Call for Papers – Sailing: Introduction to the Atlantic

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Call for Papers – Sailing: Introduction to the Atlantic

Written in the Waves – Atlantic History, Written by Women

Deadline: 1 March 2026

Written in the Waves is excited to announce that we are launching our first volume, Sailing!

We are inviting graduate and undergraduate students (min. 4th year), as well as early scholars, to explore the historically rich Atlantic region through interdisciplinary methods.

Written in the Waves is an online journal founded by graduate students at McMaster University: Sarah Perry (PhD Candidate, History) and Annabelle Silva (MA Student, Anthropology). Both Sarah and Annabelle look at different regions within the Atlantic but are similarly interested in engaging with previous historical narratives and their impact on the marginalized, ignored communities of the Atlantic.

The main purpose of WIW is to not only provide an opportunity for students to share their research, but we are especially interested in uplifting voices of women and BIPOC: to share their interpretations and perspectives on a history that has been previously dominated by the white, Euro-centric male view.

Are we just talking about the Ocean? No! Written in the Waves is not just concerned about naval histories, rather, we are interested in the past of any country, territory, or community that shares a geographical border or cultural connection to the Atlantic.

Sayer, Robert. Chart of the Atlantic, the Western Ocean. February 1775. John Carter Brown Library, Brown University.

We invite submissions and creative pieces of all kinds! Submission topics may consider, but are not limited to, the following themes:

  • Atlantic Historical Narratives
  • Atlantic Identities, Connections, and Community
  • Atlantic Indigeneity
  • Diasporas in the Atlantic
  • Atlantic Disease and the Body
  • Atlantic Labour and Industry
  • Atlantic Memory, Myth, and Folklore
  • Atlantic Archaeology and Materiality

***For creative and non-traditional projects, we encourage submissions of all kinds: poetry, artwork, photography, memoirs, video and audio projects, and so forth. Please feel free to reach out to writteninthewaves@outlook.com if you are unsure about your submission topic or format.

Submission Guidelines:

Please send us your submission via email (.pdf or .docx) to writteninthewaves@outlook.com or through our website by March 1st, 2026. Within the body of your email, please include your name, pronouns, a short biography (50-75 words max.), as well as your academic program and level.

  • If you are submitting a research paper, please note that we employ either Chicago or APA citation styles. You can choose to either do in-text or footnotes, but no endnotes.
  • If selected, we aim to have your work presented and published on our website. For any questions or accessibility requests, please reach out to us via email.

As Written in the Waves is a student-run project, we will not be able to provide any peer reviewing, only grammatical suggestions. Any use of AI is prohibited, and suspected use will result in you being blacklisted from submitting to any future volumes.

We look forward to reading your submissions!

Signed, Written in the Waves.

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Sarah Perry

Co-Founder at Written in the Waves
Sarah is a PhD Candidate in the Department of History at McMaster University. Her research focuses on Indigenous labour and knowledge in the environmental histories of the Newfoundland & Labrador mining industry. She is a student researcher on the SSHRC-funded Mining Danger Project. Sarah is also the co-founder of Written in the Waves, an online graduate student journal dedicated to women's research on Atlantic history, anthropology, and folklore.

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