KUCC

Kutztown University Composition Conference (KUCC)

Theme: “Seeking Truth”

Monday, April 13, 2026

Call For Presentations

So often, as humans, we seek the truth. Whether we are reading a news story, a personal memoir, or an academic textbook, we expect to encounter truth on the written page.   However, in a world of rapid A.I. developments and the proliferation of “fake news” and “deep fakes,” distinguishing fact from fiction has never felt more urgent. Questions that guide us include some of the basics: What happened? Where and when? Who said what?  Yet despite the seeming simplicity of such questions, truth seems harder to pin down in our current climate. Nevertheless, apprehending the truth is necessary and valuable; whether we write to inform, persuade, educate, or entertain, truth ultimately resonates with our sense of human responsibility and accountability. Truth is what sparks readers to think, to question, to feel. It’s what moves us to act more ethically.

How can we apply such pursuits of truth when engaging with fiction and poetry? Do these genres offer less truth? Or do they present truth in another way? How do philosophical, scientific, or emotional truths emanate from fiction, poetry, and other creative forms of composition? While such genres sometimes play fast and loose with facts, maybe they can still speak to deeper truths.

At this year’s Kutztown University Composition Conference (KUCC), we invite participants to reflect on how writing enables them to pursue the truth—whether factual, emotional, philosophical, or artistic. How does writing crystallize ideas? How does it help us confront uncomfortable or inconvenient truths? How do stories and poems “lie” in order to tell the truth? How does writing preserve truths on the page, even if only for a moment? Can a truth ever be permanent and timeless?

Contributors are encouraged to interpret the conference theme broadly, considering various presentation forms such as creative, scholarly, researched, multi-media, personal, and portfolio. For example, participants might…

• craft a memoir that represents one’s recollection of truth
• create fiction or poetry that conveys emotional truth
• write an essay that explores a personal or cultural truth
• analyze the veracity of a literary or historical text
• present a photo essay or art exhibition that seeks to visually capture truth
• reflect on the challenge of sifting fact from fiction in today’s media-saturated world

We welcome any of these approaches and more!

All Kutztown University students enrolled in English Composition, Literature, or Professional Writing courses are encouraged to submit projects to the conference. First-time presenters are especially encouraged to apply. If you are unsure if your work will fit the theme, please submit anyway! We are looking for expansive interpretations of the theme!   

To participate, please complete the online submission form here.

Faculty may also submit student work for themed panels by completing the submission form and indicating the overall theme.

We hope that the Kutztown community will join us in our pursuit of the honest, the authentic, the true.