The ACLA's annual conferences have a distinctive structure in which most papers are grouped into twelve- person seminars that meet two hours per day for the three days of the conference to foster extended discussion. Some eight-person (or smaller) seminars meet just the first two days of the conference. This structure allows each participant to be a full member of one seminar, and to sample other seminars during the remaining time blocks.

Members may only submit one paper proposal per year. Seminar proposers may submit only one seminar proposal per year.

We have two deadlines, one for seminars and the other for individual abstracts. Our submissions page is now live and we are accepting both seminar proposals and individual abstracts. As the seminar proposals come in the program committee will review them, and those approved will appear on the webpage. Seminar proposers need not have a complete roster of potential seminar participants in mind when making a submission, but should design topics which will suit the three-day structure of the conference. Members submitting abstracts may wish to wait until we have posted a number of seminar descriptions online.

When submitting their abstracts, members are invited either to designate a particular seminar, if there is one that seems apt, or to submit an abstract to the general pool. The program committee will direct abstracts submitted to the general pool to appropriate seminar organizers and will also form new seminars based on the submissions received. Even if members have been invited to participate in a particular seminar, they should submit an asbtract online so as to become part of our 2012 conference database. Submitting your abstract to the general pool in no way affects the likelihood of its acceptance, and the committee will make every effort to include as many abstracts as possible.

Previous conference programs that show this pattern are available at the ACLA's annual meeting page.