On behalf of the Writing Innovation Symposium (WIS) steering committee, I would like to share an opportunity for undergrads to participate in WIS ‘26 —with your support and encouragement.
Based on this year’s theme, artifact, we invite undergraduate writers to contribute 2 kinds of recorded audio or audio-visual compositions: 30-second sparks and 3-minute flares.
The due date for undergraduate submissions is November 21, 2025. We are writing now to encourage you to circulate information early to students you mentor or advise. We also hope you’ll consider incorporating either or both genres into your fall teaching plans, whether as regular assignments or as extra credit opportunities. Follow this link to find the prompts we have created—2 for sparks and 2 for flares—plus additional information regarding mediation and accessibility: <https://bit.ly/WIS2026CFP>. Also, you’ll find examples of sparks and flares on our website, which includes digital showcases from WIS ’24 and WIS ’25.
If you have questions or would like to talk with others about WIS ’26 possibilities, plan to attend our Zoom drop-in session on August 18 from 10-11AM CST via this link <https://bit.ly/49v9ZVp>. If you can’t make it or you would like to ask a preliminary question or two, please be in touch. Also, keep an eye out for the full WIS ’26 CFP. It will go live in late August or early September and invite proposals for 5-minute flashtalks and 75-minute workshops, as well as posters, displays, and installations.
For now, we look forward to hearing from you and to including your students in WIS ’26!
Gitte Frandsen, Natalie Taylor
WIS ’26 Sparks and Flares Mentor-Curators
