P4W 25 Years Later: Call For Submissions

Special Issue Editors

• Linda Mussell – Lecturer, Political Science and International Relations, University of Canterbury
• Rachel Fayter – PhD Candidate, Criminology, University of Ottawa
• Sheena Hoszko, PhD Student, Cultural Studies, Queen’s University

Focus of the Special Issue

The Prison for Women (P4W) in Kingston, Ontario was Canada’s only federal prison for women from 1934-2000. Just four years after P4W opened in 1934, the Archambault Report recommended its closure due to “disgraceful” conditions,” yet it remained open until the year 2000. Since the closure of P4W, several federal women’s prisons have been opened across the country. 

We invite submissions reflecting on questions raised by the twentieth-plus anniversary of the closure of P4W. What should be remembered about P4W, and what is best forgotten or laid to rest? What has changed in women’s federal prisons since the closure of P4W, and what has remained the same? At a time when Indigenous women are the most imprisoned group in Canada, how do we move from memory and acknowledgement to healing, accountability, and action? What role do art and media play in challenging the stigma of imprisonment and amplifying the voices of people who have spent time in women’s prisons? 

We especially invite contributions to this special issue from people who have been imprisoned in women’s prisons in Canada. We especially invite people who were imprisoned at P4W and KP (e.g., Regional Treatment Centre) to send in submissions. We also welcome collaborative essays or dialogues between former prisoners and from people on the outside who visited/volunteered/worked in P4W.

These questions are especially pressing, given the sale of P4W to a private developer who plans to turn the prison into a mixture of residential, office, and retail space. While P4W has been designated as a “recognized heritage building,” there has been little formal recognition of the site’s social history and its enduring impact on the lives of people who were imprisoned there. 

Submission Formats

This special issue welcomes contributions from a wide range of work including:

• Art, poetry, photos, graphic essays, digital art, etc.
• Interviews or discussions
• Theoretical, critical and analytical essays
• Scholarly research articles based on quantitative, qualitative, arts-based and/or mixed-methods research
• Book reviews

Timeline

• Submissions by authors: September 1, 2024
• Editorial decision and reviewer comments to authors: October 30, 2024
• Revised submissions: December 30, 2024
• Publication date: February 1, 2025

Guidelines

At the Journal of Prisoners on Prisons (JPP), we support the federally sentenced people’s right to exercise freedom of expression pursuant to s.2 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. We feel that publishing the writing of incarcerated people is a necessary tool to facilitate transparency in the Canadian Prison system.

We welcome submissions from all federally sentenced people and are eager to hear your input on the above-mentioned issues. Please share this notice with anyone who may be interested in

contributing to our journal. We ask that those who choose to submit include a short biographical

statement and let us know if you would like to be published anonymously. We look forward to reviewing your submissions and hope to hear from you soon.

All contributions must follow the journal’s submission guidelines (see http://www.jpp.org/submissions.html)

• The Journal will not publish any subject matter that advocates hatred, sexism, racism, violence or that supports the death penalty.
• The Journal does not publish material that usually focuses on the writer’s own legal case, although the use of the writer’s personal experiences as an illustration of a broader topic is encouraged.
• The Journal does not usually publish fiction and does not generally publish poetry. Illustrations, drawings and paintings may be submitted as potential cover art.
• Articles should be no longer than 20 pages typed and double-spaced or legibly handwritten. Electronic submissions are gratefully received.
• Writers may elect to write anonymously or under a pseudonym.
• For references cited in an article, writers should attempt to provide the necessary bibliographic information. Refer to the references cited in past issues for examples.
• Editors look for developed pieces that address topics substantially. Manuscripts go through a preliminary reading and then are sent to review by the Editorial Board. Those that are of suitable interest are returned to the author with comments or suggestions. Editors work with writers on composition and form, and where necessary may help the author with referencing and bibliographic information, not readily available in prisons. Selected articles are returned to authors for their approval before publication. Papers not selected are returned with comments from the editor. Revised papers may be resubmitted.
• Please submit biographical and contact information, to be published alongside articles unless otherwise indicated.

Submissions

Please send your submissions to rfayter@uottawa.ca or by mail to the address below:  

Or online via the JPP submission portal –

Justin Piché

Re: JPP Special Issue Submissions

Department of Criminology, FSS Building

University of Ottawa

120 University Private

Ottawa, ON

K1N 6N5

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: September 1, 2024