[Extended Deadline] Call for Proposals: The Routledge Companion to Latinx Life Writing

Maria Villaseñor Announcement
Location
California, United States
Subject Fields
Borderlands, Chicana/o History / Studies, Ethnic History / Studies, Humanities, Literature

Contributions are invited for consideration to be published in a collection of critical essays introducing readers to studies of Latinx life writing, a prominent and essential pan-genre within Latinx literature since Latinx literature began to be conceived as such. Life writing is a broad umbrella term that encompasses a number of genres in which authors take life and lived experience as their core subject. Within Latinx life writing, these genres include memoir, autobiography, and testimonio most centrally. The proposed handbook provides literary criticism of Latinx life writing focusing on its history, key themes and questions, and genres. The handbook will feature chapters on the trends and concerns of Latinx life writers across different historical periods, providing insight into various thematic and generic concerns as they evolve throughout Latinx cultural production.  Although this book is scholarly in nature, the tone will be broadly accessible in order to make the book suitable for a wide audience including graduate students, undergraduate students in community colleges and four-year universities, and classroom instructors. 

THE ROUTLEDGE COMPANION TO LATINX LIFE WRITING is under contract with Routledge and is scheduled to be published in 2024. 

Please note that we are seeking essays of literary criticism; we are not seeking creative works of Latinx life writing at this time. We are seeking proposals specifically in the following areas:

  • 19th century and U.S. occupation narratives (oral histories-narratives, correspondence, memories, diaries)
  • Crónica, relatos, testimonios
  • Fictionalized autobiographies/life writing in fiction/plays 
  • Corridos, folklore, oral forms
  • Correspondence (in wartime or Latino veterans or because of family separation, etc.) 
  • Poetry of protest 
  • Coming of age autobiographical narratives 
  • Experimental autobiographical works
  • Education testimonios
  • Chicana and Latina “Third World” women of color feminist mixed genre writing
  • Autobiographical narratives of exile 
  • LGBTQ+/Queer articulations
  • Testimonios and new media (Digital Humanities, digital storytelling)
  • Grief, trauma narratives 
  • Graphic narratives
  • Undocumented narrative

We are seeking only original, never before published work at this time. Please submit a no more than two page abstract (approximately 500 words) of a chapter that you wish to be considered for this handbook by June 3, 2022 (the deadline has been extended), as well as a 2 page abbreviated curriculum vitae.

Contact Information

For more information, contact co-editors Dr. Maria Joaquina Villaseñor, mvillasenor@csumb.edu or Dr. Christine Fernandez, chrfernandez@csumb.edu

Contact Email
mvillasenor@csumb.edu