Calls for Manuscripts

Below is a current listing of calls for manuscripts that have been sent to us. If you would like to post a call here, please send relevant information to the ASLE Managing Director. Deadlines are in bold.

Those interested in journal and book publication should also consult the following pages:

List of Ecocritical Journals
List of Ecocritical Presses
Book-Publishing Wisdom (from C. L. Rawlins)

April 15, 2012.  Collection of Ecopoetry.  Two Ravens Press’ recent initiative to refocus its list on ‘eco-literature’ and writing that challenges and unpicks the status quo (see www.tworavenspress.com), and the announcement of our new magazine, EarthLines, (see http://earthlinesmagazine.wordpress.com) we are delighted to announce that, in November 2012, we will publish a volume of collected ecopoetry that addresses the complex relationship between people and the natural world. As we face the reality of climate change and the likelihood of irreversible damage to the biosphere, we are frequently called to alter our behaviour and lifestyles, to revisit our relationship with the environment and, somehow, to ‘reconnect with nature’. But what does reconnection mean, and, more importantly, what does it imply? And does literature, and specifically poetry, have any role to play in that reconnection? Is it ‘the song of the earth’ as has been claimed?  Can a poem help bridge the growing dissociation that pervades the relationships between contemporary humans and the natural world? Is poetry in itself a form of environmental action, or can it inspire action?   In November 2012 Two Ravens Press will publish a volume of new poetry that addresses these questions.

With an introduction by Dr David Borthwick (University of Glasgow) which questions the moods of estrangement, guilt and elegy which one finds in recent poetic responses to nature, the anthology will be the focus for a new wave of poetry that seeks to directly respond to the world in which we find ourselves, and that dramatises a growing hunger for a meaningful connection with the earth. 

If you would like to submit your work to our ecopoetry anthology, please email up to three poems that clearly fit the brief above to editors Sharon Blackie and David Knowles at info@tworavenspress.com. We will accept attachments in Microsoft Word format only. We will ONLY accept submissions by email. The deadline for submissions is April 15, 2012. We are looking for new, previously unpublished poetry – unless it appears in a very recent or forthcoming collection (in which case please note that we have no budget for permissions fees, and inclusion in the anthology would need to be agreed in writing with the relevant publisher of the collection on that basis). All contributors to the anthology will receive a free copy of the published book. Royalties of 8% RRP will be offered on sales of the book but we propose to donate those royalties on behalf of all contributors to the John Muir Trust, the UK’s leading wild land conservation charity. For any further information, please contact Sharon Blackie: info@tworavenspress.com.

Posted January 19, 2012.  "History for a Sustainable Future," New Series. “History for a Sustainable Future”—a new series from the MIT Press— means to publish short, peer-reviewed monographs that provide valuable historical context that illuminates the nature of the current landscape of environmental problems, innovations, decisions, and futures before us. The series takes as its primary mission the dissemination of accessible historical information and resources for scholars and teachers, policy makers, activists, and concerned citizens. The driving theme behind this series involves making environmental history more relevant to 21st-century concerns about the environment.

Building on the notion that history offers a vital perspective on contemporary environmental debate, “History for a Sustainable Future” solicits proposals and manuscripts that engage with environmental histories that speak directly to the broader complexity of contemporary environmental issues. Accessible writing and clarity of purpose will serve as the cornerstone for titles under consideration; manuscripts should be theory-influenced, but not theory-laden. The series’ distinguishing features stem from its interest in producing short titles that contribute to environmental history’s contemporary relevance. Books will be limited to 50,000 words (including notes and references) and firmly grounded in original, primary research. The editorial board also solicits and encourages co-authored works that draw on the multiple strengths made possible by the perspectives and expertise of more than a single author.

While the series values timeliness, proposed topics and their delivery should have a lasting quality. In order for a manuscript to be considered for this series, it must speak very directly to contemporary environmental issues while remaining firmly grounded in historical analysis and methodologies. In addition to their topicality, manuscript submissions must meet an exceptionally high standard of writing quality, scholarship, and accessibility to our stated audiences.  For more information, please contact any of the series editors.

Series Editor: Michael Egan, McMaster University (egan@mcmaster.ca)
Associate Editors: Peter S. Alagona, University of California, Santa Barbara (alagona@history.ucsb.edu); Benjamin R. Cohen, University of Virginia (brc8x@virginia.edu); Adam M. Sowards, University of Idaho (asowards@uidaho.edu)

June 2012.  “Poetries and Sciences in the 21st Century,” themed issue of Interdisciplinary Science Reviews (www.isr-journal.org).  This is to invite proposals for contributions to a themed issue of Interdisciplinary Science Reviews on the topic of “Poetries and Sciences in the 21st Century”, to be published as volume 39, number 1, March 2014.

