Goodbye 2025: Looking Ahead to 2026

As 2025 draws to a close, I’ve found myself reflecting on a year that has been defined by both uncertainty and unexpected opportunity. Career-wise, this was not the year I imagined when I submitted my PhD almost exactly two years ago. Fifty-six postdoctoral fellowship applications later, I am still waiting for the elusive ‘yes’ and without a clear end point in sight, it has been easy to feel disheartened about academic prospects and longer-term direction.

Yet - despite all of this - some genuinely amazing things have happened this year. 

Although ultimately unsuccessful, I was fortunate to be shortlisted and interviewed for several academic positions. These experiences sharpened my interviewing skills and gave me invaluable insight into how institutions think and hire. Along the way, I met generous and inspiring academics across the UK and beyond, many of whom offered time, feedback and enthusiasm for my research. While I may not (yet) hold a postdoctoral fellowship, I certainly haven’t felt as though I’ve been drifting away from academia. This year saw my first articles published in peer-reviewed journals, alongside a number of successful research funding bids - including the RMA 150th Anniversary Fellowship.

Conferences and symposia formed a major part of my academic life this year. Highlights included the BFE/RMA Students’ Conference hosted by the University of Aberdeen in January, and the RMA Conference in Southampton, where the fellowship was announced. These opportunities also took me further afield than I ever expected: to Connecticut, Tennessee and Maine in the US, and to Tunisia: an entirely unanticipated destination made possible through a sea songs conference.

Closer to home, I was able to return to Aberdeen several times, including for the Tall Ships Race, where I encountered people and vessels familiar from my PhD research. A first visit to the Harwich Shanty Festival (long cited in my doctoral work) allowed me to hear performers central to contemporary shanty practice. Hearing the Keelers speak about Stan Hugill was a particular highlight. Research-wise, I’ve also had the space to explore unfamiliar times and places: from British sailors on the musical theatre stage to fifteenth-century work-song practices aboard religious ships, working across French, Italian, Latin, Ancient Greek, Spanish and Dutch sources. I was especially excited to acquire several collections of non-Anglophone shanties previously unknown to me.

Looking ahead to 2026, I feel hopeful. I have two books under contract with leading publishers, several conferences scheduled, funding in place for smaller research projects (including another US trip), and a new role on the Abolition Song and its Legacies project. Four postdoctoral fellowship applications are currently under consideration, and several personal and professional projects are quietly taking shape. I may not be where I expected to be two years after completing my doctorate, but I begin the new year with gratitude, momentum and cautious optimism. Bring on 2026!