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Submission Deadline: JMMLA Spring 2026
Thursday, January 15, 2026
Category: JMMLA Deadlines

The Journal of the Midwestern Modern Language Association invites submissions for a Spring 2026 special issue on “Transnational Writings: Ethnic Ukrainian Authors in the Americas.”

This special issue aims to spotlight the diverse and compelling works of contemporary authors of Ukrainian descent who have chosen the languages of the Americas as their literary medium, whether it be English, Spanish, or Portuguese. The authors addressed in this issue must have significantly contributed to contemporary literature, capturing various features of the Ukrainian migrant experience in the Americas. We believe this special issue will contribute significantly to the scholarly discourse on multicultural literature and provide a platform for the voices of authors of Ukrainian descent across the Americas to resonate with a broader audience.

The special issue welcomes scholarly articles, critical essays, and literary analyses that delve into the works of authors of Ukrainian descent in the Americas, with special emphasis encouraged on the following writers: Lisa Grekul, Myrna Kostash, Janice Kulyk Keefer, Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger, Katherine Marsh, Valya Dudycz Lupescu, Ksenia Rychtycka, Alexander J. Motyl, Daniel Hryhorczuk, Orest Stelmach, Zhanna Slor, Mark Wansa, and Askold Melnyczuk.

Possible topics include but are not limited to the following as they pertain to authors of Ukrainian descent writing in the Americas:
  • Identity and Belonging: Explorations of how these authors negotiate questions of identity, belonging, and cultural hybridity in their works.
  • National Identity and Difference: Efforts to express or resist a, for instance, distinctively Ukrainian-American, Ukrainian-Canadian, Ukrainian-Mexican, or Ukrainian-Brazilian mode of writing.
  • Language and Expression: Analyses of the linguistic choices made by authors and the impact of language on the representation of ethnic Ukrainian experiences in the Americas.
  • Historical and Cultural Contexts: Investigations into the historical and cultural contexts that shape these authors’ narratives.
  • Generational Shifts: Studies of how generational shifts influence themes, perspectives, and styles within writings by these authors.
  • Migration: Exploration of the theme of migration in these authors’ writings, considering its impact on characters and narrative structures.
  • Trauma and Memory: Analyses of how trauma is portrayed and remembered in the works of these writers.
  • Revision of History: Studies of the revisionist aspects of history in literature by these writers, considering how they reinterpret and challenge historical narratives.
  • Genre Experiments: Examination of genre experiments within literature by these authors, exploring how they engage with and innovate upon traditional literary forms.

Please direct all questions to the MMLA at [email protected] or to the guest editor of this special issue, Mariya Shymchyshyn ([email protected]).