Terms and Conditions for Conference Proposal Submissions and Registration.

We welcome proposals for papers and panels at all BSECS events, including our online and in-person conferences. Different events may have different themes, formats, and criteria. Information about individual events will be posted on our website at https://www.bsecs.org.uk.

Conferences are complex events and there are many reasons why proposals may or may not be accepted. Conference organisers consider a wide range of factors including the strength of the proposal itself and its relationship with the conference as a whole. It is also rarely possible to include all proposed papers and panels. Organisers may judge a proposal on a variety of criteria, not all of which will apply in every case.

• Criteria on which proposals are judged may include any or all of the following:
  The extent to which the proposal demonstrates academic rigour, originality, and significance;
• The coherence and fluency of the proposal;
• The availability of time and/or space to accommodate the proposed paper or panel;
• Fit with the conference theme, where there is one;
• Fit with other papers and panels (are there enough proposals on a similar enough topic to form a coherent panel or, conversely, is the topic too well represented).

The conference organisers’ decision as to whether or not to accept a proposal is final. BSECS does not provide feedback on its decisions, nor will it enter into any correspondence with proposers about the merits of their proposals.

BSECS will:

• Publish clear deadlines for submission of proposals;
• Consider every proposal received within the published deadline, and consider those proposals in light of the relevant criteria drawn up by the conference organisers;
• Endeavour to make decisions on whether to accept or reject a proposal in a timely manner.

Proposers are required to:

• Become a member of BSECS should their proposal be accepted, and therefore pay the relevant membership subscription at either a full or reduced rate as appropriate, and comply with BSECS’s constitution, which is available on the Society’s website at https://www.bsecs.org.uk;
• Comply with all relevant rules and policies of BSECS (including BSECS’s statement on Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion), which are available on the Society’s website at https://www.bsecs.org.uk;
• Inform event organisers of any changes to their proposals, including withdrawal, in a timely manner;

Unless otherwise set out in law, BSECS accepts no liability to proposers for any losses (including expenditure) incurred by them in the event that BSECS cancels or postpones (in whole or in part) an event (including its online or in-person conferences).

Delegate cancellation and refunds:

If a Delegate alters their booking or cancels any element of their booking, resulting in a full or part refund, the Treasurer will issue the refund by the original method of payment on behalf of British Society for Eighteenth Century Studies.

A full refund can be applied to any cancellations up until 1 December 2025. Cancellations after this date will incur a 100% cancellation fee.