The 2026 WLA President, Dr. Kirby Brown, is pleased to host the 2026 Conference in Eugene, Oregon, from August 26–29. Please note the earlier date!

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Call for Papers

Banner art courtesy of Steph Littlebird

The 2026 Western Literature Association Conference 
August 26-29, 2026
The Graduate by Hilton Hotel in Eugene, Oregon

Nestled along the banks of the Wilamut River in the central Willamette Valley, the city now known as Eugene has long been a gathering space for Kalapuya and other Indigenous peoples and a home to a diverse ecology of oak savannahs, camas fields, wapato habitats, salmon fisheries, managed forests, and more than human relations. From the opening of the Oregon Trail in the 1830s, the valley experienced dramatic social, cultural, economic, and ecological change: between 1846 and 1869, over 400,000 settlers transformed oak savannahs into agricultural fields, logged old growth forests, drained wetlands, dammed rivers and streams, and forcibly displaced Kalapuya and other Indigenous peoples onto reservations. From its time as a territory through the early decades of statehood, the State of Oregon and municipalities like Eugene forbade black residents from permanently settling in the state, supported Ku Klux Klan activity, and variously excluded, exploited, or marginalized communities of Mexican, Asian, Pacific, and other national, ethnic, or religious backgrounds. At the same time, the Pacific Northwest (PNW) also has been a center of Indigenous resistance and resurgence, environmental activism and stewardship, union and worker organizing, countercultural politics, LGBTQ activism, and anti-racist and anti-fascist resistance.

Reflecting these complexities, WLA 2026 welcomes proposals on any aspect of literary and cultural productions of the “American West” (broadly conceived and complicated). We also encourage proposals for papers, panels, roundtables, lightning rounds, structured conversations, and other formats that explore any of the themes listed above or on the following topics:

• Indigenous literary and cultural productions, especially those that engage work by our Distinguished Achievement Award recipients Elizabeth Woody (Diné, Warm Springs, Wasco, Yakama; enrolled Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs) and Esther Stutzman (Yoncalla Kalapuya; enrolled Confederated Tribes of Siletz), or by other Oregon and Pacific Northwest (PNW) Indigenous writers and artists
• Indigenous ecological knowledge; Indigenous philosophies of kinship and responsibility; Indigenous theories of land, water, and interrelationality
• Black, Asian, and Latinx histories of mobility, resistance, organizing, and influence across the PNW and “the West”
• Travel, mobility, and exchange across and between Oceania and the PNW
• Hmong, Basque, and Central and South American Indigenous communities/literatures
• LGBTQ community building, activism, and creative practice in Eugene and the PNW
• Black, Indigenous, and Women-of-Color feminisms and literatures
• Environmental policy/activism, resource (co)management/stewardship, and national parks and public lands (broadly conceived)
• Narratives, sites, venues, and questions of memorialization, commemoration, and archival practice
• The possibilities and limitations of genre, media, and literary/aesthetic form
• Panels, roundtables, or lightning rounds on recently published anthologies, edited collections, or other collective projects

As we consider our current moment of intensifying political conflict, resurgent nativism and racial and gender violence, retrenchment of anti-environmental policies, skyrocketing inequality, and attacks on public health, public lands, education, and the arts, Kalapuya ilihi offers a rich site to think collectively about the many pasts, presents, and, most crucially, future(s) that bring us together as guests and potential relatives on what was, is, and always will be Kalapuyan lands.

For more information about submissions, registration, hotel accommodations, and other details, please visit the conference website at https://westernlit.org/wla-conference-2026/or contact 2026 WLA President Kirby Brown at wlaconference2026@westernlit.org. Skoden! Sdoodisden!

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Distinguished Award Recipients

Elizabeth Woody (Warm Springs, Wasco, Yakama, Navajo) is a celebrated author, poet, lecturer, educator, artist, activist, and former Oregon Poet Laureate (2016-18). She is the author of multiple award-winning collections of poetry and a contributor to numerous anthologies and edited poetry collections. Elizabeth is currently the Executive Director of the Museum at Warm Springs and serves on multiple advisory boards for organizations throughout the region and across the country. She has taught at Portland State University and at the Institute for American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico. 

Esther Stutzman (Yoncalla Kalapuya, Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians) is a widely respected storyteller, culture keeper, language warrior, land steward, educator, author, and public advocate for Kalapuya people, history, lands, and language. She and her family, working with linguisitic experts and allies, worked to revive the Kalapuya language, producing the first ever multi-volume dictionary in 2023, and was instrumental in returning Kalapuya language, iconography, and culture back to the Wilamut Natural Area in the Eugene-Springfield area. Esther has also worked as a K-12 curriculum developer in Coos Bay, Oregon with Indian education programs and serves as a public educator and member for multiple local and regional cultural and historical societies and organizations. 

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Featured Artists and Guests

Arigon Starr (Enrolled Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma; Creek, Cherokee, Seneca descent) works across a variety of mediums as a comics artist, colorist, letterer, storyteller, scriptwriter, playwright, musician, stage performer, radio performer, publicist, and distribution agent, to name but a few of the multiple hats she wears. She has produced four studio albums and written/acted in multiple plays which have garnered numerous accolades. She is perhaps best known in the comics world for 3-volume series Super Indian, which follows the often hilarious exploits of local Rez kid/super hero, Hubert Logan and his trusty sidekicks General Bear/Mega Bear and Diogi, as they work to protect the fictional Leaning Oak community from a variety of external threats and internal conflicts. In recognition of Arigon’s wide-ranging work, she was honored with IndigiPopX’s Legacy Award for “extraordinary work in the field of Native pop culture in its many forms.” Visit https://arigonstarr.com/ to see more of Arigon’s work. 

Steph Littlebird (Enrolled Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde) is an artist, illustrator, curator, writer, activist, and auntie known for her vibrant graphic imagery that combines traditional styles of her Indigenous ancestors with contemporary illustration aesthetics. Steph’s work often examines issues related to Native identity, cultural resilience, and responsible land stewardship. Her first children’s book, My Powerful Hair (2023), made in collaboration with NYT bestselling Indigenous author Carole Lindstrom, earned the 2024 Carter G. Woodson Book Award. Steph’s work has been commissioned by brands such as Lucasfilms/Star Wars, Yahoo, Luna Bar, and has been featured by media outlets such as PBS News, NPR, and ArtNews. Check out Steph’s work at https://www.stephlittlebird.com/. 

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Conference Hotel

The Graduate by Hilton-Eugene, Oregon

Rates: Single—$179/night, Double-$179, Triple—$199, Quad (Suite)-$219

Reservations can be made by calling 1-800-991-8903 and referring to booking code 936 or via the booking link: Western Literature Association Annual Conference – Guestroom Block.