Call for Submissions: Special Issue on Grant Writing, Access, and Empowerment

We invite submissions for possible inclusion in a special issue of Open Words: Access and English Studies on the subject of grant writing.

Grant writing speaks directly to issues of access and to ways in which writing can empower students. It teaches students to analyze communities critically, using data (Census reports, CDC statistics, FDA bulletins) that many English majors have little exposure to. Grant writers work with community agencies to develop solutions that will meet the needs their research has identified, and they learn to write for very specific audiences (funding agencies) that have specific needs and requirements. When successful, grant writing draws resources to communities that have unmet needs, providing access to services and resources that can address or ameliorate the need. Grant writing literally can be a bridge between those with resources and those who need access to those resources. Students are the builders of those bridges, and the process of writing grants helps students see themselves in the role of advocates and potential change agents.*

Areas of interest for this special journal issue include, but are not limited to, the following topics:

  • In what ways can we connect grant writing to issues of access?
  • In what way is grant writing a constructed experience? What constructs, constraints, opportunities, etc. are in operation?
  • What aspects of teaching grant writing need “debriefing”? How can we “take into account what interactions with students teach us about the broader, democratic goals of open-access and English studies”**
  • Does online and/or f2f teaching have implications for access?
  • How does grant writing meet the Open Words stated goal of English studies, “to empower students’ critical and creative endeavors”?**

We are especially interested in submissions that explore issues of grant writing at MSIs (Minority Serving Institutions).

Important Dates

  • 500 word proposal submitted to editors (see below): March 15, 2022
  • Decision Deadline and Invitation to submit full manuscript: April 1, 2022
  • Full Version: August 1, 2022
  • Final Version: November 1, 2022

Submit manuscripts in digital format (Microsoft Word) via email addressed to both:

OPEN WORDS: Access and English Studies is an online, peer-reviewed journal, published by the WAC Clearinghouse.

Prospective contributors should prepare manuscripts in MLA or APA style with all identifying references to the author(s) deleted. Submissions should include a cover page, giving the name, address, and institutional affiliation of the author(s) as well as any bios not to exceed 300 words.

We consider longer works, but submissions to Open Words should try to stay within 6000-7000 words.


*Jones, Natasha N. “Modified Immersive Situation Service Learning: A Social Justice Approach to Professional Communication Pedagogy.” Business & Professional Communication Quarterly. 80 (2017): 6-28.

**Open Words, “About the Journal.” https://wac.colostate.edu/openwords/about/