Author FAQ

Can I submit a book review?

SEL does not assign reviews of individual books; books received are considered in our omnibus reviews, which are written by authors commissioned by the journal.

How do I submit to the journal?

Please see our Submission Guidelines.

How long should I wait before inquiring about my submission's status?

Our stipulated schedule is to render a decision within four months, so please wait at least that long before sending a query. Due to semester and travel schedules of the editorial board and expert readers, our response time can take longer. Queries can be addressed to lesliemaguilar@rice.edu or call 713-348-4697.

What are your image and illustration guidelines?

Art in Digital Format

  1. Submit only TIFF (TIF), JPG (JPEG), or EPS files if you submit art digitally. These are high-resolution files suitable for printing. Halftones (art with any shades of grey) should be 266-300 dpi; line art 900-1200 dpi. These are minimums. If the art is to print at more than 100% (in other words, to be enlarged from file size), the resolution must be correspondingly higher.
  2. Do not use Word, PDF, JPG, or GIF files. JHUP can sometimes use these formats in a pinch, but they have more potential for problems.
  3. Please supply legends (captions) and any necessary permissions. Legends should be typed on a separate page from the art.
  4. As with any art, please indicate approximate placement in the manuscript. It can be coded in brackets. Example: <fig. 3 about here>.

If you prefer to submit hard copies rather than the electronic format, the press can work from camera-ready black and white glossy photos or good laser printouts (in a size around 4 x 7 inches or preferred 4 x 6 inches). Please see numbers 3 and 4 above as additional instructions.

Permission

As the author you will need to obtain permission rights to reprint the images. Permission requests should include world rights, all languages for any and all formats, including print, microform, and electronic formats. If the images do not fall under fair use or do not meet due diligence requirements, please return a signed permission agreement for each illustration to sel@rice.edu.

How can I nominate a book for the Dietz or Patten Awards?

All books received for the journal's omnibus reviews of a given year are considered for the Dietz Award (Winter and Spring issues) and the Patten Award (Summer and Autumn issues). There is no application or submission process other than to see that the journal has received your book to process for omnibus review. For more information, see the Awards section accessible from the main menu.