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Cavalier Conference on Writing and Literature

Registration opens soon!

Plot Twist!

Logo for Cavalier Conference on Writing and Literature

The 11th annual English educator conference: April 10, 2026

Everyone who loves stories knows the feeling of surprise that comes with a plot twist. A twist can be exhilarating, satisfying, shocking, or tragic. It can feel like storytelling at its best or fate at its worst. A narrative turn is not limited to fiction, either, but can serve as a useful metaphor for our experiences as teachers. New technologies upend our profession. New regulations constrain us, but they also call up our creativity. Big changes can make us feel like we’ve lost our agency or gained new capabilities, but small plot twists can ripple outward, too: an activity we try on a whim rejuvenates a classroom, a student’s sharp question sparks a discussion.

For our 2026 conference, we invite proposals for interactive panels and individual presentations on literary, rhetorical and pedagogical plot twists. Our full call for papers will be posted early November.

Keynote Laura Moriarty

Laura Moriarty received her master's degree in creative writing from the University of Kansas and was awarded the George Bennett Fellowship for Creative Writing at Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire. She is the author of five novels, including The Chaperone, which was made into a film starring Elizabeth McGovern in 2018. Moriarty teaches creative writing at the University of Kansas, and her sixth novel, Sunlight Finds You, will be published by Riverhead in the summer of 2026.

Who should attend?

English educators at the high school and college and university levels are encouraged to attend and exchange experiences on the continuing conversation surrounding the future of storytelling.