Submission Deadline: Ongoing

In this unthemed issue, you may submit manuscripts on any topic that will appeal to EJ readers. Remember that EJ articles center classroom practice and contextualize it in sound research and theory. As you know, EJ readers appreciate articles that show real students and teachers engaged in meaningful teaching and learning. Manuscripts that foreground critical approaches to secondary English language arts and move the field toward justice for marginalized youth will be prioritized. Regular manuscript guidelines regarding length and style apply. We also occasionally publish unthemed manuscripts in a general interest section within themed issues.

Submission Deadline: September 1, 2025

English Journal invites submissions for manuscripts examining critical perspectives on the use and study of true crime, mystery novels, and crime fiction in secondary English language arts classrooms. As these genres continue to captivate students and the broader public, educators are increasingly incorporating such texts into their curricula. We seek articles that explore the methods, pedagogical implications, ethical considerations, and potential pitfalls of engaging with crime-related content in the classroom. How do teachers responsibly navigate the sensationalism often present in true crime while fostering critical thinking? In what ways might the study of true crime and/or crime fiction reinforce or challenge societal narratives about justice, law enforcement, and criminality?

We welcome submissions that address a range of topics, including but not limited to:

• Strategies for teaching critical media literacy through multimodal texts such as true crime podcasts or documentaries
• Approaches to analyzing representations of race, class, and gender in true crime, mystery novels, and/or crime fiction
• Ethical considerations when studying real-world criminal cases
• Approaches to leveraging crime narratives to facilitate meaningful discussions about social justice, power, and systemic inequities
• The potential for crime-related texts to engage reluctant readers
• Innovative approaches to teaching narrative craft, such as the use of detective fiction, noir, fiction, and/or podcasts

Submission Deadline: August 1, 2025

Guest coeditors: Lauren Leigh Kelly, Limarys Caraballo, Joanne Marciano, Robert Petrone, and Vaughn Watson

Drawing on this powerful time of youth leadership, activism, and imagination, this themed issue of English Journal will feature manuscripts from youth (approximately ages 14–21) or cowritten with youth whose practices involving activism, poetry, digital media, visual arts, research, mentorship, or creative writing can facilitate teachers’ understandings of the lives and dreams of today’s youth. This call invites youth to consider how their literacy practices (which we define as creating, consuming, or otherwise engaging with forms of text, including art and media) can help classroom teachers to support their students in building toward their desired futures through English education. This issue seeks to highlight the voices of youth whose participation in social justice writing, research, organizing, YPAR (youth participatory action research), multimodality, and collaboration can inform educators’ understandings of teaching and learning processes that center youth identities and can support the activation of youth literacies toward the building of hopeful, joyful, anti-oppressive futures. We welcome youth to submit manuscripts independently or in collaboration with peers and/or mentors.

Some questions for writers to consider are, but are not limited to:

• How do young people experience and contribute to literacy learning in their schools?
• How are students engaged in intergenerational collaboration inside and outside of schools?
• What non-school literacy practices inform students’ experiences in schools?
• What are the lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on students’ needs and experiences in schools today?
• What types of knowledge and experiences do young people seek in order to imagine, prepare for, and build their futures?

If you have questions related to this guest-edited issue, please contact Lauren Leigh Kelly at laurenleighkelly@gmail.com.

Submission Deadline: Ongoing

In this unthemed issue, you may submit manuscripts on any topic that will appeal to EJ readers. Remember that EJ articles center classroom practice and contextualize it in sound research and theory. As you know, EJ readers appreciate articles that show real students and teachers engaged in meaningful teaching and learning. Manuscripts that foreground critical approaches to secondary English language arts and move the field toward justice for marginalized youth will be prioritized. Regular manuscript guidelines regarding length and style apply. We also occasionally publish unthemed manuscripts in a general interest section within themed issues.

Submission Deadline: Ongoing

In this unthemed issue, you may submit manuscripts on any topic that will appeal to EJ readers. Remember that EJ articles center classroom practice and contextualize it in sound research and theory. As you know, EJ readers appreciate articles that show real students and teachers engaged in meaningful teaching and learning. Manuscripts that foreground critical approaches to secondary English language arts and move the field toward justice for marginalized youth will be prioritized. Regular manuscript guidelines regarding length and style apply. We also occasionally publish unthemed manuscripts in a general interest section within themed issues.

