Submission Guidelines

NEW SUBMISSIONS

If you are an author interested in submitting an article for publication consideration, please read the guidelines below for information on manuscript preparation and the peer review process. Please also see the Submission and Resubmission Checklist at the bottom of this page.

COPYRIGHT

Manuscripts are considered with the understanding that they have not been published previously in either print or electronic format and are not under consideration by another publication or electronic medium. A manuscript will be considered previously published if another work has, either singly or in combination: the same title; the same opening paragraph; 25 percent or more of the same content. Manuscripts that are accepted and subsequently found to be previously published will be dropped.

Upon acceptance of their submission, all authors must sign and return a completed copyright agreement.

The Editors have the exclusive right to publish, to copyright, and to allow or deny reproduction of the submission, in whole or in part, although authors are usually granted the right to reprint their submission in a collected volume of their own work.

Questions or concerns about copyright should be directed to LWRS before a manuscript is submitted.

PREPARING MANUSCRIPTS FOR SUBMISSION

ALL SUBMISSIONS

This section contains information applicable to all manuscripts submitted to LWRS.

Content of Submission: A submission comprises (1) an email message to LWRS and current guest editor(s), and (2) an attached document file containing the manuscript. The submission may include additional files for illustrations.

Please send submissions to all three email addresses:

LWRS –– cccclatinxcaucus@gmail.com
Yndalecio Isaac Hinojosa – yndalecio.hinojosa@tamucc.edu
Christina V. Cedillo – CedilloC@UHCL.edu

Email Message: The body of the email message must include this information:

  • Whether the manuscript is an essay, an article, or a review
  • The manuscript’s scholarly significance
  • The word count, including notes and works cited
  • Number of illustrations including (photos, tables, graphs)
  • A statement confirming that the manuscript has not been previously published and is not under review elsewhere
  • A statement confirming that the author(s) is (are) the sole copyright owner(s) of the manuscript

Manuscript: Submit the manuscript as a single electronic file, with components in this order:

  • Cover page
  • Abstract (for articles)
  • Text
  • Endnotes (for essays and some dossiers)
  • Works cited (for essays and some dossiers)
  • Captions (if any)
  • Label the manuscript file with title, type of submission (essay, dossier, review), and month and year of submission. For essays and dossiers, use a shortened title (for example: golden age mexican cinema essay 11-08); for reviews, use a shortened title of the work reviewed (for example: chicana art review 11-08).

Cover Page: The first page of the document must list the following information:

  • Title of the submission
  • Date of submission
  • Full name of each author, plus his or her affiliation, department, mail address, email address, fax number, and telephone numbers for office and home

Email is used not only for communication between the author and LWRS Press but also to distribute the copyedited manuscript and page proof. A working email address (or addresses) is essential.

When a manuscript is accepted for publication, it is the author’s responsibility to provide LWRS with up-to-date contact information, particularly during holiday and vacation periods.

Text, Endnotes, and Works Cited: Chicago-Style (Author–Date)

Deadlines: Manuscripts must be received by October 1 to be considered for issues released in the summer. Final versions (including revisions, if applicable) of manuscripts must be received by May 1 to be included in production for issues released in the summer.

ESSAYS AND ARTICLES

In addition to the guidelines for all new submissions, articles and essays have the following considerations:

Length:

Essays should have fewer than 4,000 words.
Articles should have fewer than 7000 words, including tables, notes, and works cited.

Abstract: Append an abstract of no more than 300 words at the beginning of article manuscripts. The abstract should impart the main argument, findings, and conclusion. It should emphasize new and important aspects of the research. Do not use quotations, equations, diagrams, or footnotes in the abstract.

The abstract may be used for online access to the printed journal, so clear writing that contains key words is important.

If an essay or article is written in Spanish, provide the abstract in English and Spanish both.

References to the Author: Since essays and articles undergo an anonymous review process, the body of the manuscript must not refer to the author(s) by name or contain information that would disclose the identity of the author(s). Authors should cite their own work as they would cite that of another author.

Subheadings: Use topical headings and subheadings to break up the text at logical points. Put subheads in headline style; do not use all capital letters. Subheads are not numbered.

Acknowledgments: After an essay is accepted for publication (see Peer Review below), the author may add acknowledgments in an unnumbered note at the beginning of the endnotes section. All financial and material support for the research should be clearly and completely identified in the acknowledgments.

REVIEWS

In addition to the guidelines for all submissions, reviews have the following considerations:

Assignment: Reviews are assigned by LWRS, and they are accepted at the editor’s discretion. Authors who are interested in reviewing for LWRS, or who would like to review a particular book or event, should contact LWRS Press before submitting a manuscript.

Length: Reviews should have fewer than 3,000 words. A good book review summarizes the book, lists its strengths and weaknesses, places the book in conversation with other relevant works, and avoids multiple block quotes from the work.

Headnote: Reviews are not titled. A headnote prefaces each review; the headnote follows this format:

The Other Rebellion: Popular Violence, Ideology, and the Mexican Struggle for Independence, 1810–1821. By Eric Van Young. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001. 736 pages. Hardcover $75.00, paperback $25.00.

Documentation: Reviews do not contain a separate section of notes or of references. References to other directly related scholarly texts must include the publisher and date of publication in this format: The Other Rebellion: Popular Violence, Ideology, and the Mexican Struggle for Independence, 1810–1821 (Stanford University Press, 2001). Limit the number of these references to two or three titles.

If you are interested in writing a book review for us, we gladly consider suggested titles or we can recommend a book for you that matches your field of interest. Please contact our book review coordinator directly at cccclatinxcaucus@gmail.com to inquire about reviews.

PEER REVIEW (ESSAY AND ARTICLE SUBMISSIONS ONLY)

All communication from the Press to authors is via email.

After receiving a submission for an essay, LWRS acknowledges its receipt. LWRS checks the completeness of the submission and reviews the manuscript to see if it meets minimum criteria for care, scholarship, and topic suitability. If the submission is incomplete or does not meet the minimum criteria, the manuscript is returned with a short explanation. If the manuscript meets the basic requirements, the Press notifies the author that the manuscript will be peer reviewed.

Peer review ensures the quality of the scholarship that is presented in LWRS. The review process is anonymous: authors are not informed of the identity of those reviewing their work, and referees are not informed of the authors’ identity.

LWRS selects at least two specialist readers; usually one reader is a member of LWRS’s editorial board. These referees are chosen for their knowledge in the relevant field. Referees are instructed to disqualify themselves if they note any conflict of interest that might bias their review.

Referees determine whether the manuscript is clear, relevant, well referenced, and well argued, and whether it makes a contribution to the field. Referees then make one of six recommendations that indicate whether a manuscript will be accepted, rejected, or needs further work.

LWRS makes the final decision about publication after an editorial review. This decision is based on the quality of the manuscript (with or without revisions), the recommendations of the referees, and the number of manuscripts already accepted.

LWRS sends a message that explains the decision; referees’ comments are attached. If the manuscript needs revision, the requirements are listed.

LWRS attempts to return decisions within six months of the date of the original submission and to publish within twelve months.

Submissions are the private property of the authors and all communication about submissions is privileged. LWRS does not reveal any information about submissions (receipt, content, status in the reviewing process, referee comments or recommendation, disposition) to anyone other than the author. Reviewers are prohibited from making copies of manuscripts.