STD 2026: 2026 Annual Meeting of the Society for Text and Discourse Dubois Center at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte Charlotte, NC, United States, July 29-31, 2026 |
| Submission link | https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=std2026 |
| Submission deadline | February 1, 2026 |
2026 Annual Meeting of the Society for Text & Discourse
The Society for Text & Discourse is proud to announce its 2026 annual meeting to be held July 29-31, 2026 at the Dubois Center at UNC Charlotte Center City campus (320 E 9th St, Charlotte, NC 28202). The Dubois Center offers state-of-the-art facilities and panoramic views of the city’s skyline. It’s conveniently located right in the heart of Uptown Charlotte, within walking distance of hotels, restaurants, museums, and other cultural attractions. We invite the submission of proposals for individual papers and posters to present original research on text and discourse processing, representation, and analysis.
The Society for Text & Discourse is an international society of researchers who investigate all aspects of text and discourse. The purpose of the Society is to foster and promote excellence in research, enhance communication among researchers in different disciplines, and contribute to the education and professional development of those in the field or entering the field. For researchers who are new to the Society, the range of topics that are generally presented at the conference can be seen by looking at past programs: https://www.societyfortextanddiscourse.org/past-conferences/
The conference will feature in-person presentations and poster sessions. In addition, we intend to support a limited number of remote synchronous talks for presenters who require that format. We also plan to accommodate remote attendance for most spoken presentations and an asynchronous virtual poster session for members unable to travel, consistent with previous years.
As part of the program, the conference will feature plenary addresses by Jeff Greene (UNC Chapel Hill), Tom Trabasso Young Investigator Award honoree, Nia Nixon (UC Irvine), and the Distinguished Scientific Award honoree (to be announced).
**The submission page will open on November 1, 2025. The submission deadline will be February 1st, 2026**
Presentation Formats and Submission Options
ST&D 2026 submission options include the following:
- Spoken Presentations: Presented in person
- Poster Presentations: Presented in person
- Remote Spoken Presentations: Delivered synchronously via video conference
- Remote Poster Presentations: Presented in an asynchronous virtual session
In addition to in-person presentations, we intend to support a limited number of remote synchronous talks. Presenters of remote spoken presentations will either deliver their talk live via video conference or provide a prerecorded video to be played during their session, followed by a live Q&A.
Presenters of remote poster sessions will upload a short “elevator pitch” video summarizing their work. These posters will be hosted on a shared online platform (e.g., Padlet), where attendees can view and engage with them asynchronously through comments and discussion.
We also anticipate offering remote attendance for most spoken sessions. Attendees unable to travel will be able to follow a selection of presentations via live streaming (e.g., Z.o.o.m.).
Registration will be required for all attendance formats (in person and remote).
Proposals for all of the above are due by February 1, 2026 via EasyChair: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=std2026
Call for Symposia or Discussions
Proposals for special sessions should include a set of in-person presentations or suggestion of a topic for a panel or roundtable discussion on a predetermined theme or issues important to the Society.
Proposals or suggestions for special sessions (title, short description, list of potential contributors) should be submitted by email to std2026 @ easychair.org by January 2, 2026. Proposals should include an overarching summary (up to 500 words) that articulates how the papers cohere around a central theme, along with individual abstracts of up to 250 words for each paper. The Program Committee will provide feedback by mid-January, in time to submit finalized proposals through the submission portal.
Submission Format for Spoken, Poster, and Remote Presentations
When submitting in EasyChair, authors will be prompted to enter or indicate:
- Author information (Name, Affiliation, Country and Email addresses for all authors)
- Presentation Title (Maximum length 255 characters)
- A 75-word abstract (To appear in the program)
- Keywords (A list of at least three)
- Submission preference (1. In person - Spoken if available, 2. In person - Poster only, 3. Remote - Synchronous if available, 4. Remote - Asynchronous only)
- Award eligibility
In addition, authors will be prompted to upload a pdf file containing:
- A 1200-word structured summary of the presentation with the title
- A reference section (not included in word count)
The summary should have a title but no author information. It should contain basic sections including a short theoretical introduction/framework, methodological overview (describing quantitative, qualitative, or mixed approach), key findings, and a brief discussion. The summary will be submitted as a pdf file and should be saved using a generic name (e.g. summary.pdf) and not author names. Proposals that exceed the length specified will not be reviewed.
