Stowe Center Call for Papers
The Stowe Center for Literary Activism, in partnership with the New England Quarterly
invites papers for the 2026 “Stowe in Context & Conversation: Understanding Harriet
Beecher Stowe in her historical context and ours” symposium. We invite submissions of
conference paper abstracts that examine Harriet Beecher Stowe, the larger historical
context that she lived and worked within, those who inspired or interacted with her
work, and other related topics and themes. Submitted abstracts will be reviewed and
selected by leading Stowe scholars.

Accepted papers will be further eligible for two special opportunities. First, one paper
delivered at the symposium and selected by a panel of judges will receive special
recognition and a $1,000 prize from the Stowe Center. Second, The New England
Quarterly will consider all unpublished papers for a special issue of the journal devoted
to the symposium theme.

We encourage people to think broadly about Stowe, what she meant in her time, and
what she means in our time. Our 2025 program included such varied topics as19th
century women’s domestic sphere; author and Stowe contemporary Charles Chesnutt;
the Martin Delany and Frederick Douglass debates around Uncle Tom’s Cabin; and
Stowe’s feminist theology.

We invite conference papers of 7-10 pages, double spaced. Please submit abstracts of
250-500 words by October 17, 2025 to Cat White, Director of Historical Collections
and Public Programs at cwhite@stowecenter.org The program will be announced in
January.

The symposium will take place March 20, 2026, the publication anniversary of the
collected volumes of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, at the Stowe Center for Literary Activism in
Hartford, CT, site of Stowe’s final house, nestled among her illustrious contemporaries
such as Isabella Beecher Hooker and Samuel Clemens.

The Stowe Center will cover transportation costs (within reason) and accommodation
for invited speakers.