Download the call for papers here.

• Conference Dates: June 8-10, 2026
• Place: McGill University, Montreal
• Deadline for proposals: February 15, 2026
• Submit proposal to: alcq.acql@gmail.com
• www.alcq-acql.ca

Founded in 1975 in the wake of Canada’s official ratification of multiculturalism, the Association for Canadian and Québec Literatures has, over more than 45 years, emerged as Canada’s premier association for showcasing multilingual and transnational research in Canadian and Québec literatures. 

As last year’s scheduled conference was held virtually, the ACQL is proposing this year to host an in-person conference at McGill University from Monday, June 8^th to Wednesday, June 10^th. Some sessions may be held in a hybrid format, but we would like to keep the number to a minimum. 

The 2026 ACQL conference will be held concurrently with the Canadian Comparative Literature Association’s conference, which will take place on McGill University’s campus at the same time. The associations are exploring the possibility of holding joint sessions and inviting a shared guest speaker.

Proposals 

We invite potential participants to submit proposals on research, teaching, and professional matters of relevance to current or prospective Association members. We welcome presentations in English or in French.

As we strive to become a more inclusive and equitable association, ACQL also strongly encourages bilingual sessions as well as thematic and methodological research that focuses on issues of equity, diversity, inclusion, and decolonization as they intersect with language, class, gender, sexuality, dis/ability, and other sites of social hierarchies and oppression. 

We welcome proposals for a variety of session types: 

• Paper Panel: Panelists present a formal paper of 15-20 minutes, followed by
  questions and discussion. 
• Member Organized Sessions: Panel organizers may present their own papers in the session that they organize. 
• Seminar Workshop: Participants complete their papers in advance and distribute them to other seminar participants prior to the conference. Participants are encouraged to limit their presentations to 8-12 minutes to promote a substantial discussion period. 
• Roundtable: Participants give brief presentations (roughly 5-10 minutes) in response to a specific question or concern, followed by discussion and debate with the audience. 
• Pecha Kucha: 20 images are displayed for 20 seconds each, with explanation or commentary keyed to the images. 
• Professional Development Workshop: Intensive presentations led by a moderator, revolving around issues of professional development that are of specific relevance to stages of their academic careers. 

Conference Fees and ACQL Membership 

Conference fees are $60 for faculty members; $40 for independent scholars; and $20 for graduate students. Participation requires up-to-date ACQL membership. See the ACQL website (www.alcq-acql.ca) for membership and registration information.

Proposal Submission 

Please submit your paper or session proposals (maximum 300 words) with a short biography in Word or RTF by 15 February 2026 to acql.alcq@gmail.com

• In your proposal, please specify:
  • the nature of your presentation (traditional paper, poster, Pecha Kucha, etc.); 
  • the language (English, French, or bilingual);
  • if you will be presenting in person or virtually (the number of virtual presentations will be limited).

The ACQL/ALCQ Executive committee is currently working on firming up a date and place for an in-person 2026 Conference. At the moment, we are looking at Montreal in early June. 

As soon as we have the dates and place confirmed, we will post this on the website and announce this to our members. We will also post this on other relative websites related to conferences. 

Thank you for your patience and understanding. We are still looking for people to occupy positions on the Executive committee. 

Sincerely

ACQL Exec. 

Susie O’Brien, What the World Might Look Like: Decolonial Stories of Resilience and Refusal

Published by McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2024.

View the book on the publisher’s site »

Please note that no prize was awarded this year for the French-language section. As always, the Gabrielle Roy Prize is awarded for books published in the previous calendar year.

Founded in 1975 in the wake of Canada’s official ratification of multiculturalism, the Association for Canadian and Québec Literatures has, over more than 45 years, emerged as Canada’s premier association for showcasing multilingual and transnational research in Canadian and Québec literatures. 

As last year’s scheduled conference on “Sustaining shared futures” at Congress at McGill University was cancelled, the ACQL is proposing this year to host an ONLINE CONFERENCE between Friday, May 23^rd and Sunday, May 25^th. 

