Call for Proposals: Siren! A Magazine for Feminism, Media, and Activism

This academic year, four Annenberg doctoral students — Cienna Davis, Sim Gill, Valentina Proust, and Lucila Rozas — are launching an open-access digital journal focused on explorations of feminism, media, and activism. The journal, entitled Siren!, will publish critical written and multimedia work on communication, media, activism, and feminist theory and praxis from diverse regions worldwide.

Below, find call for proposals for the magazine's inaugural issue: "Resurfacing Feminist Currents."

Overview

In an era of media saturation, where news, information, art, and entertainment flow endlessly across screens and platforms, our capacity for meaningful interpersonal communication and vital social conversations is increasingly at risk. Within this vast ecosystem, dominant cultural narratives often drown out feminine, queer, Indigenous, diasporic, and other historically underrepresented and silenced communities, reinforcing entrenched patterns of exclusion. In response to these dynamics, we position this inaugural issue as an intervention. One that actively disrupts these silences and reclaims space for voices and knowledges pushed to the margins. 

Siren! is now accepting submissions for its first issue, dedicated to resurfacing and amplifying submerged voices, epistemologies, and practices. As a transnational feminist platform, we aim to amplify these resonances through critical scholarship, artistic expressions, and acts of resistance that seek to envision alternative futures. This inaugural issue will set the tone for the journal, calling for contributions that navigate the allure and dangers of the media ecosystem, challenging its hegemonies, and charting new routes toward solidarity, care, and transformation.

We invite submissions that critically examine, celebrate, and creatively engage with acts of activism, resistance, collaboration, and cultural interventions. We welcome work from scholars, artists, and practitioners. We are seeking work that sparks conversations, challenges dominant narratives, and resonates with global audiences passionate about feminism, media, and cultural activism. 

Proposals

We welcome proposals on topics including, but not limited to, the following:

• Oral histories and/or experimental storytelling formats
• Archival practices and counter archives
• Memory work and reparative media
• Transnational solidarity networks and organizing 
• Indigenous media practices and knowledge transmissions
• Diasporic narratives and cultural preservation
• Collaborative authorship and collective knowledge production
• Soundscapes, audio activism, and voice-centered practices

We particularly encourage submissions from early-career scholars, graduate and undergraduate students, and independent intellectuals (including activists, artists, and public scholars) whose work engages with critical feminist discourses in communication, media, and related fields.

Submission can take many formats, be it written, multimedia (visual, AV, audio pieces), or hybrid (a blend of written text and other media), and should align with the magazine’s current issue theme and our commitment to transnational solidarity, feminist world-making, and transformative social change. Please indicate the format of your proposal submission in the body of the email.

Submission Guidelines

For full consideration, abstracts are due by October 30, 2025. Completed submissions will be due by January 30, 2026 for a projected publication date in May 2026.

Guidelines for proposal types:

• Paper: Please send a 250-word abstract outlining the argument for a full paper featuring an original contribution. Full papers are long-form (3000 - 5000 words) analytical essays that connect to the current topic of the issue. Please use the APA citation system for references. 
• Escalator Paper: Please submit a 150-word abstract for a short analytical piece (500–2000 words). Research escalator papers are works-in-progress on novel ideas related to the issue theme; they will be published as submitted and paired with an expert mentor to develop into a full analytical or empirical work.  Please use the APA citation system for references. 
• Multimedia and Hybrid Submissions: Please submit a 200–250-word description explaining how your piece relates to the current issue’s theme. For multimedia works, explain how text and other elements interact. Finished pieces should include a link to a sample. For works in progress, add a brief (up to 50 words) outline of your process and timeline. Experimental submissions are encouraged.

All proposals should be sent as a .docx or .pdf document, and include a brief bio (up to 150 words) introducing yourself and your background. Please submit proposals to asc-sirenmagazine@asc.upenn.edu, using the subject line “Siren Magazine – Resurfacing.” Direct any questions regarding the call or submission process to the same address.

Important Dates

• Abstract due: October 30, 2025
• Acceptances: November 30, 2025
• Final submission: January 30, 2026
• Peer-review process: February-April
• Expected publication date: May 2026