Reference here to the present century is meant to imply that the relationship between poetry and science is historically contingent and that our current views of it are informed and challenged by those of the past. The intended aim of this issue is not so much to sketch what we believe to be true but to question our views by considering where they have come from and to speculate on what is to be done through an examination of the interactions between poetry and science.

The theme of this issue is open to interpretation and we welcome a variety of submissions. In particular, though, we aim to publish one article which considers Richards’ Poetries and Sciences in context with his career (including his involvement with the Macy Conference of 1951) as a way of revisiting Richards’ interactions with the topic and comparing them with those of contemporary poets and literary critics.

Practical Matters
We request abstracts of up to 500 words, highlighting the key areas of interest and possible direction of your contribution. Articles should have a maximum length of 6000 words. All contributions will be peer‑reviewed. Articles may contain black and white illustrations (for which authors should seek the necessary permissions).

For details on format see www.maney.co.uk/journals/notes/isr.  Please address all enquiries to the issue editor Russell Jones (r.jones-5@sms.ed.ac.uk)

Schedule
06/2012 Declare intention to contribute (title and abstract)
12/2012 Secure commitment to submit article
06/2013 Submit first version
09/2013 Reviewers'ʹ comments and decisions back to authors
12/2013 Final materials due to the publisher
03/2014 Publication (vol 39.1)

Ongoing (posted October 4, 2010).  The Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences (AESS) is pleased to announce the launch of the Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences (JESS), the official publication of the Association. The Journal, available to all AESS members, provides a peer-reviewed, academically rigorous and professionally recognized forum for the publication of explicitly interdisciplinary environmental research, policy analysis and advocacy, educational discourse and other related matters. Contributions are welcome from any discipline or combination of disciplines, any vocation or professional affiliation, any national, ethnic or cultural background. Articles may relate to any historical and global setting. The Journal provides several submission categories:  Research and Theory, Research Briefs, Environmental Education, Policy Analysis, Commentary and Opinion, Book Reviews and Review Articles, Special Issues and Symposia, Letters.

Additional information about submissions and instructions for authors are available at the Journal website.

Dr. Walter (Tony) Rosenbaum of the University of Florida serves as the Editor in Chief. Inquiries about the Journal should be addressed to the Editor-in-Chief: tonyros@ufl.edu

Ongoing. Blueline seeks poems and stories about the Adirondacks and regions similar in geography and spirit, focusing on nature’s shaping influence. We also welcome short essays or creative nonfictions that interpret the literature or culture of the region, including New York State, New England, and eastern Canada. Submission period July through November. Decisions mid-February. Payment in copies. Send no previously published works and no simultaneous submissions. Send manuscripts to Blueline, 120 Morey Hall, SUNY Potsdam, Potsdam, NY 13676. Electronic submissions welcome, as Word files or as emails to blueline@potsdam.edu.

Ongoing.  Communication and Social Justice Book Series: Call For Book Manuscripts.  Social justice is a powerful political and ideological concept in the 21st century; it has become an increasingly central idea for those trying to gain a fuller understanding of national and international grassroots politics. An implicit assumption of a social justice perspective is that the integrity of any community is violated when some of its members are systematically deprived of their dignity or equality. This assumption often leads to research whose findings are not comfortable for the status quo: governments, institutions, and disciplines. Troubador's new Communication and Social Justice book series maintains that the relevance of scholarship should be judged by the degree to which scholarship advances social democratic values, and that these values must advance by way of valid research that provides honest critique and redescription of those institutions that promote and reify poverty, hierarchy, and/or social inequality.

Books in our series recognize that concern for underprivileged and underresourced groups is becoming an increasingly important topic about which to theorize and for which to develop interventions. The goal of this series is to explore the theoretical and practical ways that communication scholars can reconceptualize national and international societies so as to enable inclusive and equitable communities to emerge; to seek to construct communities that protect individual freedom while insuring equality and dignity for everyone. Specifically, this series takes the position that potential contributors are intellectual laborers who view their professional commitments as indistinguishable from their social and political identifications. From varying perspectives, each book published in the series will illustrate the vitality of engaged scholarship and the claim that a scholarship of social justice is not incompatible with more traditional "ivory tower" research. A fundamental assumption of the books is that there is no worthier end for measuring social utility than the abolishment of social injustice.  For information, please contract series editor Omar.Swartz@ucdenver.edu or visit us online at http://www.troubador.co.uk/socialjustice/.

Ongoing.  Coriolis: Interdisciplinary Journal of Maritime Studies.  We encourage submissions on any topic pertaining to maritime history, marine environmental history, and the literature, music, and art of the sea. We are particularly interested in publishing ecocritical studies on literature and the marine environment. Send queries to Daniel Brayton at dbrayton@middlebury.edu, or go to the website (http://ijms.nmdl.org).

