ISLE: Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment – Call for Editors

ISLE: Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment, the journal of the Association for the Study of Literature and Environment (ASLE) published quarterly by Oxford University Press, seeks an Editor or Co-Editors.

ISLE is one of the leading journals in the environmental humanities and publishes scholarship, creative writing and book reviews focused on the environment.

Position Description

The Editor serves as an ex officio member of the ASLE Executive Committee. The Editor or Editors will onboard in January 2027 and be trained by and shadow the outgoing Editor until Summer 2027, when they will officially undertake the role in full, for a term lasting until June 30, 2031. ISLE’s Editors serve a four-year term, which can be renewed once for a maximum of eight years. We strongly encourage and warmly welcome joint applications from two individuals to serve as Co-Editors.

Responsibilities include the following:

1. Establish editorial policies;
2. Appoint the editorial board;
3. Read all submissions, evaluating scholarly manuscripts for desk rejection or review;
4. Read and evaluate special cluster proposals;
5. Solicit manuscripts and special cluster proposals;
6. Communicate with authors via email;
7. Communicate with reviewers to ensure timely turn-around and submission of reports;
8. Make and communicate decisions on manuscripts after reports have been submitted;
9. Plan issues and create tables of contents for upcoming issues;
10. Select the Featured Article, which will be available via open access, for each upcoming issue;
11. Pen Editor’s Note for each issue;
12. Proofread and copyedit issue proofs;
13. Manage and liaise with a team of ~20: Managing Editor; Book Review Editor; Associate Editors; Associate Editors of Creative Writing; and Editorial Board;
14. Liaise with Oxford University Press and the copyediting and production team;
15. Liaise with the Co-Presidents of ASLE;
16. Liaise with the Managing Director of ASLE;
17. Liaise with the Coordinator of the “Graduate Student Paper Award” and the winner for the best presentation at the biennial conference to publish the winning essay in ISLE;
18. Report on ISLE annually at ASLE’s Executive Committee meeting, held in person at the biennial ASLE conference and via Zoom on off-conference years.

To apply, please send a CV and 1- to 2-page cover letter outlining editorial vision and experience to isle.editors@gmail.com by 5:00 pm (PST) on Friday, December 11, 2026. Joint applications should include CVs for both applicants but only one cover letter.

In your cover letter, please state whether your home institution can provide the following support:

1. One course teaching load reduction per semester or year;
2. Funding for travel to and accommodations at the biennial conference;
3. Funding to hire a graduate student as Managing Editor. This position is typically a twelve-month term of 20 hours/week; and
4. Office for said graduate student to carry out ISLE Managing Editor work.

Should any such support be offered, and the applicant is selected to serve as Editor, these provisions will be laid out in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Editor’s home institution and ASLE.

Please note that such institutional support is not a precondition for applying for this position, as we are aware that many institutions are not able to offer it. That said, it is important to assess the feasibility of managing the workload alongside other academic responsibilities.