Call for Proposals: 2028 & 2031 Conferences
To prepare for the first two non-Florida conferences (2028 and 2031), we are now inviting letters of application from members interested in serving as Associate Conference Directors (i.e. local hosts) for these conferences.
Following a version of the model used by the Science Fiction Research Association (SFRA), these local hosts will take responsibility for securing and coordinating the conference venue, hotel accommodations, catering, and local logistics in close coordination with the IAFA Conference Director. The IAFA will continue to manage registration, paper submissions and acceptances, and creative guest invitations. The local host and IAFA leadership will work together on conference themes, Guest of Honor invitations, and Guest Scholar invitations.
We strongly encourage proposals from those who already have prior experience hosting conferences at their proposed venues. Our priority will be to select locations that enable the greatest possibilities for affordability and accessibility for conference attendees. We are open to proposals for US and non-US locations. Our in-person conference usually occurs in March, but we are open to proposals for other times of year, especially if this would allow greater options for affordability, accessibility, and online/remote participation.
If you are interested in submitting a location proposal and serving as a local host, please reach out to the IAFA President David Higgins (Fantasticarts.president@gmail.com) and Conference Director Jim Casey (iafa.confchair@gmail.com) with a letter of interest describing your proposed conference location and your prior experience hosting a conference in this locale.
Feel free to reach out to start a conversation at any point; if you’re interested in hosting, we’d love to speak with you. After we meet with you to discuss possibilities, we’ll then help you prepare a formal proposal for review by the IAFA executive board.
Review of letters of interest will begin immediately and continue until memorandums of understanding are signed with local hosts for the 2028 and 2031 conferences. Our optimum deadline for letters of interest is December 31, 2025
