Submissions and Programme

Note: Presenter scheduling requests must be emailed to scientificstudy.reading@gmail.com no later than May 8. Scheduling requests can only be guaranteed for the following reasons: health or religious exemptions, caregiving duties, or approved travel constraints. Other reasons will not be considered. Due to the scope and size of the conference, any scheduling requests submitted after this date are not guaranteed.

ExOrdo Author Submission Guidelines

• The deadline to submit abstract proposals was Nov 3 at 11:59 PM (PST)
• For presentation formats and requirements, please continue reading the Call for Papers below.

Thirty-Third Annual Meeting

Society for the Scientific Study of Reading

15 - 18 July, 2026

Welcome Reception and Preconference: July 15, 2026

Rotterdam, Netherlands

Conference chair: Jan Frijters

Local organizing committee: Roel van Steensel & Hilde Van Keer

Conference program committee: Jans Frijters, Lindsay Harris, and Mads Poulsen

The 2026 annual conference will be an in-person conference held at the Postillion Hotel & Convention Centre WTC Rotterdam in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Details about registration, schedule, and other information will be added to the conference website over the next few weeks and months.

Important: Please note that all deadlines listed in this document end at Pacific Time, North America.

Proposal Submission Information and Presentation Formats 

Following last year's practice, a single deadline has been set for all proposal submissions: symposia, spoken papers, and interactive papers (posters).

• Proposal Submission deadline (for all formats) is November 3, 2025. We will not be accepting late submissions under any circumstances.
•  Decisions will be notified no later than January 16, 2026. 

Symposia (250 words max.)

A symposium provides an opportunity to examine one topic in depth or from different perspectives. 

• Each symposium consists of 5 presentation slots that are 20 minutes in length for a total of 100 minutes. 
• Symposium sessions are directed by one chair, with 5 spoken papers or 4 spoken papers and 1 discussant. 
• The organizer of the symposium is expected to be the chair. 
• Presenters should represent different laboratories and an international mix of contributors is encouraged.

Spoken Papers (250 words max.)

• The paper sessions comprise 15-minute oral presentations of 5 papers, each followed by 5 minutes for audience discussion. 
• These papers should be submitted individually, and the program committee will organize them into topically coherent sessions, depending on the number of symposia and available space.

Interactive Papers (Posters) (250 words max.)

An interactive paper (poster) includes text + graphic display of research findings.

• Designed to encourage in-depth, informal discussion
• Excellent opportunity for both senior and early-career researchers

Policy on Presenting at SSSR

• The first author on a paper or poster is the presenting author (and should also be the corresponding author in the online submission system). 
• Attendees can be the first/presenting author on one spoken or interactive paper only. The exception to this policy is the case of discussants in symposia; a discussant may submit an abstract for a spoken or interactive paper in addition to appearing as symposium discussant. 
• Failure of the first author of any submission or the chair of a symposium to register for the conference by April 25, 2026, will result in the automatic removal of their submission from the program.
• Full conference attendance is expected of all presenting delegates. Presenters acknowledge this commitment upon registration; individual scheduling requests will not be granted. Exceptions are limited to documented health or religious obligations. 

Can’t Attend?

When the first/presenting author of a submission accepted for the conference cannot attend the meeting, they have three options: 

1. Transfer Authorship
   1. Allow a coauthor to present and be moved to first author position on the program. In this case, the original first author will not have to register for the conference. 
2. Retain Authorship; Delegate Presentation
   1. The first author may remain listed in the program while assigning presentation duties to a coauthor or knowledgeable colleague.
   2. Under this arrangement, both the first author and the presenter must register.
   3. The program listing will remain unchanged.
3. Withdraw the submission.
   1. The submission may be withdrawn entirely if presentation arrangements cannot be made.

The rule that attendees can be the first/presenting author on one spoken or interactive paper only still applies.

Selecting Proposals

All proposals undergo peer review for consideration in the program. Preference will be given to high-quality proposals by SSSR members. If space is available, similar quality proposals from non-members may also be accepted. We encourage those who submit spoken papers and symposium papers to agree to present in a different format if necessary.

Submission Process

We will be using the submission system run by Ex Ordo. The site will go live by October 1, 2025. Details on the submission process will be uploaded to the website in the next few days. Submissions that fail to follow guidelines may not be reviewed

Contact Us

If you have any questions, please email Queries SSSR at scientificstudy.reading@gmail.com.