Submission-based Awards
Each year, the Society for Text & Discourse recognizes excellence in research for projects primarily conducted by recent doctorates, doctoral candidates, and graduate students, or projects conducted by or significantly supported by undergraduate students. To be eligible for consideration for one of these awards, submitters must indicate the award eligibility during submission. Projects may only be considered for a single award category. Eligible proposals will first be evaluated for quality by the Program Review Committee, and the highest reviewed proposals will then be sent to the ST&D Awards Committee for final consideration. Award finalists may be asked to submit additional information regarding their submission. As a final step, dissertation advisors and/or research supervisors will be contacted by the Awards Committee to ensure that finalists have met all qualifications for the award. Recipients of each award receive a certificate and a $150 award check.
- Jason Albrecht Outstanding Young Scientist Award: The Jason Albrecht Outstanding Young Scientist Award (JAOYSA) honors the memory of Jason Albrecht, a promising young text and discourse researcher who passed away in 1997. This award recognizes an outstanding conference presentation based on a doctoral dissertation. A submission is eligible for the Albrecht award if it is based on work from a dissertation, and the defense date of that dissertation falls between July 7, 2025 and July 28, 2026. Eligible candidates will be asked by the award committee to submit a copy of their dissertation for consideration that the work is the student’s intellectual contribution.
- Graduate Student Research Award: This award recognizes quality in predissertation work that is predominately that of a graduate student. Accordingly, the graduate student must be first author on the conference presentation. For multi-author papers, eligible candidates will be asked to submit a statement with a summary of the contribution of each author to the project.
- Undergraduate Student Research Award: This award recognizes quality in work that is predominately that of an undergraduate student. Accordingly, the undergraduate student must be first author on the conference presentation. For multi-author papers, eligible candidates will be asked to submit a statement with a summary of the contribution of each author to the project.
- Equity and Diversity in Text and Discourse Travel Award: The purpose of the Equity and Diversity in Text and Discourse Award is to promote diversity within the Society for Text and Discourse by supporting research on text and discourse related to diversity as well as research by individuals from underrepresented groups. See here for details.
See here for a list of past award winners
Walter Kintsch Travel Awards
Awards will be made available to support student travel. Applications will be solicited after the submission deadline to all student presenters. All students will be eligible to apply. Priority is typically given to students who are presenting, and students without sufficient funding from other sources.
Conference Registration Rates
ST&D is committed to making the 2026 conference accessible to all members. Registration rates will be forthcoming, however current ST&D members will receive a significant discount. Click here to become a member of ST&D
Conference registration rates will be announced when the program is released in the spring of 2026. Links to the registration system and the program will be posted on the conference website, http://www.societyfortextanddiscourse.org/std-2026/. Members and corresponding authors on submissions will receive a notice directly.
ST&D 2026 Conference Organizing Committee
- Alexia Galati (Chair), UNC Charlotte
- Doug Markant, UNC Charlotte
- Kelly Cartwright, UNC Charlotte
- Ralf Thiede, UNC Charlotte
- Kathryn McCarthy, Georgia State University
Additional Information
Questions about ST&D 2026, this call for papers, submissions, or the submission process should be emailed to std2026 @ easychair.org
For more information on the 2026 Annual Meeting, please see http://www.societyfortextanddiscourse.org/std-2026. The website will be updated soon with additional details, including information on accommodations and travel. The conference venue is located in the heart of Uptown Charlotte near a major international airport and within walking distance of hotels, restaurants, museums, and other cultural attractions.