Writing from the Margins

deadline for submissions: 
March 1, 2025
full name / name of organization: 
Watermark Journal

Watermark, the annual, peer-reviewed scholarly journal published by graduate students in the English Department at California State University, Long Beach, is now seeking submissions for its nineteenth volume. Our journal is dedicated to publishing original, critical, and theoretical papers concerned with literature of all genres and periods, as well as representing current issues in the field of rhetoric and composition. As this journal is intended to provide a forum for emerging voices, only student work will be considered.

For the nineteenth volume of the journal, to be published in late spring 2025, we are seeking papers reflecting a theme of Writing from the Margins. We invite students to submit works that consider this theme broadly, exploring texts written by or portraying marginalized voices  people whose voices and lives are often pushed to the margin or and exploring these texts from a lens that brings those voices into focus. Potential topics may include but are not limited to:

  • Examining texts written by historically marginalized communities

  • Exploring texts from a decolonial, queer, disability studies, and/or intersectional lens

  • Highlighting how certain voices are assimilated or pushed further into the margins

We will consider works of all topics, but thematically-related papers are encouraged.

The deadline to submit a paper for consideration is Monday, March 1, 2025. All submissions must include a 250 word abstract and a cover page that consists of your name, phone number, email address, paper title, and short biography (no more than 2 sentences). All submissions should be between 6-20 pages, typed in current MLA format with standard 12-point font. Do not include your name in the essay document itself, as it will be read by a double-blind peer review panel. Email papers and all other required documents as separate Word attachments, with the subject headings as “Watermark 2025.”