
Be a part of NACIS 2023
Sheraton Pittsburgh Hotel at Station Square | 300 W Station Square Dr, Pittsburgh, PA
Join us on the shores of the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for the 43rd annual meeting, October 11–14, 2023. We invite you to submit proposals for the Main Conference, Practical Cartography Day, specialty-themed sessions, discussion panels, workshops, field trips, or any other way you’re interested in contributing on themes related to cartography.
Read our statement on livestreaming here.
Submissions are now open!
Deadline to submit: May 31, 2023
Not sure where to contribute? The annual meeting has lots of opportunities for you to share your knowledge and work:
Main Conference
Present your cartographic accomplishments, research, or ideas with the NACIS community during our main sessions on Thursday and Friday. Questions about presenting? Contact [email protected].
Practical Cartography Day*
Help put the “practical” in Practical Cartography Day! Share your mapping tips and tricks, new design ideas, innovative methods, or take the NACIS community back to basics with a refresher on key best practices. This all-day event on Wednesday, preceding the Main Conference, is focused on practical mapmaking across all formats and mediums. Questions about Practical Cartography Day? Contact [email protected].
Map Gallery
Show off your latest projects, favorite cartographic designs, research, or experimental and avant garde techniques in Pittsburgh! Questions about submitting to the Map Gallery? Contact [email protected].
Deadline to submit: August 31, 2023
Student Print and Dynamic Map Competitions
Students entering their maps in the print or dynamic mapping competitions are eligible to win cash prizes. Questions about submitting to the competitions? Contact [email protected].
Deadline to submit: August 31, 2023
Workshops and field trips*
Interested in organizing a post-conference workshop or field trip around Pittsburgh? Contact [email protected] with your ideas.
*Practical Cartography Day, workshops, and field trips require registration separate from the Main Conference.
Map Quilt
A handful of cartographers comes together to produce the Map Quilt, a time-honored NACIS tradition. Each cartographer works on a small portion of a larger map of the host city in secret and without communication with the other cartographers. Our Quiltmaster, David Lambert, brings them all together in a fun, one-of-a-kind poster.
Video sponsorship
Practical Cartography Day and the Main Conference sessions will be recorded and posted to our YouTube channel so that the knowledge we share at NACIS 2023 can have an impact around the globe. But we need your support to make this happen. Please consider sponsoring all or part of a presentation so that even those who can’t make it in person can benefit from the annual meeting. Maintaining a video archive of our conference is a valuable resource for everyone now and in the future.
Become a sponsorVolunteer
Interested in volunteering to help out at the annual meeting? Contact [email protected] for more information and opportunities.
Keynote speaker – Peng Shepherd

Peng Shepherd is the nationally bestselling author of The Cartographers, The Book of M, and The Future Library. Her second novel, The Cartographers, was a USA Today, LA Times, and a national Independent Bookstores bestseller. It was named a Best Book of 2022 by The Washington Post, as well as a Pick of the Month by Good Morning America, Amazon, Apple, Real Simple, Buzzfeed, Bustle, and Goodreads, and was featured on NPR’s Weekend Edition.
Her first novel, The Book of M, won the 2019 Neukom Institute for Literary Arts Award for Debut Speculative Fiction, and was chosen as a Best Book of the Year by Amazon, Elle, Refinery29, and The Verge, a Best Book of the Summer by the Today Show and NPR On Point, and has been optioned for television.
A graduate of New York University’s MFA program, Peng is the recipient of a 2020 fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. She was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, where she rode horses and trained in classical ballet, and has lived in Beijing, Kuala Lumpur, London, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., New York, and Mexico City.
When not writing, she can be found planning her next trip or haunting local bookstores.
Hotel reservations
Our hotel reservation block sells out every year so make your reservations early to take advantage of the $175/night NACIS discounted rate. Reserve your room by clicking the link below or call the hotel directly at (412) 261-2000 and ask for the NACIS group rate.
Reserve your roomTravel grants
Travel grants are available to support the attendance of students and professionals alike.
Apply for a travel grantKeep an eye out for more conference updates as we get closer to October.

See you in the Steel City!
Questions about the meeting? Contact [email protected].
Questions about Practical Cartography Day? Contact [email protected].
Code of Conduct
All attendees are encouraged to review the NACIS Code of Conduct.
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