Announcing the Theme for the 138th Annual Meeting

The Planning Committee is pleased to announce the theme for the 138th Annual Meeting of the American Folklore Society. The theme of the conference is “Community Persistence: Reckoning with Change, Imagining Futures.”

The 138th meeting will be held in Asheville, North Carolina from October 27–31, 2026. The Annual Meeting of the American Folklore Society will bring hundreds of US and international specialists in folklore and folklife, folk narrative, popular culture, music, material culture, and related fields, to exchange work and ideas and to create and strengthen relationships and networks.

Please consider the theme of the conference, Community Persistence: Reckoning with Change, Imagining Futures, as you plan your participation in this year’s meeting. The Planning Committee is excited to offer this framework for the conference, but remember that adhering to the theme is optional and will NOT affect acceptance.

The window for submitting proposals will open in early March, with proposals due by Wednesday, April 1.