International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts - IAFA

CfP for Undergrads:

Call for Proposals: Mysteries and Mayhem
Young Scholars Literary Symposium

Saturday, February 21, 2026: 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST
(followed by film event 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. EST)

Hosted by Shenandoah University’s Department of English in Winchester, VA.

A post for "Poetry on Drugs: Language, Dreaming and the Coming Revolution." This image is black and white, with a large abstractly filled circle inside of a stylized rectangle adorned with leaf-life imagery. The title for the symposium is listed, as well as "Event Date: 20 February 2026."

Poetry on Drugs: Language, Dreaming and the Coming Revolution

Call for Proposals

drive.google.com/file/d/17LfTxAKUUrKS32ddK2VespoNNjGy8dqP

Submit your proposal here: iaftfita.wildapricot.org/Proposal

More information and submission details can be found at www.iafa.org

ICFA 47 (2026) CfP Extension (deadline Nov. 10th)

The deadline for proposals for ICFA 47 has been extended until Monday, November 10th. The conference will take place March 18-21 with Guests of Honor Ted Chiang and Ann Leckie and Guest Scholar Sherryl Vint.

#IAFA #ICFA #ICFA47 #FantasticArts

If you love science fiction, fantasy, and horror you MUST already subscribe to Locus Magazine... Right?

linktr.ee/locusmagazine
link in bio!

2026 Higher Learning Program Open Call for Concepts The Mellon Foundation invites institutions of higher education to submit applications for research and/or curricular projects. Deadline to register is December 1, 2025.

📖 Unruly Intelligences
Projects that exemplify the role of the humanities in shaping contemporary understanding of artificial and other intelligences.

📖 Normalization and Its Discontents
Projects that explore the paradoxical concept of normalcy.

#MellonFoundation #HigherLearning #OpenCall

2026 Higher Learning Program Open Call for Concepts The Mellon Foundation invites institutions of higher education to submit applications for research and/or curricular projects. Deadline to register is December 1, 2025.

The Mellon Foundation has announced a call for concepts.

Mellon invites institutions of higher education in the United States and its territories to submit applications for research and/or curricular projects focused on either of the following two areas:

The cover of Journal of Fantastic in the Arts, volume 36.2, features the reflection in a mirror of a femme-appearing person putting on red lipstick.

All registered IAFA members should have gotten their latest issue of the JFA via email.

Just a quick reminder: You have 24 hours to submit your proposal for ICFA 47 before the submission portal closes!

See our website for the complete CfP and other needed details (iaftfita.wildapricot.org/ICFA).

Michael also writes fiction and plays, and performs long-form improvisational theater.

We appreciate the efforts and passion of all the applicants for this position, and we thank in advance Michael Furlong for his service to the IAFA in his new role.

Michael Furlong is an Associate Librarian at The University of Central Florida, and is the university’s librarian for Theater and Performing Arts, Photography, and Economics. He has published scholarship and reviews, as well as scholarly anthologies.

A photo of Michael Furlong, with steps and the entrance to a building in the background.

After careful consideration of many well-qualified applications the IAFA Executive Board has appointed Michael Furlong as incoming ICFA Gothic and Horror Literature Division Head.

Call for Papers and Sessions

Fantasy’s Present Pasts

University of Glasgow
Tuesday 23rd – Thursday 25th June 2026

Keynote Speakers: Stefan Ekman, Sofia Samatar and Helen Young

More details on the conference in the post linked below - deadline for proposals is Friday 12th December.

The Student Caucus of the IAFA invites nominations for Representative and Undergraduate Representative for terms from 15 Jan 2026 to 30 Sept 2027.
The complete call for nominations, including details on the positions and nomination process, can be found at iaftfita.wildapricot.org/Blog/13555613

IAFA President David M. Higgins at the podium during the ICFA 46 banquet.

If you have yet to read the IAFA President's letter on the referendum results and the IAFA moving to a rotating location model for future ICFAs, please do so at IAFA.org/Blog/13548208 !

We're really looking forward to having you be there as Guest of Honor!

* Information on the ICFA 47 call for proposals, proposal portal, registration, and hotel rooms can be found at IAFA.org/ICFA.

* The IAFA is still accepting application letters for ICFA co-host orgs for 2028 and 2031. You can find more information on the IAFA blog at IAFA.org/Blog/13550465.

* Our ICFA 47 room block at the Orlando Airport Marriott Lakeside is open. Please keep in mind that available rooms might be significantly reduced by late January to avoid the IAFA having to pay the hotel for unused rooms.

Some ICFA 47 reminders for you:
* The ICFA 47 proposal portal closes in two weeks, on 31 October 2025.
* Registration for ICFA 47 is open. Early bird rates end on 31 December 2025.
We aim to have all proposal acceptance emails and creative invitations sent by late November.

Call for Articles: Hélice (journal)

The online academic journal Hélice welcomes articles on speculative fiction in English and Spanish for its 2026 issues.

See www.revistahelice.com/en/main/ and www.revistahelice.com/en/previous-...

Nominations for IAFA First Vice-President continue until 10 Oct 2025.

