The American Folklore Society
The American Folklore Society

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Submitting an Annual Meeting Proposal: Start Here!

The proposal window for the 2025 Annual Meeting of the American Folklore Society is closed.

Read the Call for Proposals

The American Folklore Society invites you to submit a proposal for its 137th Annual Meeting October 18–21, 2025, in Atlanta, Georgia with the Virtual Meeting sessions taking place November 12–14, 2025. The proposal window is February 12 through April 1, 2025.

Proposals are reviewed by a committee of folklorists, including some who live in the region hosting the meeting. We aim to send notification of acceptance or rejection in early May and share a preliminary program with presenters before June 30.

The theme of the conference is Restoring and ReStorying: Missing Stories and Moving Forward. The Local Organizing Committee is excited to offer this framework for the conference, but remember that adhering to the theme is optional and will NOT affect acceptance.

Plan to Participate

The same Proposal submission system is in use for 2025, if you utilize the same email from your 2024 Annual Meeting, you will have access to your post proposals and meeting activity.

All 2025 Submitters must first complete a simple Proposal Registration (no fees) in order to submit their proposal. As in all prior years, Payment to Register will be required once acceptance is communicated.

Learn about proposal types

You Should Know

  • The 2025 AFS Annual Meeting will feature a number of live-streamed sessions and events. We will accept individual presentation proposals to be given in person in Atlanta and virtually as part of a fully virtual program following the meeting.
  • Individual presenters will have the opportunity to select between virtual or in-person presentation modes when they submit their proposals.
  • ALL PRESENTERS—including forum participants, co-presenters, discussants—must submit their own individual information for the program.
  • Pre-organized panels: All panel participants will submit their own personal information, while the panel chair will submit the proposal details for the session as a whole. If all of your presenters are not available in Atlanta, you will need to present virtually.
  • Poster sessions return this year! Poster presenters will be named in the program.
  • You can edit or gradually complete your proposal through April 1, so don’t wait to begin. AFS staff will have more time to assist with technical difficulties in advance of the deadline.
  • All accepted presenters will be required to register before August 15 to remain on the program schedule.
    • The registration link will be posted later this spring.
    • If registration fees present a barrier to your participation, you can apply for financial assistance now through April 1.
    • When you register, please consider making an additional contribution to help fund scholarships to attend the annual meeting. We thank you!
  • All accepted presenters will be scheduled to participate in ONLY ONE meeting program. Please submit ONLY ONE proposal through the form, and contact us at annualmeeting@afsnet.org if you have any questions about this.
    • See “Number of Presentations” in Annual Meeting Policies.
    • Note: if you are proposing to chair a paper panel, this form will allow you to submit your own presentation to be given in the panel you are chairing. If you are proposing a section meeting, event, or other additional activity you are able to submit without affecting the proposal limit.
  • AFS Membership (optional)
    • You don’t have to join AFS to submit a proposal, but members enjoy a number of member benefits. As long as you use the same email for your registration as you used for your member profile, our system will link your registration record to your profile.
    • Members, to make sure all your records are linked, please be sure to use the same email address to submit a proposal and register for the meeting (when registration opens) as you use on your AFS member profile.

How to Submit a Proposal

1. Proposal Registration

This is for the Proposal Review period of the 2025 Annual Meeting. If accepted, submitters will need to pay Conference Registration to access the 2025 AFS Annual Meeting as has been required in prior years.

2. Submit Your Proposal (required for everyone who will be named in program materials)

  • You must submit your own information/permission to be included in the meeting program.
  • The submission portal will lead you through the submission process.
  • You can submit an incomplete proposal and come back to edit until the deadline, but you will need to fill in the required fields to save.
  • Keep your submission confirmation email so you can access your submission whenever you like until the deadline.

3. Important Tips

Prepare and keep a copy of your proposal as a Word or text document; copy and paste the proposal information into the online proposal form. Avoid composing in the proposal form, since your work may be lost if you’re interrupted before you’re done.

4. Submission Confirmation

Press the purple “Submit” button on the right side of the proposal form to save your submission.

After you submit, you will see a confirmation screen and receive a submission confirmation email, with a link back into the proposal system.

5. Edit a Submission

Use the link you received in your confirmation email to return to your proposal through the deadline of April 1. Save or bookmark this email so that you can find it when you need it. If you can’t find your link, contact annualmeeting@afsnet.org.

6. Complete Your Submission (required for everyone named in program materials)

Submitted proposals that are not complete when the April deadline passes will not be forwarded to the Proposal Review Committee.

Withdrawing a Proposal

Contact annualmeeting@afsnet.org if you want to withdraw your proposal entirely. If you wish to start over because you have submitted the wrong proposal type, contact us for assistance.