Culture, Theory and Critique invites proposals for guest edited issues.  

Proposals should present a clearly focused topic relevant to the journal’s aims (see website or the inside back cover of the journal) and indicate how the issue would break new ground or make some other serious contribution in the area(s) concerned.  An issue may arise out of a themed seminar series, a conference or conference panel, be assembled for the purposes of the issue, or be a combination of these approaches.  Proposals should include a clear statement that all of the articles represent entirely new pieces of research and that none is under consideration by another publication (book or journal), including in other languages.  It is expected that the guest editor(s) will provide a short introduction to the issue.

Proposals should outline in 600 words the topic the articles will address, the significance of their contribution and in what ways the issue would fit with the journal’s aims.  In cases where the proposal is based on an existing set of papers, the proposal should also include titles and abstracts (150 words) of all the papers.  In cases where the proposal is to assemble a set of papers, the proposal should include a list of intended contributors and possible paper titles.  In all cases, the proposal should explain why the editor(s) feel(s) confident that a good range of quality papers will be submitted for review.

It is essential for the guest editor(s) to present 25-30% more material than can be published in an issue since the journal has a rigorous and anonymous refereeing process which may eliminate some of the articles initially presented.  Issues normally contain six essays of 7,000 words, although there is flexibility in reaching the overall target of 42,000 words and a lower number of longer essays may be offered for consideration.  Once a proposal is accepted, articles should be submitted for refereeing by October of the year preceding publication.  In the case of some articles not selected for the special issue, it may be possible to offer authors the chance of publication of in an open issue of the journal. It is also possible to propose a double issue if there are a high number of quality papers or an issue which is larger than a single issue but not big enough for a double issue – as long as the editors are happy for there to be a separate section following the themed papers containing some unrelated, open submission papers. 

Guest editors need to familiarise themselves with the journal’s style guidelines and to impress upon authors that these have to be followed closely.  The publisher will expect to receive material which has been formatted in accordance with the journal’s preferred style: this is the guest editor’s responsibility.  A member of the Editorial Board will work with the guest editor(s) to ensure that the journal’s normal refereeing and other procedures are followed.   The member of the Editorial Board will not normally be named as a co-editor, although, in cases of substantial input, the Editorial Board member will figure as co-editor.

Proposals can be sent at any time and will be accepted up until December 31, 2023. Proposals should be sent to both Editor-in-Chief Greg Hainge (g.hainge@uq.edu.au) and culturetheoryandcritique@gmail.com.