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> International conference on caribbean literature
Welcome to The International Conference on Caribbean Literature
CALL for PAPERS
Reconvening with renewed light and purpose.
Experience Caribbean Literature Without Borders
The International Conference on Caribbean Literature brings together writers, scholars, students, and cultural leaders to explore the richness and diversity of Caribbean literature and culture. Through multilingual presentations, meaningful dialogue, and cultural experiences, ICCL creates an international forum for established and emerging voices from across the Caribbean and the wider world.
Our History
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Raíces Vivas
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Hotel Information
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Conference Schedule
Conference Program
ICCL 2026 Conference
RAÍCES VIVAS
African and Latin Routes to New Caribbean Scholarship
November 17-20, 2026 • Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
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About the Conference
After six years away, the International Conference on Caribbean Literature returns — alive, energized, and carrying the light of a tradition too vital to remain dormant. Raíces Vivas is both a declaration and an invitation: our roots are living roots, and the routes they have traveled — across the Atlantic, through the African diaspora, along the currents of Hispanic heritage — continue to illuminate Caribbean literature and the scholars who devote themselves to it.
This reconvening is a homecoming and a threshold moment. We return to restore ICCL’s legacy as the premier gathering place for Caribbean literary studies, and we open our doors wide to the next generation of scholars whose fresh eyes and new voices will carry that legacy forward into the light
We invite proposals that explore the African and Latin foundations of Caribbean literature — their convergence, their creative tensions, and their ongoing reinvention — as well as work that imagines bold new directions for the field. Submissions are welcome in English, Spanish, French, and Haitian Kreyòl.
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Conference Theme
New This Year
Raíces Vivas — living roots — affirms that the African and Hispanic literary traditions at the heart of Caribbean letters are not relics to be archived but vital, breathing forces that continue to generate new meaning, new forms, and new scholarship. The word routes reminds us that these traditions did not arrive in the Caribbean fully formed: they traveled, transformed, and took root through the crossings, migrations, and survivals that define Caribbean history and imagination.The 2026 conference asks how those living routes light the way forward — for emerging scholars entering the field, for established scholars charting new territory, and for the wider communities whose stories Caribbean literature illuminates. We welcome work on the Hispanophone Caribbean and its diasporas, as well as comparative and pan-Caribbean approaches that bring Anglophone, Francophone, and Kreyòl-language traditions into conversation with these roots and routes.
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Suggested Tracks
Share Your Scholarship and Cultural Insights
- African diasporic aesthetics, orality, and living memory in Caribbean letters
- Hispanophone Caribbean literary traditions and their ongoing vitality
- Afro-Latinidad, mestizaje, and identity formation in literature
- Spirituality, cosmology, and the sacred in Caribbean narrative
- Caribbean women writers and Afro-Latina voices: illuminating new ground
- Migration, diaspora, and transnational Caribbean routes
- Decolonizing methods and restorative approaches in Caribbean literary studies
- Digital humanities and new light on Caribbean texts
- Teaching Caribbean literature: bringing roots and routes into the classroom
- Emerging scholars forum: new voices, living scholarship
This list is illustrative rather than exhaustive. We warmly welcome proposals that engage the conference theme from other angles and perspectives.
-
Submission Categories
Submission Categories
• Individual paper proposals (20-minute presentations)
• Full panel proposals (3–4 papers organized around a shared theme)
• Roundtable discussions
• Creative readings: poetry, fiction excerpts, and performance pieces
• Workshops on pedagogy, translation, or creative craft -
Submission Guidelines
How to Submit
• Individual papers: 250–300-word abstract plus a 100-word biographical note
• Panels and roundtables: a 200-word panel rationale plus individual abstracts for each participant
• Creative readings: a brief description of the piece(s) to be read and approximate reading time
• Workshops: a 300-word proposal describing format, learning goals, and intended audience
• Proposals accepted in English, Spanish, French, and Haitian Kreyòl
• Submit via the conference submission portal by email to iccl@morehouse.edu. -
Venue
ICCL 2026 will be held in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, November 16–18 — a fitting setting where the beauty and vibrancy of the Caribbean surround our gathering. Conference venue and hotel details, along with travel and accommodation information, will be announced with the final program.
*Conference rates may increase after the hotel registration deadline. Any reservations made outside of the conference block will be charged an additional conference registration fee. -
Key Dates
Mark Your Calendars
Key Date Deadline Abstract Submission Deadline August 16, 2026 Notification of Acceptance September 1, 2026 Hotel Registration deadline October 12, 2026* Conference Registration fee deadline October 18, 2026 Early Registration Deadline September 30, 2026 Final Program Posted October 30, 2026 Conference Dates November 17–20, 2026 -
Conference Registration Fee
Registration Fee
The $475.00 registration fee includes access to all conference sessions, activities, and the welcome reception, along with commemorative conference merchandise. Please note that hotel accommodations at Zel Punta Cana are all-inclusive and booked separately.