Submission Deadline: April 21. 2026

Guest coeditors: Wendy R. Williams and Adriana Diaz-Heppler

Food impacts our lives in so many ways. It offers nutrition and sustenance, brings people together, and sparks powerful memories. Food study invites learning about culture and community (Alvarez, 2019), reflections on personal experience, and connections to history and science. When we think about food writing, genres like the recipe, restaurant review, or memoir may come to mind. However, food can be found across many forms of composition, including odes, graphic novels, manga (Mae, 2023), documentaries, animation, and online videos. Representations of food and feasting can be found throughout literature, from canonical pieces written long ago (e.g., The Odyssey) to contemporary young adult literature (e.g., The Hunger Games). Food study can also open the door to creative multimodal expression, interdisciplinary learning, and hands-on work involving gardening, the culinary arts (Franzen & Peters, 2019), food drives, and student-run or local businesses. Alternatively, it could involve looking critically at real-world issues concerning health, food deserts, farming, or sustainability.

This special issue will explore a wide range of possibilities for bringing food-related topics and assignments into secondary education (e.g., writing/composing works in various forms; exploring representations of food in literature, film, or other media; making interdisciplinary connections; engaging in hands-on learning; examining issues in our world today). Together, these pieces will form a menu of pedagogical possibilities that teachers can draw upon to engage, challenge, nurture, and inspire students and support ELA goals.

References

Alvarez, S. (2019). Taco literacy: Literacy learning and Mexican

foodways. English in Texas, 49 (Spring/Summer), 6–11.

Franzen, J., & Peters, B. (2019). Say yes to pears: Food literacy in and

beyond the English classroom. National Council of Teachers of

English.

Mae, R. (2023, August 21). For the love of food: Food-centric graphic

novels and manga. Chicago Public Library. https://www.chi

publib.org/blogs/post/for-the-love-of-food-food-centricgraphic-

novels-and-manga/

Submission Deadline: September 1, 2026

Transnationalism describes the idea of crossing or transcending borders. These borders might be physical to represent distinct nation-states, yet they might also be cultural, social, digital, linguistic, and more. In this issue, we want to explore how secondary English language arts (ELA) teachers curate a transnational curriculum while helping students develop transnational literacies as they learn how to make meaning across borders, essentially preparing them to be globally connected citizens. We also want to know how teachers value the unique skills of transnational students in their classrooms—young people whose histories and everyday lives bear witness to border-crossing through migration, media consumption/production, family literacies, social networks, cultural wealth, heritage, translation, and/or multimodal communication that regularly flows across borders.

We would like authors to explore one or more of these questions in their submissions:

• How have you addressed transnationalism through historical and modern-day migration in your middle or high school ELA teaching?
• What secondary ELA curriculum have you developed that illustrates transnational ideas of crossing or transcending borders? How have you taught students to value transnational ideas to prepare them for our increasingly interconnected world? What were students’ reactions?
• How have you partnered with other content areas beyond secondary ELA, such as social studies and world languages, to create projects that draw from transnational ideas?
• What transnational literacies have you purposefully attempted to develop in your ELA classroom, and why do you think they are important to teach? How do transnational literacies connect to the standards you need to teach in your specific location and grade level?
• How have you privileged transnational literacies, particularly those of transnational youth, in your middle and high school classrooms? Specifically, how have you positioned transnational students—migrants, immigrants, refugees, asylum-seekers, children of immigrants—in your ELA classroom to take an asset-stance toward the transnational literacies they already possess due to the act of migration? Share concrete techniques to value and further develop these literacies while teaching students to use them in agentive ways.

Submission Deadline: Ongoing

Cartoons should depict scenes or ideas potentially amusing to English language arts teachers. They can be submitted to Edito­rial Manager at the address above; we can accept any standard graphics format at 300 dpi.

Submission Deadline: Ongoing

Teacher photographs of classroom scenes and individual students are welcome. Photographs may be uploaded to Editorial Man­ager at the address above in any standard image format at 300 dpi. Photos should be accompanied by complete identification: teacher/photographer’s name, location of scene, and date photo­graph was taken. If faces are clearly visible, names of those photo­graphed should be included, along with their statement of permission for the photograph to be reproduced in EJ.

