Call for Posters & Speakers

The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry is delighted to announce our Call for Posters & Speakers. Selected applicants will have the opportunity to present a poster at Thursday’s Poster Session or a talk at Sunday’s Skeptical Spotlight Session during CSICon 2027. The conference will be held at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel in Philadelphia, PA, from July 15–18, 2027.

The Poster Session on Thursday offers academics, activists, and organizations an opportunity to highlight their important skeptical work while engaging with other presenters and attendees.

The Skeptical Spotlight Session on Sunday aims to recognize new voices and new ideas. (Note: in previous years, these sessions were called the Sunday Morning Papers Session and the Sunday Speakers Session.)

If you have had success in communicating scientific skepticism, combating pseudoscience, or furthering the mission of CSI in a significant way, we encourage you to submit a proposal.

All submissions for the Skeptical Spotlight Session will also be considered for Thursday’s Poster Session.

  • Deadline for proposal submission: November 27, 2026.
  • After initial selection is completed, request for further documentation: December 11, 2026. (For the Skeptical Spotlight Only.)
  • Deadline for draft presentation and dry-run recording submission: January 1, 2027. (For the Skeptical Spotlight Only.)
  • After final selection is completed, invitations will be issued: January 22, 2027.
  • Deadline for accepting invitation (you must register for the conference prior to accepting the invitation): January 29, 2027.

Please email your proposal in MS Word or pdf format to either:

  1. For the Poster Session, submit to shupp@centerforinquiry.org (use the subject line “Poster Proposal”).
  2. For the Skeptical Spotlight Session, submit to CSIConPapers@gmail.com (use the subject line “Skeptical Spotlight Proposal”).

Include the following information in the email:

  • Full name
  • Your bio (one paragraph)
  • Email address
  • Phone number
  • Presentation title
  • Abstract: Provide a concise summary of your proposed poster or presentation in at least 150 words; you may use bullet points. A description of how the topic is relevant to the CSI mission must be included. (Submissions written by artificial intelligence will be rejected.)
  • References: Provide any relevant references related to the material in your presentation along with the associated weblinks if available.

Note that Poster Session presenters and Skeptical Spotlight Session speakers are responsible for paying for their own CSICon attendance. CSI greatly appreciates your willingness to participate in the conference; however, we cannot fund any part of your travel, lodging, or conference registration.

More Information about the Posters
Poster sessions will last about 45–60 minutes. Poster presenters will stand beside their posters to discuss the content with conference attendees. The ideal poster size is 36 x 48 inches; they can be smaller but not larger.

More Information about the Skeptical Spotlight Speaking Process

If your proposal survives the initial selection process, you will be asked to submit a draft of your presentation slides, as well as a video recording of you doing a dry-run of your talk within the allotted time. Following the final selection process (which may include a virtual interview), an invitation to participate in Sunday’s Skeptical Spotlight Session will be extended to as many as six applicants. Those who accept the invitation will each be allocated 10 minutes on the CSICon stage for their talk.

Appropriate topics are those that support the mission of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and reflect the type of material typically published inSkeptical Inquirer. TheCSICon Wikipedia page has a section on past Sunday Morning Papers Sessions (the previous name of the Skeptical Spotlight), including a list of past topics.

There are two Skeptical Inquirer articles available online concerning previous CSICon Sunday Morning Papers sessions that may be helpful to review prior to submitting a proposal:

  • “So, You Want to Speak at CSICon?This article describes a successful experience applying for the CSICon 2019 Sunday Morning Papers session. Note that some of the details of the 2019 application process have been changed, including removal of the requirement to submit a publishable article.
  • The CSICon 2022 Sunday Papers: Learn About All Six Right Here.” This article documents all six of the 2022 Sunday Morning Papers session talks and includes an introduction penned by each speaker, as well as links to video recreations of all six talks.

Also, examples of past Sunday Morning Papers Session talks recorded by conference attendees can be found here:

If you have questions—including about the suitability of a topic, the proposal submission instructions, or conference details and expenses—feel free to write us at CSIConPapers@gmail.com.