Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, an open textbook series of peer-reviewed essays from diverse perspectives, all composed by teachers for students, seeks 500-word proposals for essays for its forthcoming volume. In our continuing effort to support undergraduate writing, we surveyed faculty to determine areas to update, expand upon, or otherwise address. While we would gladly review proposals on a wide range of topics, of particular interest for this volume are the following topics our readers and board identified:
- Writing Studies: history of the field and writing processes
- Rhetoric: rhetorical theory, rhetorical analysis, and community, civic, and public rhetorics
- Reading: digital reading strategies and reading and reviewing peer papers
- Diversity: social justice, racial literacy, transnational, international and multilingual, linguistic perspectives, and linguistic diversity
- Research and Source Use: primary research and synthesizing sources
- WAC/WID: technical and professional writing and genre
- Technology and Writing: GenAI, ethical uses of technology, digital and multimodal composing
- Writing Skills: writerly voice and logical fallacies
In addition to these topics, we strongly encourage potential contributors to review previous Writing Spaces volumes. We invite you to engage with the rich tapestry of ideas, concepts, and writing advice that we have cultivated in our previous volumes. We encourage you to consider how your insights might resonate with or expand upon the discussions in these volumes. Writing Spaces essays are not just stand-alone pieces; they form a dynamic dialogue that supports student writers.
- Writing Spaces, Vol. 1
- Writing Spaces, Vol. 2
- Writing Spaces, Vol. 3
- Writing Spaces, Vol. 4
- Writing Spaces, Vol. 5
Contributions should center the undergraduate writer as the primary audience, drawing on narrative and personal approaches to create an accessible, reader-friendly text. Student voices and examples are encouraged, with appropriate permissions, and original or freely licensed visuals are encouraged. Collaboratively written essays are also welcome.
Proposals of 500 words should summarize the essay and indicate whether and how student voices and/or visuals will be included. Proposals will be accepted until September 30, 2024, and are to be submitted as a .doc, .pdf, .rtf, or .odt file via email to writingspacestextbooks@gmail.com, with “Volume 7 Proposal, [Title]” in the subject line.
Editors will review proposals by October 30, 2024, and invite selected authors to prepare 4,000 to 6,000 word manuscripts for peer review by February 15, 2025. In addition to the essay, authors will create brief instructor resources and discussion questions to be published on the Writing Spaces website for instructor use. The publication of the 7th volume is planned for Summer 2025. More information for authors is available in the submissions area of our website. Please email any questions to editors@writingspaces.org. Each chapter of Writing Spaces is available for free download via our website under a Creative Commons license. Volumes are also published in print through our partner – Parlor Press. Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing is published in partnership with Parlor Press and the WAC Clearinghouse.