Submission Deadline: Ongoing

Editor: Paul Thomas
Furman University

In the pages of English Journal, we look to publish well-crafted poems that connect our readers to topics central to English education: the impact of reading and writing on young people, words and language, classroom stories, and reflections on teaching and learning. Poetry reminds us, as educators, how to live in this world.

Submit your work by emailing an attachment to paul.thomas@furman.edu. Use the subject line “Poetry Submission for Review.” The first page of the attached document should be a cover sheet that includes your name, address, and email, as well as a two-sentence biographical sketch. In your bio, include how long you have been a member of NCTE, if applicable, and a publishable contact email. Following the cover sheet, include one to five original poems in the same document. Finally, please fill out and attach this form granting English Journal permission to publish your poem: https://bit.ly/3YVY7Zv

Though we welcome work of any length, shorter pieces (30 lines and under) often work best for the journal. Poems must be original and not previously published. Simultaneous submissions are welcome, though writers must immediately withdraw from consideration any poems that are to be published elsewhere by contacting the editor via email.

Poets whose work is published will receive two complimentary copies of the issue in which their work appears. Additional inquiries about poetry submissions may be directed to the editor at paul.thomas@furman.edu. We look forward to reading and celebrating your work.

Submission Deadline: Ongoing

We invite you to speak out on an issue that concerns you about English language arts teaching and learning. If your essay is pub­lished, it will appear in a future issue of English Journal. We wel­come essays of 1,000 to 1,500 words, as well as inquiries regarding possible subjects. Indicate that you are submitting an essay for the Speaking My Mind feature when you upload the document to the Editorial Manager.

Column Editor: Stephanie Toliver, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Over the past few decades, calls have abounded to prominently foreground the language and literacy practices of Black youth. Scholars have called for more attention to the historical literacies of Black people in hopes that educators see the inherent genius within Black youth (Muhammad 13). They have asked for teach­ers to consider the ways in which Black youth engage in play with text, genre, language, and each other (Baker-Bell 8; Gaunt 3; Bryan 74). They have demanded that educators uplift Black young people as they challenge the anti-Blackness embedded within school systems (Coles 36; Love 12), and they have implored educational stakeholders to make space for Black youth to imagine worlds in which they are free to experience the full range of humanity: love, anger, joy, excitement, sadness, pride, hope, and all the emotions in between (Toliver 85; Turner 128).

It is within these calls that this column exists. Specifically, this column is dedicated to the teachers, teacher educators, com­munity members, and young people who are committed to the liberatory futures of Black youth. It is for all who imagine and create alongside young Black folx to ensure that the next genera­tion of Black youth can thrive. With this in mind, this column welcomes commentary that attends to the expansive language and literacy lives of Black young people. Toward this goal, authors might consider questions such as the following: What texts (written by and about Black people) have you found partic­ularly useful in the classroom? How have you made space for Black joy, Black dreams, Black genius, and Black pride in your classroom, research, and/or community work? What assign­ments have you created that enable Black youth to voice their concerns about the world? What does the future of education, schools, or schooling look like for Black youth?

Rather than just accepting traditional practitioner articles (i.e., research essay, nonfiction, or narrative nonfiction), this column aims to be as expansive as Black youth’s literacies. Thus, poems, narratives, comics, paintings, and the like are also welcome. Please send submissions of 1,200–1,400 words as a Word document to Stephanie Toliver at stoliver@illinois.edu. Inquiries about poten­tial submissions are also welcomed.

Column Editor: Carlin Borsheim-Black, Central Michigan University

This column invites submissions that explore pedagogical possibilities for teaching literature in critical ways. We are especially interested in portraits of practice that target the how of literature study—that is, ways in which teachers, students, and stakeholders of English language arts exercise agency—rather than the what. We welcome manuscripts that offer examples of centering silenced histories through counterstory, building capacity for critical literature instruction in restrictive spaces, fostering critical literacies using young adult literature, pairing literary nonfiction with current events, or engaging students in dialogue about literature across cultural or political difference, for example. While critical approaches to literature study are often aimed at naming, questioning, and disrupting systems of power, we are also interested in approaches that illuminate joy, creativity, community, and agency as forms of resistance. Manuscripts should be 1,200–1,400 words in length; email questions and submissions (as Word documents) to Carlin Borsheim-Black (borsh1cc@cmich.edu).