For more information on the position and how to nominate a candidate, we encourage you to see the IAFA blog post on this open position. Self-nominations are welcome.

#IAFA #FantasticArts #ICFA #VICFA

Issue 777 Table of Contents, October 2025 The October 2025 issue of Locus magazine has interviews with Ken Liu and Daniel H. Wilson, and a spotlight on artist Cristina Bencina. Seattle Worldcon 2025 is covered with an extensive report and …

Issue 777 Table of Contents, October 2025

ICFA 47 will be March 18–21, 2026, at the Marriott Orlando Airport Lakeside in Orlando, FL, US.

Complete information. including the full CfP for ICFA 47, can be found on the ICFA homepage.
Submission deadline: October 31, 2025

#IAFA #FantasticArts #ICFA47 #MetaCognition

The submission portal for ICFA 47 is open!
Submit your proposal here: iaftfita.wildapricot.org/Proposal
The IAFA invites proposals for our 47th annual ICFA meeting on the theme of (Meta)Cognition.
Guests of Honor: Ted Chiang & Ann Leckie
Guest Scholar: Sherryl Vint

#IAFA #FantasticArts #ICFA47

Thanks so much for your participation in VICFA 4. You helped make it an awesome virtual conference for everyone!

A screenshot of a Zoom session displaying video from "Alice Dalí MR," next to Mads Haahr. In the top half of the video, a human-controlled virtual hand "grows roses" based on artwork by Dalí for the 1969 anniversary edition of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. On the bottom half of the video. Mads Haahr is seen reading aloud from the text next to a pianist playing live music while the game-player can be seen reaching out to the roses in real life.

Screenshot of Zoom session, showing Mads Haahr during the panel, smiling.

Thank you to VICFA 4 Distinguished Scholar Mads Haahr and his Haunted Planet Studios team (not present except in their work) for a truly different conference experience!

#VICFA4 #FantasticArts #IAFA #HauntedPlanet

Attendees to this panel also collaboratively played an educational game developed by Haunted Planet to teach hotline personnel soft skills related to communicating with suspected victims of child trafficking. It was a tense, engaging, and informative experience.

Screenshot of Zoom session, showing titled page of presentation, which reads "Dreaming with Mixed Reality (DreaMR): Cultural Engagement with Art, Music, and Stories," next to an image of Mads Haahr.

A screenshot of a Zoom session displaying video from "Alice Dalí MR," next to Mads Haahr. In the video, a human-controlled virtual hand reaches out to artwork by Dalí for the 1969 anniversary edition of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

A screenshot of a Zoom session displaying video from "Alice Dalí MR," next to Mads Haahr. In the top half of the video, a human-controlled virtual hand reaches out to virtual dresses based on artwork by Dalí for the 1969 anniversary edition of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. On the bottom half of the video. Mads Haahr is seen reading aloud from the text next to a pianist playing live music while the game-player can be seen reaching out in real life.

VICFA 4's Distinguished Scholar Immersive Event was incredible! We learned about Haunted Planet's DreaMR series (Meta Quest 3). This included video from a staging of Haunted Planet's "Alice Dalí MR," which uses Dali's artwork for Carroll's 𝘈𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦'𝘴 𝘈𝘥𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘞𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 (1969 anniversary ed.).

Thank you to this panel for a wonderful and enlightening session!
#VICFA4 #FantasticArts #IAFA #DispellingFantasies

A screenshot of a Zoom session with panelists, clockwise from top left: Joy Sanchez-Taylor, A.W. Prihandita, Suzan Palumbo, and Zig Zag Claybourne.

A screenshot of a Zoom session. Far left is an image of Zig Zag Claybourne's books with social media tag @zzclaybourne. Below that is information for Suzan Palumbo: https://suzanpalumbo.carrd.co/ and @sillysyntax.bsky.social. Along the bottom center are images of the covers of Palumbo's 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 and 𝘚𝘬𝘪𝘯 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘦f and Sanchez-Taylor's 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 F𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘦𝘴. Top center displays A.W. Prihandita's information: https://awprihandita.com/. @awprihandita.bsky.social, and "Negative Scholarship on the Fifth State of Being" at https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/prihandita_11_24/. The right side of the screenshot shows panelists, from top to bottom: Joy Sanchez-Taylor, A.W. Prihandita, Zig Zag Claybourne, and Suzan Palumbo.

VICFA 4's Roundtable Discussion on "Conjuring in Diverse Literature" was a real treat! Joy Sanchez-Taylor led this discussion with Suzan Palumbo, Zig Zag Claybourne, and A.W. Prihandita, three of the fantasy authors featured in Sanchez-Taylor's new book, 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 F𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴.

Speculative Poetry and the Modern Alliterative Revival 2025 Mythopoeic Scholarship Award Finalist for Myth and Fantasy StudiesIf a literary movement arises but no one notices, is it still a movement? In Speculative…

So if you're intrigued, get SP&MAR on the cheap .... but even if not, spread the word far and wide. Let's make genre poetry better known!
@sfpoetry.bsky.social @iafa.bsky.social @fantastic-journal.bsky.social @sfrareview.bsky.social @strangehorizons.bsky.social

www.bloomsbury.com/us/speculati...