Ongoing.  Places is an interdisciplinary journal of architecture, landscape and urbanism, published online in partnership with the Design Observer Group, the leading website for news and commentary on design and social change. As we broaden our scope to include more narrative nonfiction, we are reaching out to environmental writers and colleagues in allied fields -- including geography, history, ecology, planning, policy, media and technology -- whose work addresses the subject of place.

We publish peer-reviewed scholarship; essays and observations that blend research-based rigor with personal experience and journalistic edge; interviews and profiles; reviews of books, exhibitions, events and projects; fiction and poetry; photography and multimedia galleries; and any other kind of work that illuminates the experience of contemporary cities, buildings, and landscapes.

We publish two articles a week and welcome submissions on an ongoing basis.  Please see submission guidelines at http://places.designobserver.com.

Ongoing. The Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture (www.religionandnature.com/journal) welcomes submissions and special issue proposals from any disciplinary perspective, with any regional or temporal focus, that explore the relationships among human beings and what are variously understood by the terms religion, nature, and culture.

The JSRNC is a quarterly, interdisciplinary, peer-refereed journal, that has been publishing since 2007. It is affiliated with the International Society for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture (www.religionandnature.com/society). Further information about the journal, including guidelines for special issue proposals and for preparing manuscripts for submission, as well as samples of the diverse types of articles the JSRNC publishes, can be found at http://www.religionandnature.com/journal.

Please feel free to contact the editors at journal@religionandnature.com with ideas, suggestions, or questions. If the hyperlinks above do not work, simply cut the following url into your browser and go to the society or journal domain in http://www.religionandnature.com

Ongoing. The Journal of Ecocriticism is an electronic review that focuses on research which investigates the links between nature, society and literature. It invites manuscripts that address any issue of interest to ecocritics, and especially encourages new scholars in the field to submit work to the journal. Proposals for special issues are also encouraged. Please visit http://ojs.unbc.ca/index.php/joe for more details.

Ongoing. Green Theory & Praxis: The Journal of Ecopedagogy, a peer-reviewed, open-source academic journal, is proud to announce both a general Call for Papers for its upcoming June and December issues and its recent move from California State University, Fresno to a new home as the flagship journal of the Ecopedagogy Association International. Green Theory & Praxis represents a scholarly effort to present research papers and essays at the transformative nexus of ecological politics and culture, social structures, sustainability education and ecocriticism. The editorial board takes the position that many human societies and their attendant political economy and cultural norms depart strikingly from what is needed to maintain ecological harmony and planetary/ species flourishing. We offer a forum for careful study of the theoretical and rhetorical positions, political and economic adjustments, behavioral and institutional alterations, pedagogical and cultural mobilizations, and spiritual emergences that will or should emerge in response to increasing ecological damage of both a physical and psychic nature. We seek critical analysis of the root causes of various ecological crises and to link theory to concrete prospects for social change through pedagogy broadly conceived. We anticipate transdisciplinary papers, and invite scholars and activists from throughout the world to submit manuscripts for peer review. Please visit http://greentheoryandpraxis.ecopedagogy.org/index.php/journal to submit your work online and receive more information.

The book review editors at Green Theory and Praxis are also looking for reviewers in various areas of Green Studies. If you would like to join our reviewers list, please send a cover letter and vita to the editor of the appropriate area below:

Ecocriticism - Richard Pickard - rpickard@uvic.ca
Ecoliteracy and Environmental Education- Jeri Pollock - jpollockleite@gmail.com
Ecopolitics and radical political theory - Sean Parson - sparson@uoregon.edu
Environmental communication - Elizabeth Dickinson - edickins@unm.edu
Environmental Film - Salma Monani - mona0046@umn.edu
Environmental-political economy - Samuel Fassbinder – cassiodorus.senator@gmail.com

Ongoing. Humanimalia: A Journal of Human/Animal Interface Studies (http://www.depauw.edu/humanimalia) is a peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary journal published by DePauw University.  Humanimalia has three aims: to explore and advance the vast range of scholarship on human/animal relations, to encourage exchange among scholars working within a variety of disciplinary perspectives, and to promote dialogue between the academic community and those working closely with animals in non-academic fields.

We invite innovative work that situates these topics within contemporary culture via a variety of critical approaches, including but not limited to feminism, queer theory, critical race studies, political economy, ethnography, ethnozoology, literary criticism, science and technology studies, and media studies. Ideally, we seek papers that combine approaches, or at the very least draw upon research in other disciplines to contextualize their arguments. As much as possible, we seek papers that connect their analyses of animals and human/animal interactions to existing material practices related to animals or the discourse of animality.