2026 Conference: Additional Information

In addition to subsidised conference rates, the Society offers support towards reasonable travel costs for students giving a paper or presenting a poster at the conference. Before applying, students should first seek financial support from their institution and/or funding body. Applications for funding not exceeding £120 should be addressed to the Conference Officer, Dr Kate Foster, at conference@sfs.ac.uk, using the subject line ‘[SURNAME]: SFS travel grant application’ by Friday 17^th April. Applications should include a breakdown of the costs and confirmation from the student that they do not have other sources of funding for their travel. Successful applicants will be required to send travel receipts to the Society for reimbursement, which will be processed following the conference.

Please note that if travel costs are less than £120, the Society will only reimburse the amount of travel costs actually incurred.

The Society will not be offering accommodation packages for this year’s annual conference. We have however been able to secure preferential rates for delegates at several local hotels, which are available from Sunday 28^th to Tuesday 30^thJune. Discounted rooms are limited and sold on a first-come, first-served basis, so please book early to avoid disappointment. Please note that hotels operate their own cancellation policies, and that SFS is not responsible for any cancellations, refunds or other requests relating to accommodation.

All three of the offers quoted below include breakfast. Please note that the hotels reserve the right to confirm with the Society that guests booking with the code are indeed Conference attendees.

1. The Belmont Hotel: £85 - £95 per night. Must be booked before 30th April 2026, via phone (0116 254 4773 / 0116 252 9607) or email (reservations@belmonthotel.co.uk), quoting discount code GA002372.
2. Ibis Leicester City: £80 - £105 per night. Must be booked before 28th May 2026, via phone (0208 795 7781) only, quoting discount code SFS26.
3. Holiday Inn Leicester: £80 - £115 per night. Must be booked before 5th April 2026, via phone (0116 242 8707) only, quoting discount code FS2.

As a new initiative, the Society for French Studies, with support from the Winthrop-King Institute at Florida State University, offers some funding to colleagues from Low and Middle Income Countries who have a paper or panel proposal accepted for our annual conference. (Please see an indicative list of LMICs on the website of the Wellcome Trust.) The grant will be a maximum of £400 per person, to be allocated as follows:

• Waiver of conference registration fee;
• Remaining funds from the £400 allowance to be reimbursed retrospectively to pay for travel, visa and other reasonable costs associated with attending the annual conference.

Applicants must be members of the Society for French Studies. Applications should be addressed to the Conference Officer, Dr Kate Foster, at conference@sfs.ac.uk, using the subject line ‘[SURNAME]: SFS LMIC bursary’ by Friday 24^th April 2026.

Applications should include a breakdown of prospective costs. Successful applicants will be required to send receipts to the Conference Officer after the conference for reimbursement.

Please note that if costs are less than £400, the Society will only reimburse the costs actually incurred.

From 2 April 2025 onwards, EU nationals as well as US and Canadian citizens (among others) will need to apply for an ETA (Electronic Travel Authorisation) in order to enter the UK. These cost £10 and are estimated to take approximately 3 working days to process. More information about the new system can be found on the webpages linked below. We do not have any more information at this stage than what is provided on the GOV.UK website. That being said, we will of course be happy to assist if need be in any way we can.

À partir du 2 avril 2025, les citoyen·nes de l’UE ainsi que les ressortissant·es des États-Unis et du Canada (parmi d’autres) devront demander une ETA (Electronic Travel Autorisation) pour pouvoir entrer sur le territoire britannique. Celle-ci coûte £10 (environ 12€) et il faut prévoir à priori 3 jours ouvrés pour le traitement de chaque demande. Plus d’informations sur ce nouveau système sont disponibles aux pages indiquées ci-dessous. Nous ne possédons pas à ce jour plus d’informations que celles fournies sur le site web du gouvernement britannique. Cela dit, nous restons bien entendu à votre disposition pour vous aider de notre mieux en cas de besoin.

‘The Society’ means The Society for French Studies. The Society organises and holds the 67^th Annual Conference at the University of Leicester. The Society is charity no. 1078038, and is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales, no. 3801778.

A full refund of conference registration fees (including fees for accommodation, food and refreshments) will be available up to six weeks before the conference (i.e. by midnight on 17^th May 2026). A 50% refund of conference registration fees will be available up to three weeks before the conference (by midnight on 7^th June 2026). No refunds will be available beyond that point. All requests for a refund should be emailed to the conference email address (conference@sfs.ac.uk). The Society will not be responsible for any financial loss relating to fluctuations in foreign exchange rates or other fees associated with foreign exchange. We encourage delegates to take out appropriate insurance to cover themselves in case of unforeseen events beyond the control of the Society that prevent them from travelling to the conference, such as transport strikes. The Society will not be liable to reimburse any costs or fees incurred except as stipulated in this clause.