Dear EPSS community, Since we launched EPSS in June 2025, we have been delighted to receive so much positive and encouraging feedback from members of the political science community. But it has always been clear to us that the real test would be whether EPSS could successfully host a conference and bring the wider community together around it. We are therefore very pleased to share that EPSS has taken a major step towards achieving this goal. On Friday, the Call for Papers for the inaugural EPSS Conference in Belfast closed, and the response from the community has been overwhelming: EPSS received an extraordinary 2,514 paper submissions, authored and co-authored by 3,572 researchers. While selecting from such a wealth of submissions will be challenging, they provide an exceptionally strong foundation for an outstanding conference. Running a successful conference would not be possible without the hard work, passion, and dedication of many individuals, first and foremost the conference organisers and section chairs, who deserve our heartfelt thanks. It would also not be possible without the broader political science community. We are deeply grateful for this tremendous show of support and enthusiasm for EPSS. Together, we have built the foundation of something truly special. Meanwhile, keep spreading the word and invite your colleagues to join the listserv (to subscribe, send any email (blank is fine) to epss-info-join@list.epssnet.org) and use this listserv to get the word out about your own events. Thank you all! See you in Belfast! The EPSS Council Sara Hobolt (LSE), President Simon Hix (EUI), President-Elect Kenneth Benoit (Singapore Management University) Catherine de Vries (Bocconi University) Andy Eggers (University of Chicago) John Griffin (Georgetown University) Macartan Humphreys (WZB) Mark Kayser (Hertie School) Sven-Oliver Proksch (University of Cologne) Vera Troeger (University of Hamburg) Zeynep Somer-Topcu (University of Texas at Austin) Stefanie Walter (University of Zurich) -- https://epssnet.org/ Registered as: EPS Community Interest Corporation <https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/16507662> admin@epssnet.org