The Student Publication Association (SPA) is delighted to announce that we’re opening the bidding process to host our 2023 National Conference, fresh off a return to physical events with #SPANC22 in Sheffield.

The SPA National Conference, which this year will be styled #SPANC23, is one of the premier events in the student media calendar, and provides an opportunity for student journalists from around the UK and Republic of Ireland to come together, share some knowledge and make contacts in the industry.

#SPANC23 will be hosted next spring, but we’re opening the bidding process even earlier than normal this year, to give our member publications as much time as possible to put together their packages.

In Sheffield this April, over 150 student journalists flocked to the Steel City for three days of talks, workshops and – of course – the coveted SPA National Awards, which was our first in-person SPANC since 2019.

Matt Ward-Perkins, SPA Conference and Events Officer, said: “The SPA’s conference is an incredible weekend, and our hosts will have the chance to bring incredible speakers and events to their campus, help more of their members and students attend the event, and get plenty of valuable experience.

“We’re looking forward to working with our 2023 hosts to put on a bigger and better weekend than ever!”

From today (Tuesday 12 July), bids will be open until Friday 2 September, and we have published a guide to your making your bid as great as it can be, which can be found here.

All member publications of the SPA, no matter length of membership, size of publication or anything else, are welcome to bid for hosting rights, and we are welcoming joint bids from multiple publications (including from publications not at the same university).

If you have any questions, please contact our Conference & Events Officer Matt on events@spajournalism.com.