CFP: Special Issue on Appalachian Animal Studies

To be published in Spring 2027, co-edited by Drs. Kathryn Kirkpatrick and Jessica Cory

Whether it’s the relationships we have with our animal companions, the meat we (may not) eat, or the countless more-than-human species with whom we share this region, animals are important to our lives and to Appalachian spaces.

This special issue will focus on Appalachian animal studies and potential content will include book reviews of Appalachian animal-related or animal studies books, interviews with important Appalachian animal studies scholars, creative nonfiction essays, transcribed roundtables or event panels, scholarly articles on Appalachian animal studies (broadly defined), animal-focused poetry, and images or photo essays. The editors are open to a range of critical and theoretical perspectives, including Human-Animal Studies (HAS), Critical Ecofeminism, and Critical Animal Studies (CAS).

We are especially interested in content that:

• Explores animals not often associated with the region

• Works to unsettle the region or thinks decolonially, such as focusing on Indigenous stories that challenge dominant notions of animal-human hierarchies

• Emphasizes the importance of animals as community members 

• Considers how caring for or raising animals are acts of self and community care

• Highlights specific cultural markers, including language and spirituality, that impact our relationships with animals

• Focuses on the role of animals in Appalachian traditions, including creating new traditions

• Discusses the impacts of displacement and migration on Appalachia’s more-than-human creatures

• Addresses the ways that Appalachian literature, music, and visual art challenge anthropocentrism and human exceptionalist traditions 

• Understands other animals as subjects of their own lives rather than as symbols for purely human concerns.

• Posits how reciprocal human-animal relationships might support the flourishing of Appalachian ecosystems as well as climate resilience  

Deadlines: 

Abstracts (if required) are due March 1, 2026. The deadline for full materials (excluding scholarly articles) is June 1, 2026. Scholarly article drafts are due May 1, 2026 to allow time for peer review and revision.

How to Submit:

All materials should be emailed directly to coryjs@appstate.edu, though what you send and when depends on the genre.

Poetry: Send up to five poems in one document. No abstract needed; deadline June 1, 2026.

Images or photo essays: Images can be emailed or shared through Google Drive. Artwork included in this special issue will be printed in black and white. Images should be 300 DPI with 3000 pixels on the long side. Send up to ten images. No abstract needed; deadline June 1, 2026.

Scholarly article (5-12k words): Send abstract ahead of complete article. Abstracts are due March 1, 2026 with final drafts due May 1, 2026. Abstracts will be quickly responded to on a rolling basis. Please note that to give time for the peer review process and revision, the due date for scholarly article drafts is earlier than the general deadline for finalized work.

Creative nonfiction, interviews, or roundtables: Send a brief abstract that includes your ideas for the CNF piece, the person(s) to be interviewed, or event to be transcribed along with a few sentences of justification for inclusion in Appalachian Journal and a potential word count. Abstract due March 1, 2026; full material due June 1, 2026.

While we generally do not accept unsolicited book reviews, if there is a book you feel we should review for this special issue, please drop us a line by March 1, 2026. 

Additional Information:

For scholarly articles, creative nonfiction, interviews, and poetry, please see our Submission Guidelines.

Artwork included in this special issue will be printed in black and white. Images should be 300 DPI with 3000 pixels on the long side. Send up to ten images, TIFF format. 

Feel free to email Appalachian Journal’s editor, Dr. Jessica Cory, with any questions at coryjs@appstate.edu 

If total submissions exceed our page count limitations, they will be considered for future issues of Appalachian Journal and As the Crow Flies as well as an animal studies-focused issue of Cold Mountain Review, edited by Dr. Kathryn Kirkpatrick.