CFP Twainian Regeneration: Adaptations of the Works, Life, and Legacy of Mark Twain (NeMLA Session 21918) (Hybrid) (9/30/2025; Pittsburgh 3/5-8/2026)

Twainian Regeneration: Adaptations of the Works, Life, and Legacy of Mark Twain (NeMLA Session 21918)

deadline for submissions:

September 30, 2025


full name / name of organization:

57th Northeast Modern Language Association Conference


contact email:

cscarlsell@gmail.com


source: https://call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/cfp/2025/06/27/twainian-regeneration-adaptations-of-the-works-life-and-legacy-of-mark-twain-nemla

This session is sponsored by the Mark Twain Circle of America.



American author Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1935-1910) achieved lasting fame as Mark Twain, an identity that served as both his pen name and the persona he cultivated for the public. Twain’s writings and his distinctive character have dispersed across time and space, and the resulting Twainian tradition incorporates these elements in many ways.


Importantly, his works and iconography have long been the focus of adaptation. This process begins with the illustrations commissioned for the initial publication of his texts, Twain’s own attempts to rework and expand his stories, and contemporary caricatures of his person, and it continues with retellings of Twain’s stories, linked texts (such as prequels, midquels, and sequels) connected to his work, recastings and restagings of his tales, and new adventures for Twain himself. These adaptations, appropriations, and transformations of Twain appear in diverse forms and formats including anime series, artworks, cartoons, comics, films, games, historical fiction texts, home video releases, graphic novels, illustrations, memorials, musical theater productions, mysteries, performances, plays, radio broadcasts, science fiction works, sculptures, song lyrics, stamps, television programming, theme park attractions, and tourist sites.


Each adaptation regenerates aspects of Twain for new audiences revealing fresh insights into the reception of his works, life, and legacy. They also highlight both the timelessness of Twain as well as his timeliness for the present of each new text that his writings and his person have inspired.


Resource Guide: https://tinyurl.com/TwainianRegenerationRG.


Hybrid Session.


Please use the NeMLA submission portal at https://cfplist.com/nemla/Home/CFP and look for session 21918.


NeMLA's submission deadline is September 30, 2025.