood in SF (whose rights and dignity are made visible and/or masked?) 
• Novel approaches to the study of SF (creative, interdisciplinary, etc.)
• SF and intersectionality
• SF forms of resistance

Creative submissions are also warmly encouraged, including speculative narrative, poetry, and visual art. 

Guidelines for Proposals: 
 

• Abstracts for individual papers should be no more than 250 words. 
• Panel proposals should list all speakers, affiliations, presentation titles, and email addresses, and include short abstracts for each presentation. 
• Roundtable proposals should list speakers, affiliations, and email addresses and include an abstract of up to 500 words on the topic to be discussed. 
• Proposals should make clear whether they are for virtual or in-person presentation.  
• Deadline for submissions: June 1
• Notification: mid June
   

Proposal submission portal: apply here

Questions? Contact us at sfcenter@ku.edu.