From Dr. Douglas (Doug) A. Van Belle
Academic Track Chair, LAcon V
The Academic Track is a multi-disciplinary stream of academic programming, part of the annual Worldcon experience. It provides an unparalleled opportunity to engage both a diverse group of scholars from the humanities, social sciences, sciences, and adjacent disciplines, and a large, highly educated, and well-informed public audience. All areas of research related to science fiction, fantasy, gaming, and horror – across all mediums – are welcome, and please do not hesitate to use this opportunity to indulge in a flight of academic fancy or to explore something outside the box.
It is expected that participants in the Academic Track will give a 30-minute oral (inclusive of Q&A) and slide presentation, and all Academic Track participants will be invited to participate in the scheduled poster session(s). Virtual presentations will be possible and poster-only participation will be accommodated for persons who cannot present in person.
Audiences of over 100 people are typical for academic presentations and the poster presentations are particularly popular with attendees. In addition to at least one scheduled poster session event, posters will be displayed in a dedicated lounge area near the presentation room, giving conference attendees the chance to see all of the academic topics in one place. There are also many other opportunities to showcase research and your interest across the other tracks as part of the incredibly diverse program.
Springer Nature will publish a peer-reviewed, selected proceedings from the Academic Track. All persons participating in the Academic Track, including Virtual and Poster-only participants, will be eligible to submit a paper for potential inclusion in this volume. These papers, ready for review, need to be submitted by 15 September 2026.
All scholars are welcome to submit, whether formally affiliated with a university or operating as an independent scholar. We also strongly encourage scholars from minority backgrounds to submit, including scholars from outside the Anglosphere. To be considered for inclusion in the Academic Track, please submit a full title, program title of less than 10 words, an abstract (150 words maximum), a brief statement of your academic qualifications (100 words maximum), and a comment on other areas where you might like to participate in the con. These should be sent to program-academic@lacon.org
At the time of submission, you will also need to fill out the LAcon V Program Participant Survey. It is essential that you do this as no participants will be accepted if they have not done so in advance. The first time you access Planorama for LAcon V, you will need to click the “Create account” button at the bottom of the login page. This account will be different from any other LAcon V accounts and registrations you may have.
When filling out this survey, in addition to noting academic track, you are encouraged to offer to participate broadly across the program, as might suit your expertise, skills, experiences, and interests.
Deadlines
28 February 2026 for an acceptance decision before 31 March 2026.
Late proposals for a presentation slot will be considered on a space-available basis, with proposals arriving after April 1 2026 unlikely to be considered for a presentation.
Poster only proposals will be accepted until 1 July 2026.
Any questions about the Academic Track, submission process, or proposals should be directed to program-academic@lacon.org
