ISLE: Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment is the journal of the Association for the Study of Literature and Environment, published quarterly by Oxford University Press. ISLE seeks to explore the relation between human beings and the natural world, and publishes articles engaging the environmental humanities, spanning from literature to visual culture and beyond. The journal also publishes creative writing—poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction—engaging the environment.

ISLE is a leading journal in the environmental humanities. It continues to grow and evolve. As part of this evolution, the journal is seeking 2 Associate Editors to begin on July 1, 2026.

POSITION DESCRIPTION

Associate Editors will serve for two years and the term will be once renewable (for maximum of four years). At the end of these terms, the Associate Editor will have the opportunity to apply to be the Editor-in-Chief. They are not obligated to do so. A call will be issued at that time for applications and others may well apply to serve as Editor-in-Chief. The term for ISLE’s Editor(s) is five years and the appointment is once renewable (for a maximum of ten years). Associate Editors should be members of ASLE.

The workload is approximately 10 hours per month. There may be weeks when no ISLE work is necessary and other weeks when more is required. Responsibilities include the following:

1. Recommending reviewers for manuscripts checked in for review;
2. Reading and evaluating manuscripts;
3. Shadowing the decision-making and author communication process after reviewer reports have been received;
4. Shadowing the Editor in the process of constructing tables of contents for upcoming issues;
5. Helping to proofread issue proofs; and
6. Shadowing the Editor in communications about FAQs.

To apply, please submit a CV and 1- to 2-page letter to isle.editors@gmail.com by Monday, June 15, 2026 at 5:00 pm EDT, stating the reasons you wish to serve as an Associate Editor and the editorial philosophy you would bring to ISLE. Note that we are not seeking a grand vision for transforming the journal.

Interviews will take place the week of Monday, June 22, 2026. Associate Editors will onboard on Wednesday, July 1, 2026 and received training, over the summer and via Zoom meetings, in order to carry out the above tasks.

Note that if you are interested in applying for the editorship, as part of the application for the position after posted, we will request that you outline the support you will receive (if any) from your home institution, in particular the following four items:

1. teaching load reduction to facilitate the work of the editorship;
2. funding to attend the biennial conference and report to the Executive Committee (travel, accommodations, per diem);
3. a graduate student assistant to serve as Managing Editor (10 hrs/wk) to support the work of the Editor; and
4. an office for this graduate student assistant.

This information DOES NOT need to be submitted to apply to serve as Associate Editor.

For examples of the types of work published in ISLE, see the Featured Articles at OUP.