Column Editors: Nicole Amato and Katie Priske, University of Iowa

Curate: Make meaning for oneself and others by collecting, organizing, and sharing resources of personal relevance.

— AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL LIBRARIANS

Critical curation invites both students and teachers to take criti­cal stances and “explore multiple perspectives, challenge domi­nant ideologies, and include marginalized voices within and beyond the literary canon” (Lechtenberg 3). Alongside the importance of curation is the importance of representation, which as Hamad asserts has “real world consequences’’ (27). Work around the importance of curation and representation has been ongoing in English language arts spaces. We align this col­umn with the work of #DisruptTexts, asserting that curriculum choices are never neutral, and curriculum must center Black, Indigenous, and other voices of color (Ebarvia et al.).

We believe critical curation of texts in the ELA classroom is an exploratory practice that honors curiosity and inquiry. These curations aim to support teachers in critical literacy and critical inquiry work within and beyond the classroom. This column is guided by the following questions: (1) What themes and issues are urgent points of discussion in 7–12 literacy classrooms? (2) How can ELA teachers and librarians collaboratively curate multimodal and multigenre text sets for their students? We invite essays dedicated to exploring these questions while curat­ing texts (broadly defined) around critical topics for discussion in ELA classrooms, such as but not limited to race, gender, sexu­ality, class, and ability. We aim to curate and review 3–5 texts per column around a central topic.

Please contact Nicole Amato and Katie Priske to discuss ideas for the column or send your essays of 1,200–1,400 words as Word documents for consideration to Nicole (nicole.amato@csuci.edu) and Katie (katie-priske@uiowa.edu).

Column Editors: Melinda McBee Orzulak, Bradley University
Danielle Lillge, Illinois State University

For nearly 15 years, the “Future Is Now” roundtable sessions at the NCTE Annual Convention have provided opportunities for beginning English language arts (ELA) teachers to present their scholarship. Inspired by the generative community in these sessions (early career voices, their questions, and their contributions to the field alongside mentors), this column explores inquiries related to ELA teachers who are navigating the early stages of their professional learning journeys as preservice or inservice teachers with 1 to 4 years of teaching experience. We seek to highlight voices of early career ELA teachers as well as those whose scholarship centers these teachers’ voices and experiences.

We invite column authors to share the inquiries that have sustained early career ELA teachers’ learning and instruction. Such inquiries may include research focused on these teachers’ experiences and professional identity formation, or other findings with clear implications for early career teachers and their inquiries. Instead of easy fixes, simple solutions, or truisms, we hope to highlight what we gain from assuming an inquiry stance in scholarly conversation with others as we look to the future by celebrating the nuance and complexity of ELA teaching. Therefore, we encourage authors to illuminate the origins of their question in relation to their own experiences as well as in relation to other voices—those of students, colleagues, mentors, researchers, parents, authors, creators, or other stakeholders. And we urge authors to explore layered considerations that lead to possibilities for their own and other teachers’ future learning, teaching, research, or creative activity.

Please send submissions of 1,200–1,400 words as a Word document to the editors, Melinda McBee Orzulak and Danielle Lillge, at EJfutureisnow@gmail.com. Include in your email your full name(s), school affiliation(s), and the main email contact for the lead author, if the submission is coauthored.

Column Editor: Mónica Baldonado-Ruiz, San Diego State University

Column Editor: Stephanie Anne Shelton, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill

The acronym LGBTQIA+ incorporates ranges of identities and expressions related to genders and sexualities, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, questioning, intersex, and asexual individuals. LGBTQIA+ youth are present in class­rooms world-wide and are among the most vulnerable; how­ever, substantial research demonstrates that supportive teachers make incredible differences in LGBTQIA+ students’ lives and school experiences.

LGBTQIA+ students’ needs are shaped by more than gender identity, gender expression, or sexuality. Students navigate assigned, assumed, and self-asserted social example, race, ethnic­ity, socioeconomic class, ablebodiedness, and language usage. They also live and learn in specific geographic and cultural con­texts. Their LGBTQIA+ identities constantly intersect with these many factors; efforts to provide equitable, respectful, and effective learning spaces necessitate intersectional understand­ings of LGBTQIA+ issues in schools.

This column seeks to share English educators’ stories on how they learn about, recognize, and affirm intersectional LGBTQIA+ identities. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, instructional strategies that explore LGBTQIA+ issues as intersecting with other identities or contexts; case stud­ies of efforts to engage students or colleagues in intersectional considerations of LGBTQIA+ issues; and reflective narratives that explore how awareness of intersectional LGBTQIA+ identi­ties has shaped teachers’ professional identities.

Inquiries, submissions, or suggestions for future columns should be directed to Stephanie Anne Shelton at sashel@unc.edu. Submissions of 1,200–1,400 words should be sent as attachments.

Column Editor: Brady Nash, University of Florida

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI)—and conversations on what to do about it—has become ubiquitous. Across the field of English education, scholars are debating the ethics and applications of GenAI tools within English classrooms (Enriquez et al., 2023; Nash et al., 2023; Young et al., 2024). Many teachers have begun incorporating GenAI into their planning practices, into their writing instruction, or as a topic of study in their curricula. Many have participated in the creation of new departmental or school policies. And all of us have watched as people working both in and outside of schools have tried to figure out what to do about a technology with great potential to reshape major areas of life, for good or for ill.

Of central concern to English educators is whether particular uses of GenAI support or supplant students’ writing, reading, and learning, as well as the ethical questions raised by GenAI. Outside of classroom-specific applications, GenAI poses a host of concerns, including the propensity to provide false information in authoritative tones, the theft of artistic content, the ecological impact of the infrastructure required to power AI platforms, and the ways in which GenAI subtly reproduces the societal biases and prejudices of the language from which it draws (Tacheva & Ramasubramanian, 2023). In short, there is a lot to explore when considering the impact of these technologies in and outside of schools.

This column seeks to amplify the voices of English educators who are exploring the role of GenAI in secondary classroom settings. The column editor invites submissions that feature research, examples of practice, and reflections from a variety of perspectives about any aspect of GenAI in relation to English teaching. Possible topics include the use of AI-infused tools for reading and writing support, composition in partnership with multimodal AI platforms, ethical considerations when employing GenAI for assessment and feedback, , explorations of the critical media and digital literacies needed to engage with GenAI platforms, and examinations of how GenAI engagement intersects with issues of race, language, or culture. Please send inquiries and submissions of 1,200–1,400 words as Word documents to bradylnash@gmail.com.

References

Enriquez, G., Gill, V., Campano, G., Flores, T. T., Jones, S., Leander, K. M., McKnight, L., & Price-Dennis, D. (2023). Generative AI and composing: An intergenerational conversation among literacy scholars. English Teaching: Practice & Critique, 23(1), 6–22. https://doi.org/10.1108/ETPC-08-2023-0104

Nash, B. L., Hicks, T., Garcia, M., Fassbender, W., Alvermann, D., Boutelier, S., McBride, C., McGrail, E., Moran, C., O’Byrne, I., Piotrowski, A., Rice, M., & Young, C. (2023). Artificial intelligence in English education: Challenges and opportunities for teachers and teacher educators. English Education, 55(3), 201–206. https://doi.org/10.58680/ee202332555

Tacheva, J., & Ramasubramanian, S. (2023). AI empire: Unraveling the interlocking systems of oppression in generative AI’s global order. Big Data & Society, 10(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/20539517231219241

Young, C. A., Jacobs, L., Celaya, A., Lathrop, B., Hackett-Hill, K., Scialdone, M., Moehrke, H., Gaddis, B., Settie, K., Kuriny, D., & James, N. (2024). In conversation about GenAI in ELA education. In C. M. Moran (Ed.), Revolutionizing English education: The power of AI in the classroom (pp. 31–78). Lexington Books.

Column Editor: Tiffany DeJaynes, Lehman College, City University of New York

This column aims to highlight thoughtful conversations about youth as knowledge generators, rethink the dominance of the traditional research paper in English language arts classrooms, and consider the ways in which young people’s original research can inform public policies and activism. As such, the column publishes accounts of youth conducting research in innovative ways in schools and communities; research innovations might include collaborative, multimodal, digital, action-oriented, community-focused, or arts-based practices.

Educators employing research practices that creatively engage young people in critical participatory action research, archival research, working with unconventional sources, or creatively sharing and disseminating research and more are invited to share their curricular approaches and lessons learned. Please contact Tiffany DeJaynes to discuss ideas for the column or send manu­scripts of 1,200–1,400 words as Word documents to tiffany.dejaynes@lehman.cuny.edu for consideration.

Column Editors: Ann D. David, University of the Incarnate Word; Katharine Covino, Fitchburg State University; Natalie Chase

Uncompromising and closed-minded people seek to ban books, inspect and approve curriculum, and level ad hominem attacks on teachers. For example, the recent Supreme Court decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor allows parents to opt out of school experiences that are not in line with their religion, focusing specifically on LGBTQIA+ literature. State legislation continues to restrict what kinds of books can be taught, including labeling LGBTQIA+ books as “obscene.” At the same time, some of the Trump administration’s executive orders focus on restricting diversity, equity, and inclusion in K–12 schools. All of this serves to further intensify the climate of fear in which teachers and students are reading in schools. That said, teachers and their allies have power, too. Elections for school boards, even in politically conservative areas, are not being won by people campaigning on book bans. And many states are enacting “Right to Read” legislation. This shift grows out of allyship within and between people and organizations invested in schools having a richer curriculum that includes diverse books.

Much of the recent writing about censorship has been crafted by and for librarians, but we want to hear more from English teachers and their allies. There are lots of ways into the conversation. Ideas you could explore include how you: 

• Use book rationales in your planning or advocacy
• Create and nurture alliances with colleagues and parents 
• Collaborate with school administrators
• Navigate text selection, specifically with books that are frequently challenged 
• Engage in challenging conversations with students around those texts 
• Use NCTE resources like book rationales and relevant position statements on students’ right to read, red flagging, and classroom libraries to support your use of diverse and high-quality texts, etc.

The column editors see the work of this moment as helping students read and select books that both support and challenge their thinking, recognizing that teachers are the professionals best positioned to select books for their students. Sharing stories of your experiences will help other teachers reclaim—or find—their voices and agency while expanding their professional know-how. Please send inquiries and submissions of manuscripts of 1,200–1,400 words as Word or Google documents to Ann David (addavid@uiwtx.edu) for consideration.

Column Editor: Melody Zoch, University of North Carolina–Greensboro

Multilingual learners (MLs) are the fastest-growing group of stu­dents entering US public schools. In the next few years, an esti­mated one out of every four school-aged children will speak a language other than English at home. ELA teachers must be deft at addressing the needs of MLs, which can include drawing on their funds of knowledge (Moll et al. 71), embracing their iden­tities as MLs, and understanding the challenges language-minoritized learners and their families may experience. Too often, middle- and high school spaces privilege monolingual instructional models where English language and literacy profi­ciency are considered the norm. This is counter to the needs of MLs, whose linguistic repertoires should be honored rather than repressed or punished.

This column seeks to amplify the voices of ELA teachers who are committed to the growth and well-being of MLs. The column editor invites submissions that feature research, examples of prac­tices, and reflections on practice that support MLs in the ELA classroom. All submissions should engage asset-based approaches to discussing and supporting MLs in equitable ways. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to, the incorporation of translanguaging practices (García et al. 256), how identity work and affirmation are explored in the ELA classroom, and using culturally sustaining practices (Paris and Alim 85). Questions authors might explore include: In what ways does language inter­sect with other identities? In what ways do you incorporate fami­lies and the community in your teaching of MLs? In what ways do you engage MLs in exploring activism and social justice issues in the ELA classroom? What are some critical incidents (Tripp 8) that have shaped your teaching of MLs? What specific strategies and texts have supported your MLs?

Please send inquiries and submissions of 1,200–1,400 words as a Word document to mzoch@uncg.edu.