Call for papers: Makings 2026 issue
Deadline: Monday 1 June 2026
For our next issue, Makings has elected to publish an open call, rather than a themed collection. We invite full paper submissions across the full breadth of the journal’s interest in creative economies, cultural production, and media work. This issue aims to highlight the diversity of current scholarship and practice that is shaping today’s creative landscape.
We welcome contributions that explore (but are not limited to):
- Creative labour, workforce experiences and skills development
- Informal, independent and “hidden” cultural economies
- Media industries, production cultures and cultural policy
- Community-based and participatory creative practices
- Digital, platform and immersive media environments
- Artificial intelligence and its impact on creative media practice
- Heritage, archiving and the politics of cultural memory
- Equity, inclusion and access in creative and media sectors
- Intersections of art, technology and society
We particularly encourage interdisciplinary work, international perspectives, and research rooted in lived practice, collaboration, activism, or innovative methodologies.
About Makings
Makings is an open-access, peer-reviewed journal exploring the cultural, social, political and economic dynamics of creative practice and media work. We publish research that critically engages with how creativity is understood, organised and experienced, including its infrastructures, labour conditions, and wider social impact. Now in our seventh year, we continue to support inclusive, collaborative and practice-informed scholarship that advances understanding of creative economies in all their diversity.
Submission Types
Full research articles (6,000 words, excluding references, footnotes, endnotes, abstract and biography)
Studio Contributions
The Studio section offers space for experimentation with format, creative process, and practitioner reflection. There are no strict guidelines — please get in touch with the editors to discuss ideas. Common formats include:
- Video or audio pieces hosted on the journal’s YouTube channel with accompanying text or commentary
- Blog posts (up to 1,000 words) offering concise insight into a project, creative method, emerging idea, or example of practice. Peer review is light-touch, focusing on clarity and reader engagement. Contributors can use images, links, tables or other media to support their points.
Key Dates
Submission deadline: Monday 1 June 2026
Notification of decision: Monday 13 July 2026
Publication: Friday 9 October 2026
How to Submit
Please submit your article to makingsjournal@gmail.com, ensuring that you follow the journal’s submission guidelines.
If you have any questions or wish to discuss your potential submission please contact the editors, Professor Oliver Carter (oliver.carter@bcu.ac.uk) and Dr Karen Seaward-Patel (karen.seaward-patel@bcu.ac.uk).