Paper Submissions
Submissions Deadline
The deadline for submissions has passed.
In addition to the guidelines and instructions below, please read Hints for Successful Submissions and Submissions Evaluation Criteria.
Guidelines for Paper Submissions
Eligible members, are invited to submit ONE original critical essay, creative nonfiction, poetry collection, fiction, or drama/screenplay to be considered for presentation at the annual convention. Essays on any topic of interest in the discipline are welcome; essays on the works of our featured speakers are especially encouraged.
Eligible members, are also invited to submit a second original work in any genre that focuses on the 2014 Common Reader, We the Animals by Justin Torres or the 90th Anniversary Theme of "1924" to be considered for presentation at the annual convention. Read rules: What Individuals Can Submit.
While faculty members may not submit papers, they are encouraged to moderate roundtables and sessions.
Paper submissions must conform to the following guidelines:- Each member in good standing may submit only ONE work for consideration except when the second work submitted is on the Common Reader or "1924."
- Each work must be submitted separately.
- Submissions should not exceed word or time limits. Longer works and very short collections may be disqualified. Single poems that take less than 8 minutes to read will be disqualified.
- Prose submissions should not exceed 2,000 words and should take no longer than 15 minutes to read.
- Poetry submissions should take no fewer than 8 minutes and no more than 15 minutes to present. Poets should expect to present only those poems submitted for consideration.
- Prose or poetry submissions which require fewer than 8 minutes to present will be disqualified.
- Collections of flash fiction may be accepted provided the total length of the collection is 1000-2000 words. The collection should have a title, as well as titles for individual pieces within the collection.
-
All submissions, including poetry, require three keywords. Keywords may be short phrases (e.g., "loss of innocence") but cannot include punctuation. Each keyword must be separated by a comma. Do not use your first or last name as a keyword. The total three-keyword character count must not exceed 100 characters (including commas and spaces).
If your work is clearly connected to the convention theme ("River Current") and would, therefore, be eligible for an award on that theme, you must use the phrase "River Current" as one of your three keywords when you submit your paper. - Acceptance is based on merit, and decisions of the judges are final. There will not be an opportunity for revision.
- Notification of acceptance will be sent on or before December 18, 2013, to the email address listed on the submission form.
- Authors must be present at the convention to read their own papers. Papers will not be read in the author's absence.
- Authors must be available to present anytime between Thursday, February 27 and Saturday, March 1. The only exception would be for students who are unable to present on a particular day for religious reasons. One of the submission questions will require authors to indicate all dates on which he or she is unable to present for religious reasons.
- Works accepted for paper presentation and presented at the convention will automatically be considered for the convention awards available in each category. Authors must present their works at the convention to be eligible for awards.
* Sigma Tau Delta members no longer affiliated with a college or university chapter must be members of the Sigma Tau Delta Alumni Epsilon Chapter to present at the convention.
Paper Format
NOTE: Contributors must not identify themselves in any way on any page of text submitted.
Prose (Critical Essays, Creative, Original Works)
- Documents should use Times New Roman font, 12-point, double-spaced, and 1 inch margins on all sides, and be free of typographical and grammatical errors. Essays must follow the Modern Language Association style guidelines as defined in the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (latest edition). Titles should be no more than four spaces down from the top and centered (avoid bold letters or underlining). Each work (maximum of two if one is on Common Reader) must be submitted as a Word document file (doc or docx).
- Prose manuscripts should not exceed 2,000 words, including in-text citations and footnotes but not counting the Works Cited.
- The submitted body of work (including any introductory comments necessary to contextualize the work) must be presentable within an 8 to 15-minute time slot.
Poetry
- A poetry submission may consist of a collection of poems or one long poem but must take at least 8 minutes but no more than 15 minutes to present, including any introductory comments necessary to contextualize the work.
- A collection of poems must be contained in one Word document file (doc or docx). Create a new page for each poem within the Word document file, provide the title of your collection at the beginning of your document, and use the title of your collection as your file name.
- Formatting for poetry submissions should use a 12-point Times New Roman font and be free of typographical and grammatical errors. Titles for the individual poem(s) should be no more than four spaces down from the top; avoid bold letters or underlining.
- Flash fiction may be submitted in a collection that fits the submission guidelines of using a reading time of no fewer than 8 minutes and no more than 15 minutes, including any necessary introductory or contextual remarks. As with poetry collections, give a name to the collection that will serve as the title for the submission, and start each piece on a new page within the submission.
- To aid the fiction evaluators (judges) recognize that the submission is a collection of separate short works, we suggest that you give a descriptive title. You may also put in a short introduction that makes it clear you are submitting a collection of flash fiction pieces. Also, be sure to use the phrase "flash fiction" as a keyword in the submission process.
