40th Anniversary Convention, Northeast Modern Language Association (NeMLA) Feb. 26-March 1, 2009 Hyatt Regency - Boston, Massachusetts

Session: “Julia Alvarez and Junot Diaz: Contemporary Dominican-American Writers”

In 2007, both Julia Alvarez and Junot Diaz published new works to popular and critical acclaim; Alvarez delved into book-length investigative nonfiction with Once Upon a Quinceañera and Diaz’s first novel, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in April. This panel will explore the recent and earlier works of these two Dominican-American writers in conversation with each other. Of special interest are abstracts that engage with both authors and/or the reception of their work, but abstracts that address any text by either author are welcome. Please send 300-500 word abstracts to Jessica Wells Cantiello, wells128@gmail.com.

Deadline: September 15, 2008

Please include with your abstract:

Name and Affiliation Email address Postal address Telephone number A/V requirements (if any; $10 handling fee)

The complete Call for Papers for the 2009 Convention is available at: http://www.nemla.org/convention/cfp08.html Interested participants may submit abstracts to more than one NeMLA panel; however panelists can only present one paper. Convention participants may present a paper at a panel or seminar and also present at a creative session or participate in a roundtable.