[Sigtaudelt] Sigma Tau Delta Convention News Flash

[Dowdey, Diane]

________________________________________
From: sigmaoffice at niu.edu [sigmaoffice at niu.edu]
Sent: Tuesday, October 18, 2011 7:02 PM
To: Dowdey, Diane
Subject: Sigma Tau Delta Convention News Flash

If this message is not displaying properly, click here<http://www.english.org/sigmatd/news/2011/newsflash_convention_101811.html> to launch your browser.

[http://www.english.org/sigmatd/enews/images/2012ConventionNewsFlashBanner.jpg]

October 18, 2011

Things That Go Bump

In the darkness, just out of your reach, something waits. It has no form. The stars do not touch it, nor the wan light of the moon. The sun hides its face.

Sharp, like a threat, a scent fills your nostrils. There is a sound, too, slow and persistent, like the dragging of something heavy across a buckled wooden floor. Your eyes watering, you try to pierce the shadows, searching out the vague sounds, looking for the source of the odor.

You wonder if this is the smell of fear, of uncertainty. You are hounded, driven toward an inevitable point. You know whatever you find ahead of you is irrevocable. In your mind, the question lingers: Why shouldn’t I be afraid?

You shake your head to clear it; you swipe at the moisture collecting in your lashes. Your shoulders square; your spine pulls you straight, then straighter still. Your foot lifts, pauses only a second before you take your first tentative step.

You prefer the strong sound of that step to the nervous beating of your heart. You lift the second foot, find your stride. Each step echoes companionably now. You are not alone—your resolve has joined you. Together you walk forward, face the spectre looming ahead.

The deadline approaches.

With only two weeks until the November 1 deadline for the Sigma Tau Delta 2012 International Convention, you and hundreds of your fellow members find yourselves sifting promising poems into piles, spreading short story drafts across the kitchen table, ruminating over previous professors' evaluative comments, or possibly saving the newly-pared-down revision of your critical essay (1,998 words, at last!).

Now is the time for all of these necessary activities, of course—but it is also an excellent time to check the guidelines for convention submissions. Consider any new advice we have posted at the www.englishconvention.org<http://www.englishconvention.org> website. Confirm the procedure for selecting and submitting your work. Offer encouraging words to colleagues who have never before been to convention or who are less certain about the submission process. Most of all, collaborate with your Sponsor(s) as you plan ahead for the convention.

This year's convention submission deadline does indeed follow on the heels of Halloween, but with careful planning and attention to guidelines and details, there is absolutely no reason to let that impending date scare you.

 *   Submission Overview<http://www.englishconvention.org/sigmatd/conv/submissions.html>
 *   Preparing to Submit Papers<http://www.englishconvention.org/sigmatd/conv/submission-tips.html>
 *   Paper Submission Guidelines and Instructions<http://www.englishconvention.org/sigmatd/conv/papers.html>


Sent by Sigma Tau Delta, Department of English, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115-2863
E-mail sigmaoffice at niu.edu<mailto:sigmaoffice at niu.edu>      © 2011 Sigma Tau Delta. All rights reserved.


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