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ACLA 2025 FAQs

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  1. Can I present in more than one seminar?
  2. Can I chair one seminar, and present in another?
  3. I can’t access the submitted paper proposals, but my co-organizer can.
  4. How many papers do I need for my seminar?
  5. Help! I don’t have nearly enough papers yet!
  6. Help! I have too many excellent proposals!
  7. I’ve invited some people to participate in my seminar. How do I get their papers entered into the system?
  8. Can I present in my own seminar?
  9. How do I approve papers? Do I have to do any extra write-up?
  10. What if I’ve worked hard to write a great seminar proposal, have collected a bunch of great papers, and then my seminar gets rejected? Will I still have the chance to submit a paper to another seminar?
  11. Someone dropped out of my seminar.  May I replace them?
  12. What constraints are there on my seminar’s makeup?
  13. Do I need an ACLA membership to attend the Annual Meeting?
  14. Do I need an ACLA membership if I am a co-chair of a seminar or co-author of a paper?
  15. Will the 2025 Annual Meeting be in person? Is there a virtual component?

We hope this information helps! We are aware that a number of you will be new to the ACLA system (which is great – we love new participants in our conference!), and that you may have a number of questions and concerns. If this FAQ hasn’t answered those questions, please feel free to write the ACLA at info@acla.org.
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  1. Can I present in more than one seminar?  


    No.  You may only present in one seminar.
     

  2. Can I chair one seminar, and present in another?  


    No. We have hundreds of seminars, thousands of presenters, and only four streams in which to schedule everyone. Allowing for anyone to participate in more than one seminar would make scheduling almost impossible.

  3. I can’t access the submitted paper proposals, but my co-organizer can.  


    Make sure your login on the ACLA website matches the email address submitted for yourself on the seminar proposal. If you have verified that these match and still can’t access paper proposals online, contact info@acla.org.
     
    PLEASE NOTE: a purchased ACLA membership is NOT the same as your login on the ACLA website.  If you have not already done so, you will need to create a login/unique User ID on the ACLA website, such that you can create/access your seminar proposal and any papers submitted to your seminar.
     

  4. How many papers do I need for my seminar?  


    That depends. Seminars can run for either two or three days, depending on how many strong papers you get. The target is 8 papers for a two-day seminar, and 12 for a three-day seminar. We realize that sometimes you get a different number of strong submissions, and need to adjust the numbers slightly, so we have some flexibility on those numbers. A two-day seminar could have between 6-9 papers; a three-day seminar between 10 and 13. This allows for 15-20 minute presentations (shorter if you have 5 papers a day, the maximum we allow), with plenty of time for discussion.
     

  5. Help! I don’t have nearly enough papers yet!  


    Don’t panic: more than half of all papers will arrive on the final day. It happens every year. The number of papers you have early in the process does not necessarily reflect the final total. If you ARE worried about having a low number of submissions, here are some things you can do:
     
    • Promote your seminar. Facebook, Twitter, and other social media are a great way to get people interested in your seminar.
    • Invite scholars.  Most successful ACLA seminars are a mix of invited papers and blind submissions, so if you know of scholars whose work you’d like to see as part of your seminar, write to them directly.
    • Consider merging. If you do not have a minimum of 5 papers submitted to your seminar, you may want to consider a merger with another seminar (keeping in mind that over ½ of submissions that the ACLA receives come in on the final day of submissions).  To review a list of other seminars submitted, take a look at our master seminar list. If you find a seminar with overlapping interests, write the organizers of that seminar and propose a merger. If they agree, get in touch with us at info@acla.org. 
    • And one thing not to do: Don’t accept papers you’re not happy with. Accepting paper proposals of poor quality tends to lead to unsatisfying seminars. Keep working on the first three steps and you will most likely find some great papers.

        

  6. Help! I have too many excellent proposals! 


    Well-crafted seminar proposals on topics that are currently popular can easily attract 40, 50, 60 proposals, sometimes even more. If you’re getting more than enough papers for one full seminar, you can accept the papers you feel align with your seminar, and the ACLA's selections committee will consider splitting the seminar. Bear in mind that there is no guarantee that the seminar will be accepted or split by the selections committee for the Annual Meeting. Think carefully about the strength and coherence of the papers in any seminar you create.
     

  7. I’ve invited some people to participate in my seminar. How do I get their papers entered into the system?  


    They’ll need to submit their own papers themselves by the regular paper submission deadline. This actually saves you work and reduces the chance of error. We ask that you do not email info@acla.org with paper submissions or seminar proposals. Only materials submitted directly through the website will be recorded and reviewed.
     

  8. Can I present in my own seminar?  


    Yes! You don’t have to, if you don’t want to, though. If you do plan to present a paper in your own seminar, remember that you must submit a paper proposal through the system just like everyone else.
     

  9. How do I approve papers? Do I have to do any extra write-up?  


    The paper approval process is designed to be as simple as possible – you’ll just need to click a button on the page for each paper submitted to your seminar. The button will not be enabled until the call for papers deadline to ensure that every paper has a fair chance at selection for your proposed seminar.
     

  10. What if I’ve worked hard to write a great seminar proposal, have collected a bunch of great papers, and then my seminar gets rejected? Will I still have the chance to submit a paper to another seminar?  


    No. Seminar submissions are final, but you will have the opportunity to submit your proposal to next year's Annual Meeting, and you are welcome to attend the 2025 conference.
     

  11. Someone dropped out of my seminar.  May I replace them? 


    Not after the deadline for submission of your seminar slate. Once ACLA’s committee has reviewed each seminar application and the papers contained in it, there will no longer be any possibility to add other papers to your seminar.
     

  12. What constraints are there on my seminar’s makeup? 


    No seminar may have more than two participants from the same institution. All seminars should aim at a balance of scholars at different stages of the profession, including having up to, but no more than, 50% participation by graduate students. The ACLA’s selection committee will review both of these factors when deciding on whether a seminar will be included or not.
     

  13. Do I need an ACLA membership to attend the Annual Meeting?


    All seminar organizers and presenters must be current in their ACLA memberships. Attendees who are not presenting in the conference or chairing a seminar are not required to be members.

  14. Do I need an ACLA membership if I am a co-chair of a seminar or co-author of a paper?


    Yes, all Annual Meeting participants (seminar organizers and presenters) must be ACLA members.​

  15. Will the 2025 Annual Meeting be in person?

The 2025 ACLA Conference will be held virtually. Please visit acla.org/annual-meeting for current information about accessing this year's conference.