Global Nineteenth-Century Studies welcomes proposals for special issues and topical clusters. Proposals for special issues should be submitted at least 18 months in advance of the projected publication date. A proposal will consist of a 500-word rationale that clearly explains how the issue/cluster relates to the journal’s themes and scope, a tentative timeline, and an explanation of how essays will be solicited. Guest editors who have solicited contributions in advance will be required to submit a rationale (500 words), list of authors and affiliations, article abstracts (200 words), and running order.

 

Once a special issue has been assembled, the guest editor will submit the manuscript along with a list of possible reviewers. The guest editor will be ineligible to serve as a reviewer. As with submissions received over the transom, each essay will require two positive reviews. Although the guest editor will be consulted about the outcome of the review process, reviews will be given only to the individual authors. The guest editor will be responsible for writing an introduction that outlines the special issue’s conceptual framework, describes how the papers advance scholarly understanding of the topic, and explains how the essays speak to one another. Since the journal aims to address topics from multiple disciplinary vantage points, no special issue whose contributors share the same discipline will be approved.

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The target length of each issue is 45,000 words excluding reviews. Generally, a special issue will contain an introduction and five to seven articles. However, although the total word count should remain roughly the same, a variety of combinations are possible.

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Topical clusters usually contain three pieces, each of which is shorter than the traditional academic essay (c. 4,500 words). These clusters are either preceded by an introduction or followed by a comment/response. Clusters often grow out of academic conference panels, but this need not be the case. Clusters are typically 15,000-20,000 words. The editorial team is happy to discuss a wide variety of formats. 

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