Call for Proposals
The Margaret Walker Center invites proposals for papers, presentations, and panels for the 20th Annual Creative Arts & Scholarly Engagement (CASE) Festival, scheduled for Friday and Saturday, April 10 & 11, 2026. The CASE Festival will feature a keynote address by Dr. Evie Shockley, Director of Creative Writing and Writers and the Zora Neale Hurston Distinguished Professor of English at Rutgers University, New Brunswick.
Proposals must be submitted by Friday, March 6, 2026.
The 2026 CASE Festival theme will be the “Black Experience in the American South,” but the organizers welcome proposals from high school, undergraduate, and graduate students on any topic.
Proposal submissions should be 250 words, include a title and name of the participant’s school, and should fit in one of four categories:
- Poetry/Spoken Word (10-15-minute presentations in original storytelling or poetry, including brief comments about inspiration &/or form of the work)
- Visual Arts (up to 3 pieces of artwork in any media with 10-minute presentations)
- Written (8- to 10-page essays with 20-minute presentations)
- Performing Arts (10-minute dance, musical, and theatrical presentations)
In the case of panel proposals, please submit the names of the participants, a brief synopsis of the panel’s topic, and summaries of individual paper or presentation proposals. To submit a proposal, please complete our online form or send a document in Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF to mwa@jsums.edu.
For more information, contact the Margaret Walker Center (mwa@jsums.edu or 601-979-3935) or the Conference Coordinator, Dr. Robert Luckett (robert.luckett@jsums.edu).
Note that the best essay by a JSU student on the “Black experience in the American South” will receive the $1,000 Margaret Walker Annual Award. Submissions for the Margaret Walker Annual Award can be in various forms, including literary analysis, creative writing, research paper, biographical study, autobiography, and historical study. JSU students who would like to be considered for this award must submit their 8- to 10-page essays by Tuesday, March 31.
We will also present the annual $500 Doris Derby Visual Arts and Social Justice Award to a student at any level from any institution whose contribution best reflects this year’s CASE Festival theme in the category of visual arts, including painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, and crafts. Students
must drop off their artwork to the JSU Art Department in Johnson Hall by Tuesday, March 31.
In order to win either award, students must present their written or visual pieces at the CASE Festival and attend the closing awards ceremony, where all winners will be announced.