Dear Colleagues,
Composition Studies invites proposals from potential guest editors for an open-access, digital, special issue to be published in summer 2026! This is an open call, and we are especially interested in special issues that would benefit from the ease of circulation afforded by open-access, digital publication.
The open-access special issues were initiated by previous editors Matt Davis & Kara Taczak and have covered a range of issues—“Corequisite Writing Courses: Equity and Access” (2020), “Diversity Is Not Justice: Working Toward Radical Transformation and Racial Equity in the Discipline” (2021), and “Advocating for Writing and Well-Being” (2022). While the summer issues were paused during the journal’s editorial transitions, we have been excited to bring them back. The genres for the special issue are at the discretion of the special issue editors, but previous special issues have featured most genres of the journal—articles, course designs, Where We Are and At A Glance sections—and afford the opportunity to bring together a range of voices on the same topic.
We welcome formal proposals (of no more than 500 words, please) about the topic, importance, contribution, and possible structure of the issue. If available, we also welcome a draft of the CFP you would use to solicit submissions for the issue. We also welcome inquiries and creative ideas in want of guidance. If you have any of the above, please contact us via email at compstudiesjournal.
Proposals are due Friday September 19th, 2025
The production timeline for the special issue, roughly, is as follows, though we encourage potential editors to revise it to their purposes:
- Fall/winter 2025 – a call for proposals or invitations for contributions
- Winter 2025/2026 – review and acceptances for the issue
- Spring 2026- revisions to accepted pieces
- Late spring 2026 – production
- Summer 2026 – publication
All the best,
Zach and Jacob
Zachary Beare, Ph.D. | he/him/his
Director, First Year Writing Program
Associate Professor, Department of English
North Carolina State University
zbeare
Co-Editor, Composition Studies
https://compstudiesjournal.com/