Call for Papers: Journal of Writing in Creative Practices

Special Issue: 'Methods & Approaches of Writing for the Performance Studies Stage'

View the full call here>>

https://www.intellectbooks.com/journal-of-writing-in-creative-practice#call-for-papers

Writing is not only a means of representing performance; it is one of the primary methods by which performance is made, shaped, rehearsed, and realized. This special issue seeks contributions that explore the methods and approaches of writing that enable, affect, and constitute live performance across our stages.

Rather than writing about performance as metaphorical or discursive, this issue positions writing as a practical, creative, and methodological practice integral to theatrical and staged performance-making. We invite submissions that engage with questions such as: How do different writing methods shape performance making processes? What are the techniques through which embodied experience, rehearsal insights, or ethnographic encounters are translated into texts for performance? In what ways do intertextual practices, scripted histories, improvisational notes, or collaborative documents function as tools within performances? What are the cultural, political, and aesthetic stakes of performance-oriented writing across disciplines and communities?

Contributions might consider, but are not limited to, the following:

• Writing as material and method in live performance creation

• Scripts, scores, and notational systems as performance making tools

• Writing within rehearsal and other iterative text practices

• Translation of embodied experience into performable form

• Intertextual composition and collaborative writing processes

• Field, interview, and ethnographic research rendered for performance

• Methods of writing autoethnography meant to be performed

• Historiographic writing intended for embodiment or staging

• Critical reflections on performance-oriented writing methodologies

We encourage a diverse range of outputs, including but not limited to: critical reviews, reflection pieces, performance scripts, rehearsal documentation, creative-critical methods texts, interviews, conversation pieces, and traditional articles.

Please submit completed contributions (ideally 3000–4000 words, or alternative creative formats of equivalent scope) on the journal's website via Pubkit and select 'Writing for Performance' during the submission process. Submissions due by 15 December 2026. 

Please refer to the Journal of Writing in Creative Practice Notes for Contributors and Intellect style guidelines for full submission requirements.

Please direct any questions or inquiries to Guest Editor Dr. Evan Schares at evan.schares@villanova.edu