While we understand the value of in-person gatherings, the ACQL hopes that this virtual meeting will allow greater participation, reduce our environmental impact, and allow participants whose talks were previously accepted to present their research. 

Conference Fees and ACQL Membership 

• There are no conference fees. Participation does, however, require up-to-date ACQL membership. 

• Members from ACQL (April 1^st 2023-March 30^th 2024) are not required to renew memberships in order to present in 2025. 

• Those who are not registered as members and who wish to present must become members before the Online conference. 

The Association for Canadian and Quebec Literatures (ACQL) is pleased to announce the finalists for the 2024 Gabrielle Roy Prize (English section), which each year honours the best work of Canadian literary criticism published in English.

This year’s shortlisted finalists (in alphabetical order) are:

Jennifer Andrews. Canada Through American Eyes: Literature and Canadian Exceptionalism. Palgrave Macmillan. 2023. 

Paul Huebener. Restless in Sleep Country: Imagination and the Cultural Politics of Sleep. McGill-Queen’s UP, 2024.

Susie O’Brien. What the World Might Look Like: Decolonial Stories of Resilience and Refusal. McGill-Queen’s UP, 2024. 

The shortlist was chosen by a jury composed of Nicholas Bradley (University of Victoria), Laurel Ryan (University of Louisiana at Lafayette), and Steven Urquhart (University of Lethbridge). 

The winner will be announced publicly on Saturday, May 24, 2025 at the Gabrielle Roy Prize Reception as part of ACQL’s annual conference. To register to attend the ceremony or the conference, please visit our conference’s registration page.

For more information, contact Nicholas Bradley, Chair of the Jury, English Section, at nbradley@uvic.ca.

The ACQL is currently having difficulty filling Executive positions. If you are at all interested in participating in the ACQL, please contact any of the existing members of the association. Participation is key for the organisation to function properly and carry out activities such as the GR Prize and annual conferences.

Positions needing filled: President / VP (Anglophone and Francophone) / Chairs – GR Prize (Anglo and Francophone) 

The GR Prize (Francophone Section) has been temporarily suspended due to a shortage of ACQL executive members.

We apologize for this unfortunate situation and ask for your patience as we work to fill these positions and reorganize the submission and evaluation process for this important prize.

Applications are invited for a probationary (tenure-track) position at the rank of Assistant Professor in the Department of English and Writing Studies, to begin July 1, 2025. We are seeking an emerging researcher and teacher with leadership potential to be appointed as the James and Eva Good Chair in English Literature. Preference will be given to candidates with a demonstrated research and teaching interest in one or more of the following fields: Black, Canadian, Diasporic, Indigenous, or Postcolonial Literatures. An ability to contribute to one or more of our constituent programs (see below) would also be an asset. Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.

View the full job posting

The Association for Canadian and Quebec Literatures (ACQL) is pleased to announce the finalists for the 2022 Gabrielle Roy Prize (English section), which each year honours the best work of Canadian literary criticism published in English.

The Association for Canadian and Quebec Literatures (ACQL) is pleased to announce the finalists for the 2022 Gabrielle Roy Prize (English section), which each year honours the best work of Canadian literary criticism published in English. This year’s shortlisted finalists (in alphabetical order) are:

Joel Deshaye, for The American Western in Canadian Literature (University of Calgary Press) 

Deanna Reder, for Autobiography as Indigenous Intellectual Tradition: Cree and Métis âcimisowina (Wilfrid Laurier University Press) 

Robert Zacharias, for Reading Mennonite Writing: A Study in Minor Transnationalism (Pennsylvania State University Press)

The shortlist was chosen by a jury composed of Nicholas Bradley (University of Victoria), Kait Pinder (Acadia University), and Candida Rifkind (University of Winnipeg). The winner will be announced publicly on Monday, May 29, 2023at the Annual Meeting of the ACLQ, which will be held in person at the ACQL conference (York U).

For more information 

Kait Pinder, Chair of the Jury, English Section

kait.pinder@acadiau.ca

The General Call for Papers for the 2023 annual ACQL conference at York University (Toronto) is now available here.