This is the Early September 2026 MAPACA Newsletter. Our next Annual Conference is November 5-7 in Baltimore, MD.

In this newsletter, we have:

• 2026 Annual Conference Early Registration closes 9/10 and hotel information

• 2026 Loretta Lorance Volunteer Recognition Award honoree - Melinda Lewis

• Last call for proposals for our High-Density Popular Culture Crash Course

2026 MAPACA Annual Conference Early Registration closes 9/10 and hotel information

The MAPACA 2026 Annual Conference will be held November 5-7 at the Lord Baltimore Hotel in Baltimore, MD. Reserve your room here! The base rate for hotel rooms through the MAPACA block is $179 per night plus additional taxes and fees (subject to change without notice).

Early registration for this year’s conference is now open at mapaca.net! With Early Registration, you can take advantage of the year's lowest registration rates. Early Registration ends September 10, and Regular Registration begins September 11. Registration rates will increase then, so register now and save! Please note the rates for Early, Regular, and Late Registration periods and for Regular Registration for full-time, salaried positions and Reduced Registration for part-time faculty, adjunct/retired faculty, students, and independent scholars.

Registration dates and rates:

• Early registration now through September 10:

  Regular $229/Reduced $188

• Regular registration September 11 through September 30:

  Regular $265/Reduced $215

• Late Registration October 1 through 15:

  Regular $345/Reduced $240

2026 Loretta Lorance Volunteer Recognition Award honoree - Melinda Lewis

We are excited to announce that the recipient of the 2026 Loretta Lorance Volunteer Recognition Award is Melinda Lewis! The Lorance Award is granted to a conference participant who has contributed to the growth and success of the Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association through service and leadership.

Melinda Maureen Lewis is the Director of Strategy and Communications for Pennoni Honors College at Drexel University. She was recruited by Jordan McClain and Colin Helb, both officers of MAPACA and fierce advocates for the organization. Her first MAPACA conference was in Baltimore in 2014, and while it was primarily to get a glimpse of her cinematic hero, John Waters, she was taken in by the community and incredible work of presenters. For the next decade, she continued to be part of that cultivation, as an advisory board member, secretary, and area chair. While she is no longer a practicing academic, she is still an avid consumer of popular culture and bothers her friends with discourse. She is astonished and humbled to be the recipient of this award and be amongst a list of people she admires greatly. 

Last call for proposals for our High-Density Popular Culture Crash Course

MAPACA seeks proposals for a special session at the 2026  annual conference.

Please note: You ARE ALLOWED to present at the Crash Course whether you are already presenting at our 2026 conference or not. As long as you register for the conference and your proposal is accepted, you are welcome!

Panel Overview

This high-density session will feature several 5-minute micro-presentations about current popular culture topics in a “crash course” about new and interesting phenomena. Since many attendees often spend the majority of their conference time attending presentations related to only one or a few areas, this special session will offer a chance to learn about a diverse range of topics meant to inform popular culture scholars beyond their specific research interests. Proposals will be selected based on merit and diversity of topics.

Topics

An ideal topic will be: current, significant, interesting, and the sort of thing people talk about before class/at parties/on social media.

Examples could include (but are not limited to):

• The World Cup and international fans as tourists

• The End of Doctor Who...again

• Prediction markets and pop culture

• Netflix and the Second Season Problem

• Adaptations, from the classics of Frankenstein and “Wuthering Heights” to the instant purchase of the rights to Yesteryear by Anne Hathaway.

• Episodic TV and Love Island

How to Submit

Email a brief biography and a 75-word proposal that includes a presentation title, explanation of the topic, and identification of significance for contemporary popular culture research. Please include this information in the body of your email, not as an attachment. Email Dr. Tom Grochowski at [email protected]. The deadline is September 9, 2026.

Important Dates

• September 9: Crash Course submission deadline

• September 10: Annual Conference Early Registration Ends

• November 5-7: 2026 MAPACA Annual Conference in Baltimore, MD