Conference Website Design for the Thaxter Conference

Celebrating Celia Thaxter and Her Circle at a Historic Island Gathering

AmongThaxtersIsles.org is the website I built for the 2026 Thaxter Conference, an academic conference focused on the life, work, and legacy of poet Celia Thaxter and her contemporaries. Designed for scholars, researchers, educators, and conference attendees, the website needed to support both the academic process leading up to the conference and the practical needs of attending an event on Star Island, New Hampshire.

Visit AmongThaxtersIsles.org →

The website was designed to support the conference from the academic submission and review process through the event itself. Scholars could review the Call for Papers and submit their work for consideration, giving conference organizers the information needed to review proposals and select speakers. As the conference approached, the site could also serve as a central resource for registration, travel, accommodations, schedules, and other information attendees would need to prepare for their stay on the island.

The Challenge

The project needed to serve both an academic purpose and an event-planning purpose. Early in the process, the website had to present the conference professionally to an academic audience, explain the Call for Papers, and provide a clear way for scholars to submit their work for review. Those submissions would help organizers develop the conference program and determine its speakers.

At the same time, the website needed to grow into a practical resource for the people ultimately attending the conference. Because the event takes place on Star Island, travel, lodging, registration, schedules, and other details needed to be organized clearly and made easy to find.

The Solution

I designed the Thaxter Conference website to serve as a central online resource for both the academic side of the conference and the event itself. The site gives scholars a clear path from learning about the conference and reviewing the Call for Papers to submitting their work for consideration.

I also organized the site so its purpose could evolve as the conference moved forward. Information about travel, accommodations, registration, schedules, and Star Island could be presented alongside the academic content, giving speakers and attendees one place to prepare for the conference.

The visual design was created to complement the literary and historical nature of the conference while keeping the information professional, readable, and easy to navigate.

What I Built

• Academic Call for Papers and submission system
• Online paper/proposal submission form
• Conference and academic information pages
• Travel and transportation information for Star Island
• Lodging and accommodations information
• Registration and event-planning resources
• Conference schedule and timeline information
• Responsive design for desktop and mobile visitors
• Contact functionality for questions and inquiries
• Ongoing website hosting and maintenance

Explore the Website

The gallery below highlights the Thaxter Conference website, including the academic Call for Papers and submission process, conference information, contact functionality, and resources created to help attendees plan their stay on Star Island.