Call for Proposals

10^th Annual Cavalier Conference on Writing and Literature
“The Future of Storytelling”
April 11, 2025

Keynote Speaker: Jose Faus

“Since the beginning of recorded history, stories have connected us to our humanity, swayed our opinions, changed our behavior, built our businesses, and colored our existence. They connect us with the core of our being.” —Stephanie Riggs, The End of Storytelling

As teachers of literature and composition, we often focus on the usefulness of narrative or storytelling. Not only are students often more inspired by this genre, but even the “driest” and most analytical writing benefits from an author's deliberate use of story.

Whether used as a hook device, anecdotal evidence, a means of persuasion, or the structure for epic poems, the future is built by stories.

We invite proposals for presentations this April that will explore and extend our understanding of narrative and storytelling in our classrooms and assignments. What will narratives look like in 50 or 100 years? How might technology change storytelling? How can we integrate more inclusive narratives in our classrooms? Do today’s students read or experience stories differently? How has the rise of creative nonfiction influenced popular and academic writing, and what is its place in the literary cannon? How can storytelling challenge perspectives or build bridges between culture or academic disciplines? What role do narratives play in elections and civic conversations? What would Aristotle, Murasaki Shikibu, or Shakespeare make of modern literature? What can readers and writers learn from retelling classic stories? How has the rise of extensive storyworlds and literary series added to or altered storytelling? Should oral storytelling be a part of the writing classroom? What stories do today's students need?

Along with proposals for presentations that might pose answers to the questions above, we also seek proposals that address the following:

• Storytelling and the future
• Storytelling and technology
• Storytelling and inclusion
• Storytelling and the act of reading
• Creative nonfiction as storytelling
• Creative nonfiction as literature
• Storytelling and change
• Storytelling across the disciplines
• Storytelling and civic responsibility
• Storytelling and mental health
• Storytelling and neuroscience
• Traditional and modern storytelling techniques
• Storytelling and story adaptations
• The rise of storyworlds and storyplexes
• Oral storytelling
• Storytelling and elementary/secondary education
• Poetry as storytelling
• Illustration and graphics as storytelling

Proposals are due by February 14, 2025.

Submit your proposal today!