A link to pay online will be made available soon.
After six years away, the International Conference on Caribbean Literature returns — alive, energized, and carrying the light of a tradition too vital to remain dormant. Raíces Vivas is both a declaration and an invitation: our roots are living roots, and the routes they have traveled — across the Atlantic, through the African diaspora, along the currents of Hispanic heritage — continue to illuminate Caribbean literature and the scholars who devote themselves to it.
This reconvening is a homecoming and a threshold moment. We return to restore ICCL’s legacy as the premier gathering place for Caribbean literary studies, and we open our doors wide to the next generation of scholars whose fresh eyes and new voices will carry that legacy forward into the light
We invite proposals that explore the African and Latin foundations of Caribbean literature — their convergence, their creative tensions, and their ongoing reinvention — as well as work that imagines bold new directions for the field. Submissions are welcome in English, Spanish, French, and Haitian Kreyòl.
New This Year
Raíces Vivas — living roots — affirms that the African and Hispanic literary traditions at the heart of Caribbean letters are not relics to be archived but vital, breathing forces that continue to generate new meaning, new forms, and new scholarship. The word routes reminds us that these traditions did not arrive in the Caribbean fully formed: they traveled, transformed, and took root through the crossings, migrations, and survivals that define Caribbean history and imagination.The 2026 conference asks how those living routes light the way forward — for emerging scholars entering the field, for established scholars charting new territory, and for the wider communities whose stories Caribbean literature illuminates. We welcome work on the Hispanophone Caribbean and its diasporas, as well as comparative and pan-Caribbean approaches that bring Anglophone, Francophone, and Kreyòl-language traditions into conversation with these roots and routes.
Share Your Scholarship and Cultural Insights
- African diasporic aesthetics, orality, and living memory in Caribbean letters
- Hispanophone Caribbean literary traditions and their ongoing vitality
- Afro-Latinidad, mestizaje, and identity formation in literature
- Spirituality, cosmology, and the sacred in Caribbean narrative
- Caribbean women writers and Afro-Latina voices: illuminating new ground
- Migration, diaspora, and transnational Caribbean routes
- Decolonizing methods and restorative approaches in Caribbean literary studies
- Digital humanities and new light on Caribbean texts
- Teaching Caribbean literature: bringing roots and routes into the classroom
- Emerging scholars forum: new voices, living scholarship
This list is illustrative rather than exhaustive. We warmly welcome proposals that engage the conference theme from other angles and perspectives.
Submission Categories
• Individual paper proposals (20-minute presentations)
• Full panel proposals (3–4 papers organized around a shared theme)
• Roundtable discussions
• Creative readings: poetry, fiction excerpts, and performance pieces
• Workshops on pedagogy, translation, or creative craft
How to Submit
• Individual papers: 250–300-word abstract plus a 100-word biographical note
• Panels and roundtables: a 200-word panel rationale plus individual abstracts for each participant
• Creative readings: a brief description of the piece(s) to be read and approximate reading time
• Workshops: a 300-word proposal describing format, learning goals, and intended audience
• Proposals accepted in English, Spanish, French, and Haitian Kreyòl
• Submit via the conference submission portal by email to iccl@morehouse.edu.
ICCL 2026 will be held in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, November 16–18 — a fitting setting where the beauty and vibrancy of the Caribbean surround our gathering. Conference venue and hotel details, along with travel and accommodation information, will be announced with the final program.
*Conference rates may increase after the hotel registration deadline. Any reservations made outside of the conference block will be charged an additional conference registration fee.
*Conference rates may increase after the hotel registration deadline. Any reservations made outside of the conference block will be charged an additional conference registration fee.
Mark Your Calendars
| Key Date | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Abstract Submission Deadline | August 16, 2026 |
| Notification of Acceptance | September 1, 2026 |
| Hotel Registration deadline | October 12, 2026* |
| Conference Registration fee deadline | October 18, 2026 |
| Early Registration Deadline | September 30, 2026 |
| Final Program Posted | October 30, 2026 |
| Conference Dates | November 17–20, 2026 |
Registration Fee
The $475.00 registration fee includes access to all conference sessions, activities, and the welcome reception, along with commemorative conference merchandise. Please note that hotel accommodations at Zel Punta Cana are all-inclusive and booked separately.A link to pay online will be made available soon.
Meet the Organizing Committee
ICCL 2026 is organized by Dr. Alison Ligon, Chair of the Department of English, Dr. Leah Creque, Dr. Consuella Bennett, and Dr. Michael Janis — the conference’s returning organizing committee, honored to bring this historic gathering back to life. For questions about submissions, registration, or the conference program, please contact iccl@morehouse.edu
Dr. Alison Ligon
Chair of the Department of English
Dr. Leah Creque
Dr. Consuella Bennett
Dr. Michael Janis
Our Sponsors
For more information on sponsorship, click here.
