NeMLA and Other Professional Organizations

Hello! As promised we are dropping in with a few posts this summer with news, tips, and motivational articles. We wanted to pass the notice (below) from NeMLA and encourage you to consider what professional organizations would be useful for membership (MLA, SAA, ACLA). Becoming a member of groups like these not only connects you with scholars who share your interests but also provides you with exclusive access to news, awards, fellowships, CFPs, and conference information. Be prepared to pay a fee (but often greatly reduced for students) to become a member, but also take a moment to check out LinkedIn for free groups to join. After you create a LinkedIn account (another step we recommend for professional development), you can become a member to hundreds of literary studies groups. Finally, there are plenty of graduate student organizations (like our own MEMSI) and related professional associations (like Smithsonian, the Folger Library, and AMA). Stay tuned, we are planning a post about our newest organization the American Literature and Culture Interest Organization (ALCIO) - a revamped GW English Department group that hopes to lend its voice to the conversation of American literature and culture within a larger hemispheric perspective. In the meantime, check out the organization's Facebook page.

NeMLA Book Award Deadline 10/30/2012

As you plan your summer, please note that NeMLA members are eligible to submit unpublished manuscripts for the Annual NeMLA Book Award.

The Northeast Modern Language Association (NeMLA) solicits unpublished book-length manuscripts in modern language literature and cultural studies and on related areas for its annual book award, given for the best unpublished manuscript by a NeMLA member; this award is meant for a first publication. The manuscript may be under consideration by another press, but not under contract at submission date. (Applicant must be a 2012 or 2013 member).

Normally two manuscripts are selected for prizes, one in Anglophone studies, and one in the area of modern languages. Please note that all manuscripts must be written in English.

Each manuscript submission must include an abstract (not to exceed 2 single-spaced pages), consisting of a general description, or overview of the proposed book, as well as a round-up of competing books (if any exist), and a brief explanation of the uniqueness of the proposed book. Manuscripts should be prepared for blind submission, with no personal references in the introduction, acknowledgments, title page, or table of contents.

NeMLA will not consider unrevised dissertations for this award (i.e. those not revised as a book manuscript, as expected for submission to any Press).

Each award includes a $750 cash prize and a recommendation for publication to Fairleigh Dickinson University Press or Ohio University Press. In any year, the NeMLA book committee may choose to make no award, or award just one prize, if it feels the manuscripts do not meet publication standards. The winners will be announced at the annual business meeting, held during NeMLA's spring convention. Honorable mentions may also be offered publication.

For consideration, please email file copies to Dr. Bill Waddell at nemlabook@gmail.com by Oct. 30, 2012; a bound copy may be requested. E-mail any questions concerning the award tonemlabook@gmail.com

NeMLA congratulates the 2012 Book Award in Modern Languages:

Colleen Kennedy-Karpat, Ph.D. Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey.
 Title: Rogues, Romance, and Race: Exoticism in French Fiction Cinema, 1930-1939

Honorable Mention:
Renée M. Silverman, Ph.D.  Florida International University
Title: Mapping the Landscape. Remapping the Text: Spanish Poetry from Antonio Machado's Castilian Countrysides to the Abstract Territory of the First Avant-Garde (1909-1925)

Elizabeth Abele, Ph.D.
Executive Director
NeMLA

Conventions, CFP web resources, and upcoming CFP Deadlines

In the past year, we have repeatedly emphasized the importance of applying to conferences. Even as a new graduate student, it is useful to apply for graduate and local conferences to get used to the process, and to thinking about your work in larger contexts. It is also useful to consider at what point you will attend large national conventions. Even if you do not have work to present, it is valuable to attend at least once to experience the convention and network. This year, the MLA is hosting its convention in Boston January 3-6, 2012. Consider attending if you can because it is so close this year and it is fairly affordable for student members (become a member as soon as you can!). We have also included links below to other large conventions, and those we know have upcoming CFPs. We also want to share two great CFP links that will allow you to stay on top of CFPs over the summer:
Penn U (a comprehensive and searchable archive of CFPs)
CFPList (allows you to sort by upcoming deadlines, location, and subject)

NEMLA - Northeast MLA with a convention in 2013 (CFPs will be posted in June)
SAMLA - South Atlantic Modern Language Association's Convention November 9-11, North Carolina. This convention features a wide variety of panels and special sessions. Deadlines range from May to July. Click on the link to access all the available information on the extensive list of CFPs.

June 1 Crossroads III: Deadends, Delays, and Detours  Massachusetts, October 5-7, 2012.