Western Literature Association: Fiftieth Annual Conference

The fiftieth annual conference of the Western Literature Association, hosted by David Fenimore and Susan Bernardin, takes place October 14–17, 2015, at Harrah’s Reno. We meet on the western edge of the Great Basin, at the intersection of Washoe and Paiute homelands, where the transcontinental emigrant trail and railroad line meet the Sierra Nevada near majestic Lake Tahoe.

Room rates will be quite affordable ($99 Fri–Sat; $59 Sun–Thurs) and the location puts us within easy walking distance of the Truckee River and local attractions. High-desert days are often sunny and warm, the nights clear and cool.

We will confer two Distinguished Achievement Awards: one to the late Basque American novelist Robert Laxalt, and the other to Choctaw novelist, memoirist, and scholar LeAnne Howe. In addition, we will be joined by LA-based Native performer and comics artist Arigon Starr and also by Willy Vlautin, whose first novel, The Motel Life, set in Reno, has been adapted into a feature film we hope to screen.

The wla Legacy Project and Conversations on Critical Genealogies and Keywords reflect on our organization’s half-century of scholarship, while plenaries, roundtables, and panels on visual culture and performative arts; on gender, the environment, and diverse western spaces; and on Native, Basque, and Latino Studies direct us to the continuing growth of our field as we look toward the next fifty years.

In addition to proposals on any aspects of literature about the North American West, we especially encourage innovative proposals on the above-mentioned writers and topics. Proposals for panels and roundtable discussions should include an abstract for each paper or presentation. Please direct your questions and submissions to WLAConference2015@westernlit.org. Submissions must include a 250-word abstract and your name, affiliation, contact information, and audiovisual request. The deadline is June 15, 2015.

For more information, see <http://www.westernlit.org/wla-conference-2015>.