Call for Papers

Away from Home: Black British Women’s Writing, 1970 and Beyond

Description:
The arrival of the Empire Windrush at Tilbury on 22 June 1948 marked the beginning of an important period in British writing, but also an era that largely silenced women writers—particularly women writers of colour. In the years following the arrival of the Windrush, the output of women writers of colour in the UK, or Black British women writers, increased. However, recognition of this group was not as forthcoming as acclaim and acknowledgement was largely granted to male writers. While the work of all immigrant writers in the UK—particularly those texts that recount the lived experiences surrounding immigration—is critical to literature studies, women writers have historically been positioned at the margins of the canon. Specifically, immigrant women writers in the UK in the post-Windrush years, with a few exceptions, seem to labour almost in silence. This collection proposes an examination of Black British women’s writing, focusing on the years after 1970, addressing the female immigrant experience. Some authors of interest are Eintou Pearl Springer (Trinidad), Binta Breeze (Jamaica), June Henfrey (Barbados), Buchi Emecheta (Nigeria), Hannah Pool (Eritrea), Nadifa Mohamed (Somalia), and Irenosen Okojie (Nigeria). Essays addressing the work of women writers who are British-born, second generation, such as Bernadine Evaristo, Patience Agbabi, Monica Ali, and Meera Syal, are also welcome.

What Should the Submitted Chapters Consider?
Potential topics of discussion include, but are not limited to:

  • Post-Windrush female immigrants in British society;
  • Black British female Bildungsromane;
  • Black British female immigrants and the Welfare State;
  • Immigration and motherhood;
  • Marriage and family structure in a diaspora;
  • Healthcare, the NHS, and immigrants;
  • Immigrant employment opportunities (or the lack thereof);
  • Immigration and education.

About the Editor:
Camille S. Alexander earned a PhD in English at the University of Kent, UK, where her research focused on Caribbean female migratory literature. Dr Alexander’s research interests include Caribbean studies and literature, Black British literature, film, African American literature, and third-wave feminism. She recently guest-edited an issue of Caribbean Quarterly (2021) and has published in The Journal of Popular Culture (2019), The International Journal of James Bond Studies (2020), and the edited collections Woke Cinderella: 21st-Century Adaptations (2020) and Voodoo, Hoodoo and Conjure in African-American Literature: Critical Essays (2019). Dr. Alexander is an Assistant Professor of English at Tuskegee University, USA.

  • Submission Requirements:
    Final essays should be between 5000 and 7000 words;
  • All submissions should conform to the grammar and formatting guidelines provided by Cambridge Scholars Publishing, which can be viewed here: https://www.cambridgescholars.com/pages/forms-guidelines.
  • Unless agreed with the Editor prior to submission, referencing should be in Chicago style.
  • Any work submitted for publication should be free of copyright restrictions, and a statement should be submitted in support of this.
  • Contributions should be scholarly based, rather than anecdotal or unverifiable.
  • Contributions must be wholly in English, excluding footnotes, appendices, and short extracts for translation.
  • While we will perform pre-press evaluations on the collection, we do not provide full copyediting services, so we ask that works are submitted to us in their final, ‘ready-to-go’ form.

How to Submit?
You should submit to the Editor a completed proposal form, alongside a copy of your work for their review. This submission should be made directly to the address at the top of this page.

If you have any questions about the collection, prior to your submission, please contact the Editor.

Timeline:

  • 300-word abstracts and 50-word author bio: September 1
  • Response: September 20
  • First draft: November 30
  • Feedback: December 30
  • Final draft: February 15

All works should be submitted to the Editor, at the address provided at the top of this document.

The Editor will review these personally to consider their inclusion in the work. Should the Editor approve the chapters, you will then be asked to complete an agreement for the publication of these chapters. It is essential that this agreement is completed in order for your work to be printed.

Once the Editor has approved the chapter, and has received your contributor agreement, these will then be sent to Cambridge Scholars as a complete collection for pre-press reviews and publication. As such, it is essential that the work you submit to the Editor is finalised and has been thoroughly proofread.

You can view all open projects at the links below: