ISLE: Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment, the quarterly journal of the Association for the Study of Literature and Environment (ASLE), published by Oxford University Press, seeks a new Managing Editor for the journal.

Primary responsibilities of this volunteer service position to ASLE and ISLE include the following 1) responding to all incoming emails, which includes responding to author and reviewer inquiries and communicating with authors and reviewers on procedural and stylistic matters; 2) overseeing the ScholarOne Manuscript Central peer review process; 3) proofreading scholarly manuscripts in accordance with the journal’s production schedule; and 4) preparing contributors’ biographies for each issue.

The Managing Editor’s specific responsibilities include the following:

Email Communication with Authors and Reviewers:

As ISLE’s primary point of contact for authors and reviewers, prompt and courteous email communication is essential to the journal.

• check the email account daily and respond to all email correspondence, including inquiries from authors, reviewers, the editorial team, and the publisher.

Peer Review Process in ScholarOne Manuscript Central:

• oversee peer review process, including selecting, inviting and monitoring the progress of the peer reviews for new and revised manuscripts to ensure timely advancement;
• check the status of reviews and reviewers at least weekly;
• monitor overdue reviewer queues in two areas: Original and Revised queues;
• monitor reviewer deadlines and assist with deadline extensions;
• troubleshoot author and reviewer login and file access issues;
• update reviewer database (institutional affiliations, email addresses, duplicates, deletions, etc.);
• assist authors in resubmitting revised manuscripts of their work in a timely manner; and
• coordinate additional rounds of peer review as deemed necessary by the editors.

Proofreading Manuscripts

• proofread scholarly manuscripts via the Author Proofs system;
• assign Author Proofs to Creative Writing Associate Editors;
• ensure that all Author Proofs for specific issues are completed according to the production schedule (4 times annually); and
• upload revised manuscripts with formatting issues when necessary.

Preparing Contributors’ Biographies for Each Issue:

• email authors to request biographies;
• gather relevant biographies per issue (4 times annually);
• edit biographies to ensure consistency in formatting and listing in alphabetical order; and
• submit biographies to editors in advance of each issue in accordance with publication schedule.

We estimate this work will take approximately 10 hours per week.

Qualifications: Must have Ph.D. in a field relevant to environmental humanities. Must be able to dedicate time each week to the journal. In addition to a broad knowledge of the environmental humanities, applicants should demonstrate a commitment to working actively to ensure and enhance diversity, both in terms of topics engaged and demographics (including but not limited to race, geographic range, class, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and in ranks and types of institutions).

We seek applicants with an exceptional sense of professional responsibility to ISLE, ASLE, and the field, experience with working collaboratively or as part of a team, and excellent administrative and organizational skills, including the ability to respond promptly, thoughtfully, and diplomatically to emails from scholars and writers from around the world. Facility with Excel and web-based processing programs is desired. (Training in ISLE’s review system — ScholarOne Manuscript Central — will be provided.)

To apply: Please send a cover letter and CV along with the names and contact information of three references in a single pdf file using “ISLE Managing Editor Application” in the subject line to Christina Gerhardt, Editor-in-Chief, at isle.editors@gmail.com by Monday, April 28, 2025.

Interviews will be conducted on Wednesday, April 30 and Friday, May 2 (or a mutually convenient time).