Registration is now open online for the SOF’s 2023 Conference in New Orleans Nov. 9 to 12.
Rates have been kept at the same level as the 2022 conference in Ashland thanks to a special grant from a Louisiana-based foundation. SOF sincerely thanks that foundation and urges all members to book early for lowest costs.
This year’s conference fee will include a guided city tour of New Orleans and a two-hour jazz dinner cruise on the Mississippi on Thursday as well as lunches on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. There will be as many as 20 original presentations and panels during the jam-packed conference. Free refreshments will be available during the breaks. Authors are being encouraged to bring or send their books.
Early registration for members will remain at $250 per person if booked October 1 or earlier. Non-members will pay $275.
Special daily rates are also available as are “mate rates” for the day of November 9 which includes the city tour and dinner cruise. Daily rates range from $20 to $99.
For those unable to attend in person, all presentation sessions will also be livestreamed and will be available through the SOF website for $99 (livestream registration is coming this spring).
To protect those who book early, full refunds will be made to anyone who needs to cancel a registration on or before 1 October (the date we need to confirm numbers with NOLA people). For anyone seeking a refund between 2 October and 2 November, all but $99 will be refunded with the remainder of the fee turned into a livestream registration.
Conference presentations will begin at 1 p.m. on Thursday Nov. 9 and continue until 3:30 that day. At 4 the group will board chartered buses for a city tour which will conclude at the city dock at about 6:30. We will then board the paddle wheeler Creole Queen which will set off at 7 pm on a two-hour Mississippi River cruise. The cruise will feature a jazz band and an old-fashioned New Orleans Creole buffet dinner. Following the cruise, buses will return to the hotels.
The conference will continue on Friday from about 9:30 to 5:30.
On Saturday, the annual general meeting of the SOF will be held from 9 to 10:15 with the conference resuming at 10:30 and going until 5:30.
Final presentations will be made on Sunday from 9:30 to 12:30. The conference will conclude with an awards banquet at the hotel from 12:30 to 2.
The conference will take place at the Hyatt Centric Hotel in the French Quarter. Special rates have been arranged at both the Hyatt ($220-$240 per night) and at the nearby Homewood Suites ($149 per night) which is also in the Quarter, about five streets away.
A limited number of rooms have been reserved at both hotels for Nov. 9, 10 and 11. The same rates will be offered for one or two nights prior to Nov. 9 and after Nov. 11 if rooms are available. If you cannot get the additional nights, try booking just the three core nights at the special rates and let Conference Director Don Rubin know what nights you would like to add. Alternatively, you can try the other hotel which might be available. Learn more about lodging options.
Visit our 2023 conference page for full details and to register. We look forward to seeing you in New Orleans!
