2026 20th Anniversary Conference: Cross-Pollinations

16-20 June, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta

The University of Alberta is situated on Treaty 6 Territory and Districts 9 & 10 of the Métis Nation of Alberta. These lands have long been an important gathering place for Indigenous nations, including the Nehiyawak, Niitsitapi, Nakota Sioux, Dene, Anishinaabeg, and Inuit, along with the more-than-human kin who influence our ecological communities and relationships.

In the spirit of gathering and visiting in this beautiful, historied pêhonân in the Aspen Parkland ecoregion, Cross-Pollinations invites you to join the shared celebration of the 20th anniversaries of the Centre for Literatures in Canada (CLC) and the Association of Literature, Environment, and Culture in Canada (ALECC). Over the past two decades, these two parallel organizations have mobilized distinct Canadian scholarly and artistic communities.

Meeting around the theme of cross-pollination, this conference will bring these communities together to explore shared questions about cross-pollination as

an ecological process as represented in the literary and visual arts;
an artistic practice that innovates new literary and artistic forms and affects; and
a cross-/interdisciplinary scholarly practice that generates new methods and approaches to literary studies and arts-based research and teaching.

This conference will provide an open, collegial space for emerging and established scholars and creative artists from across Canada and beyond to cross-pollinate in other ways, too. At a moment when climate change and ecological crises are being sidelined, even as they are ever-more visible and urgent, this gathering provides room, both at the University of Alberta and in places of ecological significance in and around the Edmonton region, to share research and collaborate across institutions, vocations, and disciplines on matters of profound environmental importance.

Call for Proposals

We invite proposals for scholarly, creative-critical, and creative presentations or panels that examine or employ “cross-pollination,” which might be considered in any of the following ways:

Methodological: e.g., science and humanities; research-creation; interdisciplinary cross-pollinations; collaboration in research and art;
Collaborative: pre-formed panels that bring together diverse approaches to a shared ecological subject (e.g., water, bison, seeds, insects, climate change) or pedagogical, artistic, or scholarly practice;
Thematic: e.g., presentations of literary or scholarly work that depicts agents or processes of cross-pollination in provocative ways;
Intercultural: e.g., braided approaches to Indigenous and non-Indigenous knowledges; Canada-Quebec dialogue; anglophone and francophone perspectives; bi- or multilingual texts; and
“Cross-polli-nation”: e.g., explorations of the value and the limits of this ecological metaphor for thinking about Canada as a nation of nations, and/or about relationships between the local and the global.

We are especially interested in proposals that feature a part of what is now Canada and/or its diverse literatures and cultures, and panels of shorter presentations (8-15 minutes) that can accommodate more voices and conversation.

Submission Information

Deadline for all proposals: December 1, 2025

Please submit by email: crosspollinations2026@gmail.com

To propose an individual paper, creative or other work, including a reading (15 minutes maximum):

Please submit an anonymous proposal that includes a title and a 200- to 250- word abstract, noting whether it is a creative or an academic presentation.
In a separate document (but the same email submission), please send your name, proposal title, preference for a scholarly, creative, or mixed session, any requests for audio-visual equipment, current contact information, and a one-page curriculum vitae.

To propose a pre-formed panel (we suggest three to five presenters for a 60- or 90- minute session, or more if you are envisioning something more interactive or pecha kucha style):

Please submit an anonymous proposal that includes: a session title; a 100- to 200-word session abstract, including whether it is a creative, academic, or mixed panel; and a 200- to 250-word anonymous abstract for each presentation.
In a separate file, please send the session title, any requests for audio-visual equipment, and the name, contact information, and a one-page curriculum vitae for each presenter and the session organizer.
Indicate if one of your panel members will serve as Chair for your panel and provide their name.

To propose an alternative format or presentation (e.g., workshops, roundtables, exhibits, performances, book launches, lightning talks):

Please send a 200- to 250-word proposal in an email to the organizing committee in advance of the deadline to discuss further proposal submission requirements.

Practical Details

We welcome submissions in English, French, or Indigenous languages, as well as bilingual panels.
All proposals should indicate clearly the nature of the session and all requests for audio-visual equipment and any other specific needs (e.g., space, moveable chairs, outdoor location, etc.).
We ask that panel organizers attempt to include a diversity of participants.
Email submissions should include in the subject line the word SUBMISSION, the abstract type (panel, paper, other), and your (or the panel proposer’s) name. For example: SUBMISSION paper Julia Devi or SUBMISSION panel Bo Kwon. We will acknowledge all submissions.

Additional Information

Centre for Literatures in Canada website: uab.ca/clc
Association for Literature, Environment, and Culture in Canada website: alecc.ca
General queries for the organizing committee: crosspollinations2026@gmail.com
ALECC / CLC 2025 Organizing Committee:

Sarah Krotz, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB

Jordan Kinder, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON

Lisa Szabo-Jones, John Abbott College, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC

Kit Dobson, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB

Ariel Gordon, Winnipeg, MB

Nicole Brandsma, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB