Submission Guidelines

Talking Points is a peer-reviewed journal published in May and October by LLA, Literacies and Languages for All, a conference of NCTE. The journal focuses on holistic education that fits the LLA belief that ALL children deserve personally meaningful learning contexts in which their languages and cultures are valued and recognized as assets for learning.

Submitted manuscripts should be on a teaching and/or learning topic or issue important to researcher, practitioner, social, and family communities. We welcome manuscripts grounded in present theory and/or research that contributes to the knowledge base for holistic, democratic, and inclusive education. Manuscripts should:

• be no more than 15 pages in length (standard margins, double spaced);
• contain page numbers;
• follow the latest APA guidelines;
• be consistent with NCTE’s Statement on Gender and Language.

In addition, to ensure a blinded manuscript, do not include a cover sheet but instead provide author information in the Comments box in Editorial Manager during the manuscript submission process.

To submit a manuscript, register as an author at our online manuscript submission system, Editorial Manager, and then follow the steps to submit your article. Manuscripts are accepted at any time.

Questions? Contact the editors at talkingpoints@ncte.org.

May 2026 Issue: General Call for Manuscripts
Submission Deadline: October 1, 2025

Talking Points seeks manuscripts on a range of comprehensive literacy teaching and learning topics. We invite submissions that address research and practice reflecting the goals and mission of Literacies and Languages for All (LLA), a constituent group of NCTE. This is a general call for manuscripts on topics of interest to literacy and language researchers and practitioners who align themselves with the principles of whole language and holistic education that characterize LLA. Examples of timely topics include discussions about foundational literacy practices and policies that are prevalent in the media, practices that celebrate students’ multiliteracies and multilingualism, critical literacy practices as student tools for civic engagement, equity and access to high-quality literature in light of book bans, global engagements involving students across borders, LGBTQIA+ issues in education, and the education experiences of youth and families undergoing chosen or forced relocation or war trauma. Presenters at the NCTE Annual Convention, especially those included in the LLA Strand, are encouraged to develop their presentations into manuscripts.

Classroom Voices (Ongoing Feature)

In each issue of Talking Points, the Classroom Voices section provides space for shorter alternative pieces that highlight the richness of whole language in the classroom. We invite classroom vignettes, photo essays, book reviews, samples of students’ work, teacher interviews, or anything else that helps us situate the principles of whole language in real classroom contexts. These pieces should be no longer than two double-spaced pages of text; accompanying photos should be submitted in a standard graphics format (e.g., TIFF, JPEG) in high resolution (300 DPI) and will require signed permissions from the photographer and the subjects (or parents or guardians). Student work will also require permission to be included.

Note: For all pieces, please rely on the Whole Language Beliefs (http://www2.ncte.org/groups/wlu/beliefs/) to demonstrate how your work draws on and contributes to whole language principles and teaching practices.