Call for Papers, Conference 2025

The 22nd Annual Conference of the Norman Mailer Society
Wilkes University – Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
October 9–11, 2025

The Norman Mailer Society invites paper and panel proposals for its 22nd annual conference, to be held at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, from October 9 to 11, 2025. We welcome scholars, students, teachers, writers, and independent researchers from all disciplines to join us in exploring and celebrating the life, work, and legacy of Norman Mailer.

This year’s conference theme is: “What Would Mailer Say?”

As one of the most provocative and influential public intellectuals of the twentieth century, Norman Mailer never shied away from the pressing issues of his time—war and peace, American identity, political corruption, celebrity culture, technology, and the role of the artist in society. In that spirit, we invite papers that speculate, critique, or imagine what Mailer might say about today’s world: the state of American democracy, media and disinformation, the culture wars, climate crisis, surveillance, AI, and the transformations of gender and identity.

The 2025 conference marks a return to Wilkes University, home to the Norman Mailer Room and Archive and a longtime supporter of Mailer studies. We encourage proposals that engage with any aspect of Mailer’s career—from his novels, essays, journalism, films, and political activism to his influence on American letters and culture. Comparative, interdisciplinary, and critical approaches are especially welcome.

Suggested topics include, but are not limited to:

• What Would Mailer Say? Imagining Mailer in the 21st Century
• Mailer and the idea of the public intellectual
• Mailer and American political discourse
• Journalism, truth, and the media age
• Mailer and masculinity, revisited
• Mailer’s critique of technology and surveillance
• Mailer in the culture wars
• Teaching Mailer in contemporary classrooms
• Mailer and the archive: letters, drafts, and unpublished material
• Creative, multimedia, and artistic responses to Mailer
• Mailer’s legacy in the digital age

In addition to traditional papers (15–20 minutes), we welcome roundtable discussions, panel proposals, creative responses, multimedia presentations, and pedagogical approaches to teaching Mailer.

Proposal Deadline: July 15, 2025

Please submit a 250–300 word abstract and a brief bio (100 words) to either of the conference organizers:

• enid.stubin [at] gmail.com
• gerald.lucas [at] mga.edu

Panel proposals should include a brief overview and abstracts for each paper. Conference registration details, lodging information, and a preliminary schedule will be available in the coming months.

Join us in Wilkes-Barre this fall as we ask, together: What would Norman Mailer say? And what do we say in return?