Ready to present at a conference but not sure what conference to attend? Below is a list of notable academic conference in the English and Humanities field. As graduate students, we have to plan in advance so the conferences are listed by the month in which they occur and also lists when the Call for Papers is typically due. (Click on conference name to visit corresponding website.)
Although we are all in the English department, we have different concentrations. For that reason, each conference listing has a concentration notation. See key below. However, don’t feel limited by your concentration or this list! Happy presenting!
- CD = Cross-Disciplinary
- CW = Creative Writing
- LS = Literature Studies
- RC = Rhetoric and Composition
- WS = Writing Studio
All-Year Submissions/Resources
Conference/Resource Name | Additional Information | Concentration |
Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference Directory | Searchable conference database | CW |
Calls for Paper |
This website is provided and maintained by the Department of English at the University of Pennsylvania Website provides calls for conferences and publications |
CD |
The American Literature Association (ALA) |
Resource lists conferences and symposiums associated with ALA CFP Due all Year |
LS |
Writer’s Conferences | Wikipedia entry lists conferences located in United States for authors and writers | CW |
January Conferences
Conference Name | Call for Paper Due | Concentration |
Modern Language Association Convention (MLA) | February | CD |
New Voices Graduate Student Conference | November | CD |
February Conferences
Conference Name | Call for Paper Due | Concentration |
Southeastern Writing Center Association Conference (SWCA) | October | WS |
March Conferences
Conference Name | Call for Paper Due | Concentration |
American Association for Applied Linguistics | CD | |
Association of Teachers of Technical Writing (ATTW) | WS | |
College English Association (CEA) | November | CD |
Convention of the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) | May | RC |
International Writing Centers Association (IWCA) Collaborative @ CCCCs | November | WS |
Popular Culture Association /American Culture Association National Conference | October | CD |
Southeastern Women’s Studies Association | CD | |
Sigma Tau Delta International Convention | December | CW/LS |
Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (TESOL) | June | CD |
April Conferences
Conference Name | Call for Paper Due | Concentration |
Association of Writers and Writing Programs | May | CW |
May Conferences
Conference Name | Call for Paper Due | Concentration |
American Society for the History of Rhetoric (ASHR) Symposium | September | RC |
Rhetoric Society of America (RSA) (Held Biennially) | July | RC |
The American Literature Association Annual Conference | January | LS |
July Conferences
Conference Name | Call for Paper Due | Concentration |
Conference of the Council of Writing Program Administrators (CWPA) | March | WS |
International Society for the History of Rhetoric (ISHA) (Held Biennially) | May (year before conference) | RC |
September Conferences
Conference Name | Call for Paper Due | Concentration |
Western Literature Association | June | LS |
October Conferences
Conference Name | Call for Paper Due | Concentration |
Feminisms and Rhetorics (Held Biennially) | RC | |
International Writing Centers Association (IWCA) | April | WS |
National Conference of Peer Tutors of Writing (NCPTW) | April | WS |
Popular Culture Association /American Culture Association in the South | June | CD |
Thomas R. Watson Conference on Rhetoric (Held Biennially in Louisville, KY) | March | RC |
Society for the Study of the American Short Story (SSASS) ALA Symposium | July | CW/LS |
Western States Rhetoric and Literacy Conference(WSRL) | March | RC/LS |
November Conferences
Conference Name | Call for Paper Due | Concentration |
Convention of the National Conference of Teachers in English | January | CD |
National Communication Association (NCA) | January | RC |
National Women’s Studies Association | February | CD |
South Atlantic Modern Language Association (SAMLA) (Held annually/ Located in ATL every other year) | June | CD |