Instructions for Paper Submissions
Step 1: Sign In
- The submission link is now closed.
Go to Account Set-Up for details on setting up your account, resetting your password, or changing your account profile information.
- After you have successfully logged on, choose: Submitter Account | Add As Author/Co-Author. Note: Sigma Tau Delta allows only one author.
- Choose: Continue button.
Step 3: Add Submission
- Topic: Select your topic from the pull-down menu. If your paper would fit under 90th Anniversary Theme "1924" and another category, such as 20th/21st Century American Literature or 20th/21st Century British Literature, please choose 90th Anniversary Theme "1924."
Critical Essay- Anglo-Saxon and Medieval British Literature
- 16th/17th Century British Literature
- Restoration and/or 18th Century British Literature
- Romanticism and/or Early 19th Century British Literature
- Victorian and/or Later 19th Century British Literature
- 20th/21st Century British Literature
- Colonial American Literature
- 19th Century American Literature
- 20th/21st Century American Literature
- World Literature
- Popular Culture
- Critical Theory
- Film and Media Study
- Teaching English Language/Lit; Practices/Pedagogy
- Young Adult Literature
Original Fiction
Original Poetry
Creative Nonfiction
Common Reader "We the Animals"
90th Anniversary theme "1924" - Title: Type in the title of your paper. Due to space constraints, any title of more than 50 characters may be abbreviated in the program. You are strongly encouraged to limit your own title accordingly.
- Attach Document: Select your word document. FOLLOW THESE DIRECTIONS CAREFULLY!
- Label your Word document by the full title or an abbreviated title of no more than 50 characters.
- Save your Word document file as a doc or docx on your computer's hard drive. Errors can occur if your file is uploaded from a server or external drive.
- Click the Browse button to select your document.
- Click the Attach button.
- If your document is correctly attached, you will see your document file name listed below the document box.
- Presentation Type: Choose "Convention Paper"
-
Insert Keywords (required): All submissions, including poetry, require three keywords. Keywords may be short phrases (e.g., "loss of innocence") but cannot include punctuation. Each keyword must be separated by a comma. Do not use your first or last name as a keyword. The total three-keyword character count must not exceed 100 characters (including commas and spaces).
Examples:
River Current, We the Animals, censorship
Shakespeare, gender, loss of innocence
Type your keywords directly into the box. Do not cut and paste from other sources (including Microsoft Word and web pages); doing so will create formatting problems and a larger character count, and may result in your submission being rejected.
If your work is clearly connected to the convention theme ("River Current") and would, therefore, be eligible for an award on that theme, you must use the phrase "River Current" as one of your three keywords when you submit your paper. Roundtables related to the convention theme should be designated accordingly under "topics" during submission.
Notes: Keywords SHOULD NOT contain any punctuation including quotation marks, and keywords SHOULD NOT be copy and pasted. Instead, TYPE IN the keywords.
- Other Information (required)
- Membership Type
- Chapter State
- Chapter School
- Academic Level
- Sponsor Name
(If you are an Alumni Epsilon member, type "N/A" in the field.) - Sponsor Email Address
(If you are an Alumni Epsilon member, type "N/A" in the field.)
- Membership Type
- Verify the following statements:
"This is an original work authored by me."
"As instructed, the title of this submission is no more than 50 characters." - Answer the following:
"Would you like to be invited to serve as a session chair at the convention?" (If you reply Yes, you will receive an invitation email in January.) - "Please indicate all dates on which you are unable to present for religious reasons." (Reply by selecting the date and then from pull-down menu Unable to Present.)
Step 4: Review and Save
- Click Continue and review the information for your submission. You may make edits at this time (choose the Edit button). To save edits, click the Accept button at the bottom of the page.
- Click Save Changes to submit.
Additional Submission (on the 2014 Common Reader or the 90th Anniversary Theme "1924")
Repeat the submission process to add a second submission if one of the submissions is on the 2014 Common Reader or "1924." You can also exit and add a second submission at a later date.
- On the first screen next to Submission List select Add.
- Repeat Steps 2 through 4 above.
Questions
Questions regarding the online submission process should be addressed to englishconvention@niu.edu.
Submission Confirmations
Submitters will receive confirmations and acceptances through email using the email address associated with their account. Therefore it is vital that submitters keep their email addresses active through February 2014.
Please check your confirmation and retain it. The confirmation is a do not reply email from outreachhelp@niu.edu. It will include a five digit number that may be used as a reference in future communications with englishconvention@niu.edu.
Acceptance and Denial Notifications
Acceptance and denial notifications will be emailed on or before December 18, 2013.