News: Latest CfP: Vol 9 Issue 2

Call for Contributions: Puget Sound Stories

Vol. 9, Issue 2: Puget Sound Stories

Co-edited by Amalia Kozloff & Sharon Kong-Perring, Museum of Pop Culture, Seattle (Washington, USA)

Debuting in November 2026, the Museum of Pop Culture’s newest music exhibition, Puget Sound Stories: Seattle Music + Beyond, platforms the Pacific Northwest region of North America as a site of cultural dialogue and social innovation within music scenes. By presenting a nuanced narrative of the region’s musical landscape, the exhibition goes beyond traditional musical documentation to reveal how music intersects with individual social, cultural, and technological stories. This show is a living, breathing tribute to the musical innovation that has emerged from the Evergreen State, celebrating everything from the established music legends like Nirvana and Pearl Jam to indigenous art to emerging artists.

In conjunction with the opening of Puget Sound Stories, Riffs is partnering with the Museum of Pop Culture to bring this issue to life. The Editors of this issue of Riffs – Amalia Kozloff (Associate Director of Curatorial, Museum of Pop Culture) Sharon Kong-Perring (Curator, Museum of Pop Culture) –  invite scholars, independent researchers, archivists, musicians, and multimedia creators to submit fully formed papers, photo essays, narrative pieces (i.e. poetry and prose), or archival projects that explore the intersection of music and culture in the Pacific Northwest and Puget Sound regions. We welcome multidisciplinary approaches addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

·       Subculture, counterculture, & resistance

·       Genre, composition, musicology

·       Music scenes

·       Biography

·       Geography

·       Material culture

·       Indigenous exploration of sound and music

Entries are expected to be submitted no later than August 1, 2026 to riffsjournal@gmail.com. Please refer to these contributor guidelines: https://riffsjournal.org/about/submitting-articles/

Pieces will be peer reviewed, with edits due back to Riffs in early October. 

Full submissions should range from 1,000 to 4,000 words or up to eight pages for photo essays or creative pieces. Experimental pieces must be such that they can be provided as part of a PDF issue.

This edition will be made available on the Riffs website (Open Access) from 20 November 2026. Museum attendees will be able to engage with the issue electronically as promoted via MOPOP’s digital platforms.

Photo Courtesy of the Museum of Pop Culture; Dorothy Gale Dress from the Film “The Wizard of Oz”, MOPOP Permanent Collection, c. 1939, Hat Worn by Prince During the Purple Rain Concert Tour, MOPOP Permanent Collection, c. 1984 – 1989, Feather Boa Worn by Janis Joplin, MOPOP Permanent Collection, c. 1970, Gibson ES-355TDC Formerly Owned by Chuck Berry, MOPOP Permanent Collection, c. 1973.