Call for Papers: Willa Cather and the Nineteenth Century at C19 2026

Willa Cather is most often examined within the context of the twentieth-century, but scholars have long considered the relevance of nineteenth-century American literature and culture to her work. Recent scholarship in this area includes several issues of Cather Studies (vol. 10, “Willa Cather and the Nineteenth Century”; vol. 13, “Willa Cather and Pittsburgh,” vol. 14, “Unsettling Cather”), as well as recent issues of the Willa Cather Review. We invite authors to propose papers that explore this relationship including, but not limited to, the following topics:

• Willa Cather’s nineteenth-century childhood and young adulthood, including her early journalism in Nebraska and Pittsburgh

• Considerations of how nineteenth-century American history and culture shape our interpretations of Cather’s literary works 

• Nineteenth-century writers’ influence on Cather

• Reading Cather’s fiction alongside works by nineteenth-century American writers

• Given the C19 theme of “underground,” new readings and interpretations of Cather’s novel Sapphira and the Slave Girl that draw on nineteenth-century history and culture concerning enslavement and the Underground Railroad

The 2026 C19 Conference will be held March 12-14 in Cincinnati, Ohio. More information about the conference can be found here. Send 300 word abstracts and a brief CV to Kelsey Squire (squirekelsey@gmail.com) by June 30, 2025.