Call for Papers: Edited Volume on Adoption in Popular Media (Edited Volume on Adoption in Popular Media; under contract with McFarland Publishing)
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Event: Edited Volume on Adoption in Popular Media; under contract with McFarland Publishing
Call for Papers Extended: Edited Volume on Adoption in Popular Media
deadline for submissions: July 31, 2026
full name / name of organization: Stacy Fowler, editor / book under contract with McFarland Publishing
contact email: sfowler@stmarytx.edu
This edited volume seeks 5,000-8,000 word essays focused on portrayals of adoption in popular media. With the aim of curating a collection that analyzes distinct yet interconnected aspects of adoption in popular culture, proposals from a variety of disciplines and perspectives are encouraged, including sociology, psychology, history, genealogy, political science, film studies, legal scholarship, and/or literary criticism. Submissions from established, emerging, and international scholars are welcome, as are collaborative proposals from interdisciplinary writing partnerships. Relevant proposals should focus on adoption narratives rather than kinship or found family, and can take the form of any medium, including film, television, anime, literature, comics, manga, music, social media, and/or marketing.
Possible focuses:
Perspective of the birth mother
Perspective of the adoptive mother
Perspective of the child
Birth fathers: "forgotten" part of the process?
To seek or not to seek: a complicated question
Open vs. closed adoptions
Transracial adoptions
Adopting war orphans
Nature versus nurture
Queer families and adoption
Rape pregnancies and adoption
Laws and legal challenges of adoption
Adopting older children
Adoption after the fall of Roe v. Wade
Potential source material:
Films: Martian Child, Losing Isaiah, Philomena, Stuart Little, Any Day Now, October Baby, Juno, Orphan, Like Dandelion Dust, Mother and Child, Then She Found Me, Secrets & Lies
Television: This is Us, Diff’rent Strokes, Riot Women, Trying, The Umbrella Academy
Literature: Welcome Home by Eric Smith, That Kind of Mother by Rumaan Alam, Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng, Luster by Raven Leilani, A Little Ray of Sunshine by Kristan Higgins
Songs: “I’m Adopted” by Slugs and Bugs, “Family” by Dolan, “Lullaby in Blue” by Bette Midler, “Amos Story” by Aaron Ivey, “When Love Takes You In” by Steven Curtis Chapman
Timeline:
July 31, 2026: Deadline for submitting proposal
August 15, 2026: Contributors notified of acceptance
October 15, 2026: First draft due
January 15, 2027: Final copy due; completed essays should be 5,000-8,000 words (inclusive of notes and bibliography) and adhere to the Chicago Manual of Style, 18th edition.
Submissions and contact:
Interested contributors should email Stacy Fowler at sfowler@stmarytx.edu by July 31, 2026, with the following information:
300-500 word abstract of proposed essay topic;
Contact information and institutional affiliation, if applicable;
Resume/CV and short biographical statement.
Stacy Fowler