electronic book review

digital futures of literature, theory, criticism, and the arts

policies and submissions

Submission Policies

Essays

  • Audience: ebr articles target academics, independent researchers, and practitioners interested in literary studies and its intersections with the arts, humanities, and sciences. Submissions should engage with other artists, thinkers, scholars, and critics in these fields.
  • Types of Submissions: We accept unsolicited essays, book reviews, and media reviews.
  • Submission Requirements: Submissions are typically between 3,000-6,000 words.
  • Submission Process: Submit Word documents to the managing editor at contact@electronicbookreview.com.

Book Reviews

  • Style: Book reviews on ebr are more essayistic in tone, allowing authors to experiment while ensuring the final review is informational and engaging.
  • Submission Requirements: Reviews are typically between 2,000-4,000 words.
  • Submission Process: Book reviews can be pitched to contact@electronicbookreview.com.

Previously Published Essays and Reviews

We consider previously published work if it meets these criteria:

  • Avoids references to other chapters in a collection outside of the ebr journal.
  • Assumes the discussed works or texts are new to the reader, or offers a previously unexplored perspective to them.
  • Steers clear of the overview-style typical of literature reviews.

riPOSTes

  • Purpose: Encourage continued conversation through short responses to published essays.
  • Submission Length: Can be a few paragraphs or a few pages.
  • Submission Process: Proposals for riPOSTes on recent essays (up to 1 year) should be sent to the managing editor at contact@electronicbookreview.com and editor-in-chief Joseph Tabbi at jtabbi@gmail.com. Submissions are reviewed by ebr editors and at least one editorial review board member.

Peer Review Process

  • Initial Screening: Two or more ebr editors assess the suitability of a submission.
  • Anonymous Peer Review: One or two referees, typically an editorial board member and a previous contributor, provide short evaluative reports with specific publication recommendations.
  • Feedback: Positive reports include comments for the authors, initiating intellectual conversation. Substantial responses may appear as ripostes or standalone essays. Reviewers recommend publication, revision, or rejection, usually within 300-500 words. Reviews are typically completed within a month or two.

Publication Process

Staging and Proof-Reading: After acceptance, submissions are formatted on ebr’s staging site, and authors receive a link for further proof-reading.

Publication Frequency

Model: ebr adopts a rolling publication model rather than preset volumes or issues, aligning with the Web’s medium-specific constraints. Texts are published monthly, usually on the first Sunday, stamped with the initial publication date and the last modification date.

Open Access Policy

Principle: ebr provides open access to promote a robust media ecology by making research and scholarship freely available to the public.

Guest Editing

Proposals: We welcome proposals for guest-edited collections of essays that fit within current ebr threads and conform to our peer-review policies.

Submission Guidelines

Format

ebr accepts essays as unformatted/plain text, or in Word or .rtf format.

Images

  • Separate from body text.
  • Include captions.
  • Indicate in text placement of image.
  • Use PNG, GIF, or JPG formats only. PNG is preferred.
  • 72 pixels per inch.
  • Width: 500-1000 pixels.
  • Authors are responsible for seeking permissions or checking for fair use on copyrighted media.

Standard Guidelines

  • Title and Author: All contributions should have a title, author name, current email address, and a biographical blurb, no more than 200 words.
  • Terminology: Use “Internet,” “World Wide Web” or “Web,” and “website,” “web page.”
  • Dates: Use formats like 1980s, ’80s, and 20th century (as opposed to ‘twentieth century’).
  • Pronouns: Anchor pronoun references clearly. For example, in “this idea…,” “this” must link explicitly to the concept mentioned in the previous phrase or sentence.
  • Commas and Punctuation:
    • Use the serial comma (e.g., men, women, and children).
    • Use a single space between sentences.
    • Place commas inside quotation marks.
    • Use “Burroughs’” for singular possessives ending in ‘s’.
    • Do not use spaces between points of ellipses…
  • Gender, Ethnicity, Cultural Specificity: Avoid using masculine pronouns generically. Use gender-neutral nouns and pronouns. Avoid terms that are sexist, racist, or culturally inappropriate.
  • USA Spelling: Use American English spellings (e.g., center, color, apologize, traveler).
  • MLA Format:
    • Use in-text citations when quoting or summarizing someone else’s work.
    • Example with one author: (Smith 23).
    • Example with multiple authors: (Smith and Johnson 45).
    • Works Cited Example:
      • One Author: Lastname, Firstname. Title of Book. Publisher, Year.
      • Multiple Authors: Lastname, Firstname, and Firstname Lastname. Title of Book. Publisher, Year.
      • Digital References: Include a URL.
    • For more MLA examples, visit Cornell University Library.
  • Titles: Italicize titles of works. Use quotes for titles of poems, essays, stories, or items in a collection, book-length volume, journal, or similar.
  • Endnotes: Use endnotes for commentary and references, not footnotes. Number them with Roman numerals, and list them at the end of your submission for easier HTML formatting. Limit to 20 endnotes.
  • Numbers: Spell out numbers below 20.
  • Quotations: Use double quotes, not single quotes.
  • Hyphens and Dashes: Use a single (non-formatted) hyphen – like this – to indicate a dash.
  • Author Bio: Approximately 200 words. List affiliations, significant publications, and other relevant details.