Volume 11 (2025) Call for Papers: “European Baldwins”

James Baldwin Review (JBR), an annual peer-reviewed journal, is seeking submissions for its eleventh volume (2025). James Baldwin Review brings together a wide array of peer-reviewed critical essays and creative non-fiction on the life, writings, and legacies of James Baldwin. JBR publishes essays that invigorate scholarship on James Baldwin, catalyse explorations of the literary, political, and cultural influence of Baldwin’s writing and political activism, and deepen our understanding and appreciation of this complex and luminary figure. We accept submission on a rolling basis and are always interested in high-quality work on James Baldwin, regardless of focus or specialty.

For our 2025 volume, JBR is especially interested in essays that explore the impact of Baldwin’s life and work on the cultures, nations, and languages of Europe. While the impact of Europe on Baldwin is well known, his recent consecration as a cosmopolitan figure, as well as the struggle of many European countries with ‘Baldwinian’ topics such as identity, diversity, and colonial amnesia, make the study of Baldwin’s effect on Europe increasingly urgent. “European Baldwins” as a topic is intentionally broad and loose, aiming to attract work that explores an emerging chapter in the literary and cultural history of European-American relations, one which breaks free of the American exceptionalism of much Baldwin scholarship and paves the way towards an enriched understanding of the political and cosmopolitan import of his work.

Each year the journal also publishes an outstanding essay by a graduate student. Submissions from graduate students should be marked as such.

We accept submissions throughout the year; submissions received before December 1st, 2024 will receive fullest consideration for Volume 11. All submissions must be accompanied by a 250-word abstract and a list of keywords. Please consult our detailed submission instructions on our website: https://www.manchesteropenhive.com/view/journals/jbr/jbr-overview.xml

It is the aim of James Baldwin Review to provide a vibrant and multidisciplinary forum for the international community of Baldwin scholars, students, and enthusiasts.

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Authors are welcome to contact the managing editor—Justin A. Joyce—with proposals or queries at: j.a.joyce@wustl.edu