The SBL Global Virtual Meeting is back for its second year in 2024! As a meeting designed from the ground up for a virtual environment, it can offer experiences, opportunities, mentoring possibilities, presentation formats, and accessibility that are not possible in an in-person meeting. This means emphasizing the possibilities of both live and asynchronous participation, as well as exploring new modes of participation that differ from those of past SBL meetings.


The call for papers is now open! In order to submit a proposal, you will need to create a new Ex Ordo account, even if you created one last year. If you make more than one proposal, please use the same account that you created with the first. Please see in the information below about the types of proposals being accepted, as they differ slightly from last year. The call for papers will close at 11:59 pm EST on 17 January 2024.

The Requirements for Participation are available.


1–4 April 2024: Live sessions

April– early June 2024: Post-conference availability of recordings and documents to conference registrants


Types of Proposals for Presentations

The proposal structure for the Global Virtual Meeting will be different from other SBL meetings. Proposals will be accepted for individual presentations, poster presentations or pre-planned sessions. The Global Virtual Meeting will not have program units for its inaugural meeting. Instead, proposers can select from some predefined tracks that will be used to organize accepted proposals. A key principle for all proposals and presentations in this meeting is that presenters will be able to use a variety of tools to connect with attendees and showcase their work. In addition to live presentation times in session, the virtual platform with provide opportunities to utilize pre-recorded videos, upload presentations materials, and share full-text papers. The goal is not to create a standard presentation type for the meeting but to provide a variety of experiences and modes of presentation that enable creative academic exchange.

Individual proposals can be on any topic related to biblical studies. Abstracts are limited to 150 words; more details may be included in the "Proposal Description" area if necessary. For presentations of this type, plan on a 12-minute live presentation with some discussion time afterwards. If accepted, you should plan on being ready to upload a presentation document equivalent to a handout in an in-person meeting, and/or a pre-recorded presentation video of 15 minutes or less with your formal presentation in March. You will also be able to upload a full-text paper if you choose.

Poster proposals are proposals for presentations that will be entirely asynchronous. If accepted, the proposal will only be presented via a short poster document and/or a full-text paper. You can also upload a pre-recorded presentation video, but the presentation will not be assigned to a live session. Conversation and feedback will be available through the platform’s online discussion feature.

Pre-planned sessions are your chance to design a full virtual session from the ground up. When proposing a pre-planned session, use the abstract textbox to give a brief description of the session, and in the "Proposal Description" textbox please list the participants and their affiliations. Preference will be given to sessions that creatively explore the possibilities of digital interaction, that actively include diverse groups of participants, and that seek to bring in new voices to conversations. Pre-planned session may be either 90 or 120 minutes in length.

SBL program unit of both the Annual and International Meetings as well as affilaite organizations are especially encouraged to propose pre-planned sessions, but any member may propose one.

Members will be limited to one individual proposal, one poster proposal, and one pre-planned session proposal. Each person may be a formal participant (i.e., a participant listing on the program) in no more than one of each type during the meeting.

Networking Sessions: The Global Virtual Meeting will present the opportunity for networking sessions with opportunities for participants to connect more informally. Proposals for sessions of this type will be accepted starting in February of 2024.

Please note that for any proposal that has more than one author, only one person can be listed as the corresponding author. This corresponding author will be primarily responsible for fielding communication from the organizing team regarding the submission.