As Sigma Tau Delta approaches its centennial anniversary (1924-2024), its many facets reflect the state of English-related studies: in flux, in transition, flexible, fluid, evolving, tradition and convention absorbing influence and innovation. New subjects, authors and audiences, media, and concern are built upon a foundation of respect for history and the wisdom of predecessors while always in process of revising and renewing them for each succession of students and teachers. The Centennial Convention will be a good time to reflect on the changes in culture and higher education in particular over these decades.
The Sigma Tau Delta 2024 Centennial Convention will be held April 3–6, 2024, at the Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark in St. Louis, MO. Every spring, Sigma Tau Delta holds its annual convention, a unique event that allows hundreds of members and Chapter Advisors from around the United States and beyond to gather in one locale, share experiences and expertise, be recognized for their achievements, and participate in the official proceedings of the Society. The convention also provides opportunities to discover new ideas in English and English-related disciplines, while interacting with speakers, presenters, and texts that members might not otherwise encounter.
How to Participate
Are you planning on attending the Sigma Tau Delta 2024 Convention and Centennial celebration, but are not sure how to participate? The convention organizers have participation roles for every student, alumni, and Chapter Advisor.
Students
- Submit a paper (creative work or critical essay, and/or Common Reader) – due October 23
- Submit a topic for Research in the Round – due October 23
- Organize a roundtable – due October 23
- Organize with other chapter members a Chapter Share, chapter display, and/or chapter merchandise sales – February sign-up
- Volunteer to be a chair – sign up through in submission form or in sign-up survey, which is available between December 13 and January 17
- Volunteer to help with onsite registration check-in – February sign-up
Sigma Tau Delta Alumni
- Submit a paper (creative work or critical essay, and/or Common Reader) – due October 23
- Submit a proposal for an Alumni Professional Development Workshop – Due October 23
- Organize a roundtable – submission deadline is October 23
- Volunteer to be a chair – sign up through in submission form or in sign-up survey, which is available between December 13 and January 17
- Volunteer to help with onsite registration check-in – February sign-up
Chapter Advisors
- Volunteer to evaluate papers in November – complete the survey between September 7 and October 10
- Moderate a paper – sign-up between December 1 and January 17
- Offer to review student work for submission – due October 23
- Help your chapter members organize a roundtable – due October 23
- Help your chapter organize a Chapter Share table, chapter display table, and/or chapter merchandise sales table – sign-up in February
Convention submissions are open now through October 23, 2023, at 5:00 p.m. Central Daylight Time (CDT). Make sure to check out our Hints for Successful Paper Submissions! Please submit using a desktop computer or laptop and be sure to set up your account with an email address you will retain through April 30, 2024.
Transfer Students as Provisional Members
Transfer students eligible for Sigma Tau Delta membership after their first fall semester have the opportunity to submit a paper for convention presentation, participate on a roundtable, or submit a proposal to host a Research in the Round table. Chapter Advisors may approve transfer students to submit a paper for presentation before enrolling the transfer student as an active member who meets residency and GPA requirements at their “new” school. Chapter Advisors may also recommend a transfer student as a roundtable participant by completing the form shown below. If the roundtable is accepted, but the student is not enrolled as an active member by January 17, 2024, the student must forfeit their place on the roundtable.
In order to submit a paper as a Provisional Member, the Chapter Advisor must complete and submit the Convention Submission Request: Provisional Member form by October 23, 2023. If the student’s work is accepted it will be considered provisional. Their place in the program will be secured only if they are enrolled as an active member in Write Away on, or before, Wednesday, January 17, 2024.
Common Reader
Winner of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry, Then the War: And Selected Poems, by Carl Phillips, features new poems and an extended prose sequence, “Among the Trees,” as well as a selection of poetry from a number of Phillips’ earlier books. Both a retrospective and a prospect of his ongoing concerns, Then the War explores the resources of memory, desire, human fears and connections, natural elements as they reflect and resist human purposes, and the ways these and other preoccupations can be expressed in language, song, and silence. One critic aptly describes Phillips’ work as “contemplative, rich, and troubled,” and here we encounter a witty and incisive intelligence questioning the many ways of making meaning in a contrary and contradictory world, as “moment by moment, any life unfurls.”
One of our most celebrated contemporary poets, Carl Phillips teaches at Washington University in St. Louis. His work has been awarded the Academy of American Poets Prize, the Kingsley Tufts Award, the Jackson Poetry Prize, the Pushcart Prize, and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and has twice been a finalist for the National Book Award. Other honors include fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Library of Congress, and the Academy of American Poets, an Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and induction into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In addition to his 16 books of poetry, he has published two collections of critical essays and a translation of Sophocles’s Philoctetes.
Funding
While fundraising is a necessary activity for almost every Sigma Tu Delta chapter—and although attending convention may not be the only (or even primary) use of your fundraising energies—the opportunity to attend and present at the convention can generate renewed enthusiasm and creativity for fundraising. Attendees also return home with exciting new ideas and resources for projects and activities that will bring in money for your chapter next year.
Review the Funding page on the Centennial Convention website for advice from Student Leaders, convention planners, and Chapter Advisors on obtaining funding for convention travel.
Convention Awards
Sigma Tau Delta recognizes excellence by awarding the best convention submissions every year. Nearly $12,000 was awarded at the 2023 Convention Awards Luncheon on Saturday, April 1, 2023, in Denver, CO. The awards offered represent the wide variety of papers presented each year.
Isabel Sparks President’s Awards
Given for the best presentations by active student and alumni members at the Sigma Tau Delta Convention, these awards were established in 1991 by Isabel Sparks, the fifth President of Sigma Tau Delta. Awards are given to both creative and critical papers across all submission categories. Awards are always given for creative and critical papers about the 2024 Common Reader Then the War: And Selected Poems, 2007-2020.
Justin Q. Owen Convention Awards
Each year, these awards recognize critical essays and creative works by active students and alumni writing on the convention theme; this year’s theme is In Flux. The monetary prizes are given in honor of Justin Q. Owen, the first National Secretary of Sigma Tau Delta.
Beth DeMeo Poetry Award
This award is given yearly to honor excellence in convention presentations for “Critical Work on Poetry or a Poet.” Beth DeMeo was an active member of the Sigma Tau Delta organization, having served as a Chapter Advisor, Eastern Regent, and President of Sigma Tau Delta. Over her many dedicated years of service, Beth planned and hosted several annual conventions. Additionally, she continued to serve on committees and always participated in judging convention submissions. In particular, Beth enjoyed being part of the small group who ranked the student submissions that were eligible for convention awards, particularly in poetry. Beth was both a lover of poetry and an accomplished poet herself. It is fitting to celebrate her life and her commitment to our group by presenting this annual convention award in her memory.
Stemmler/Dennis LGBT& Awards
Sigma Tau Deltans Kevin Stemmler and Larry Dennis are sponsoring the Stemmler/Dennis LGBT& Awards to be given annually for outstanding convention work representing or celebrating the LGBT community and its literary contributions. The award acknowledges the variety of voices that have too often been ignored in scholarship and in creative work. In addition to providing representation for our Society’s membership, the award compensates for the historical lack of LGBT recognition, specifically in academic settings.
Other Convention Awards
Sigma Tau Delta values creative and scholarly contributions that represent diversity of abilities, races, and creeds, and we present special awards for the best among these submissions. Sigma Kappa Delta (our sister organization at two-year schools) also rewards excellent submissions by their members.
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