Pennsylvania Literary Journal - March 25 Deadline
The peer-reviewed Pennsylvania Literary Journal, http://sites.google.com/site/pennsylvaniajournal, is now accepting submissions for the Summer 2010 Special Issue, "New and Old Historical Perspectives on Literature." In the 1980's Stephen Greenblatt developed "New Historicism." Despite H. Aram Veeser's 1989 anthology, The New Historicism, and numerous other publications in this field, one is left puzzled about why a historical examination of literature is "new." Essays should either strive to define new or old historicism, or should practice a historical evaluation of literature. If your work does not fit into this theme, you are also welcome to send a query on any other topic, as the quality of the work is important, rather than unity between the works. A few ideas follow to explain the topic: a biographic study of Shakespeare and his historic period; analysis of one of Alexander Dumas's historic novels; an investigation of the historical accuracy of a novel about the Holocaust; or a criticism of a recent work that historicizes a current event. All genres and periods can be studied through a historic lens. Poetry and especially works that are tied to history are invited. For this third issue of the Journal, we hope to begin publishing book-reviews. Many of the publishers that displayed their books at the 2009 MLA Convention stated that they will send specific free books to writers for review if I make requests. If there are any books published by the major academic publishers in the last three years that you were hoping to read for your own research, please email a request to the editor, and it will be forwarded to the publisher. You should not send a request if you might not complete the review after the book is sent to you. We are recruiting additional peer-reviewers; just send an email with your willingness to participate. PLJ is available through EBSCO, listed on the MLA Periodicals Directory and is a member of the Council of Editors of Learned Journals. An article about this journal was published in D-Lib Magazine's November/December 2009 issue. More good news is anticipated in the near-future as the journal will either begin to self-publish a printed issue, or will find a print-publisher to adapt it by the upcoming third issue. The preferred submission method is by email to pennsylvaniajournal@gmail.com. You can also mail submissions to the Editor, Anna Faktorovich, 1800 Lisa Dr., #2, Indiana, PA 15701. The essays should be single-spaced, 5,000-10,000 words, not plagiarized, MLA style with Word-programmed notes (those that can be easily converted from footnotes to endnotes and backwards), with an abstract and an author's biography, both under 200 words. If you are uncertain about which paper to submit or how to edit it for publication, do send a query with questions first. Be prepared for heavy editing, and only send work in if you can accept criticism and are willing to make necessary changes. The early deadline is March 20th, 2010, but submissions will be accepted as late as the end of June, as the issue will be published in August, 2010.