Call for Papers: Fall 2025 Issue

Call for Papers, poster design by Anthony Polsinelli-Glasgow.

Theme: A Byte of Creativity

In the hyper-digital society that we live in today, creativity just seems to be evolving continuously. Is this good or bad? Well perhaps it can be both. From digital games to NFTs, Data visualizations to Gen AI art, how is technology transforming the way we create, value, and share art? What are the new opportunities and challenges faced by the next generation?

Focus Areas:

We encourage submissions on the following topics but welcome any innovative work that engages with the topic of A Byte of Creativity including but not limited to:

Mixed Media Work: Art isn’t just made with a paintbrush! How do digital realms foster different methods of making such as digital games, NFTs, data illustrations, and more? How does traditional art making intersect with digital tools and technologies?
Creative Processes: How has the digital world impacted creative processes? Think about all steps: from drafting to displaying.
Accessibility/Opportunity: Are there barriers to practicing creativity in digital spaces, how can technology exacerbate hierarchies, imbalances, and inequities? On the other hand, can digital spaces provide increased equality, access, or opportunities?
Jobs and Labour: Professional creatives have been necessarily pushed into the digital sphere. How has this affected the livelihood of artists? Who benefits and who does not?
Collaboration: Do digital spaces allow for increased connectivity between creatives, or between creator and audience? Do they stifle connectivity? Has technology changed the way creative collaboration occurs?
Indigenous Making: What happens when traditional Indigenous technologies and cultural practices of making meet the digital realm? In addition to contemporary Indigenous authors and artists who use digital tools, you may also consider speculative and sci-fi work that create and envision possible futures for Indigenous peoples.
Gen AI: AI and creativity have been a hot topic! Let's get into the good, the bad, and the ugly. Feel free to think beyond generative visual media, like music and writing.
Deepfakes: A uniquely digital, arguably creative, AI tool that has allowed for appropriation of artists' work, but also opened up new possibilities for creative innovation. What are your thoughts?

Submission Guidelines:

We accept submissions in the following formats: - Academic Research Papers

Multi-media: video and photo essays, digital games, Twine, podcasts, Mini Scripts, animation, collage, sculpture, crafted and/or analog works, music, etc.
Other Creative Work: graphic novel or, comics, short stories, short films, poetry, collage, sculpture, and other crafted works.
Data visualizations: and Data Art: timelines, story maps, charts, infographics, collage.

Citations: Authors are encouraged to follow the Chicago style (17th edition) for citations. To learn more about Chicago formatting, check out the University of Guelph’s Citation website, or Purdue OWL.

Descriptive Statmements (for Creative or Experimental Work): We encourage creative and experimental, multimedia works. If your work falls into this category, alongside your submission we suggest that you include a brief description of your work and an explanation of your creative process to give readers added context.

Timeline:

The deadline for submissions is October 20th, 2025.

Submit your piece, a short bio (100-200 words), and a brief explanation of why you think it would be a good fit for our journal issue to: ctrlaltdh@gmail.com

The CTRL+ALT+DH journal issue will be published in early December 2025.

You will be contacted before publication if your submission is chosen for this year’s issue and for editorial feedback.

Why Submit to CTRL+ALT+DH?

CTRL+ALT+DH is the student-led undergraduate journal of the U of Guelph's Culture and Technology Studies (CTS) program.

CTRL+ALT+DH isn’t just a journal, it’s a one-of-a-kind, growing experiment in what scholarship and creativity can become when digital and humanistic practices collide. CTRL+ALT+DH is a platform for dialogue, experimentation, and bold creative risks. Each issue is only as vibrant as the voices that fill it, and your contributions help capture how today’s students are navigating and transforming creativity in digital spaces.

This issue is an open canvas. Your layers, loops, and ideas help design it. From brushstrokes to bytes, from glitter to code, your work doesn’t just belong here, it contributes to important conversations about what comes next in the world of art and technology.

Submitting means adding your voice to a unique community that is reimagining what publishing, presenting, and preserving ideas can look like in a digital age.

This is your opportunity to showcase your work and to be part of something that celebrates student innovation!