Submission Guidelines
SEL invites historical and critical articles of moderate length (ca. 7,000 words not to exceed 8,000 words including endnotes) that contribute significantly to the understanding of English literature, 1500–1900. We will not consider articles being simultaneously submitted elsewhere, nor will we print articles slated to appear in a book published within a year of scheduled publication by SEL.
The editorial office, editors, and anonymous reviewers use ScholarOne for communication about submissions, reports, revisions, and decisions. ScholarOne's online process allows us to track submission and review processes more efficiently and to streamline workflow. Receipt of manuscripts will be acknowledged by email. Editorial decisions often take four months.
SEL only reviews books in a commissioned Omnibus Review that concludes each of our issues. We do not assign individual reviews.
Submission Guidelines
1. Submissions should be double-spaced throughout, including inset quotations and endnotes, and should be prepared in conformity with the Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition. We prefer Times New Roman 12 pt. font.
2. We strongly encourage authors to prepare their manuscripts in conformity with SEL's house style. For more information on SEL's house style, please refer to our manuscript preparation sheet.
3. All manuscripts should be submitted online at https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/sel as either a Word or PDF file.
a. To begin the submission process, please login to ScholarOne, the journal's unique manuscript site.
b. After logging on, use the Author Center to guide you through the steps to upload your manuscript and any additional files. For questions and a user guide, please click the "Get Help Now" button at the top right of every screen. Additional help is available through Site Support.
4. We encourage authors to submit a short cover letter and an abstract of 100 words or fewer with their article via ScholarOne. The Author Center will prompt you to upload files for a cover letter, an abstract, or image files.
5. For more information about submitting art in digital format, please see our Author FAQ page.
In situations where electronic submission is difficult or unavailable, the editors will accept submissions via regular mail. Please contact the SEL office at 713-348-4697 or sel@rice.edu for specific guidelines.
For all other questions, please feel free to contact:
Managing Editor
SEL Studies in English Literature 1500–1900
Rice University MS-46
6100 Main Street
Houston, TX 77005-1892
713-348-4697
sel@rice.edu