SAR Submission Guidelines

Section I: Requirement of SAMLA Membership

South Atlantic Review (SAR) is the quarterly publication of the South Atlantic Modern Language Association (SAMLA). SAR has a worldwide readership and is a forum for the publication of the scholarly and research interests of our membership.

At the time of submission, SAR requires all authors (including those submitting collaborative work) to have a current SAMLA membership. An author who has not yet joined or whose membership has expired may initiate or renew membership at the time of submission.

For more information on becoming a SAMLA member, please visit the Membership Rates & Forms page.

Section II: General Publication Information

The editors of SAR welcome submissions of essays concerned with the study of language, literature, rhetoric and composition, and other topics of scholarly concern: essays must be in English. SAR also considers proposals for clusters of essays and full issues related to a specific topic.

The review process begins with an internal evaluation. Essays deemed suitable for further publication consideration are subject to external blind review by qualified referees. Editors determine the number of outside reviewers needed for a given essay; generally, there are two. The editors of SAR make final publication decisions. Editors will communicate with authors by email.

Please note: due to the amount of time and resources expended for the review of scholarly essays, SAR asks that authors not submit an essay simultaneously to other journals for publication consideration. Should SAR elect not to publish the work, our editors will endeavor to provide authors with a timely and detailed publication decision.

Section III: Types of Submissions Considered for Publication

SAR accepts three types of submissions for publication consideration:

A single essay (individually or collaboratively authored)
A proposal for a cluster of essays (3-5 related essays written by different authors)
A proposal for a special issue (7-8 related essays by different authors, with a guest editor)

SAR does not accept proposals for individual essays: a full essay is required in order to receive publication consideration. Sections IV and V provide information regarding the specific requirements for submitting an essay. Essays should be submitted to Managing Editor at [email protected].

Proposals for essay clusters and special issues may include the essays or a selection of the essays; however, this is not required. Proposals should include the following details: name of guest editor(s) for the cluster or special issue; brief description of the topic; scholarly significance of the topic; names of authors and essay titles or topics (or, if there will be an open call for papers, please include a draft and any information regarding the circulation of the CFP). Send proposals to Editor Barton Palmer by email to [email protected] with a copy to the SAR editorial office at [email protected].

Section IV: Formatting Requirements for All Essays Submitted for Publication to SAR

SAR requires standard formatting for all essays submitted for publication consideration, including those that are a part of an essay cluster or special issue. Essays that fail to adhere to these requirements will be returned to authors for reformatting before initiation of the consideration process.

Formatting and citations must conform to The MLA Handbook, 8th Edition (MLA 2016).
Essays must be Microsoft Word documents, doubled spaced with one-inch margins and 12-point font.
Essays should be between 6,500 and 8,000 words, inclusive of Notes, Appendices, and Works Cited.
SAR requires supplemental reference notes appear in the form of endnotes (not footnotes).
To allow for blind review, format pages numbers in the upper right-hand corner without the author’s name. The author’s name should appear only with the abstract of the essay (See Section V).
The title of the essay should appear on the first page of the essay.
Permissions for publication of images or other visuals are the responsibility of the author. SAR does not require authors to obtain these permissions at the time of essay submission. The author can simply describe the image or provide a photocopy with assurance that the necessary permissions will be in place prior to publication.
Essays with excessive mechanical errors or typographical mistakes will not be sent to outside referees.

Section V: Additional Materials Required at the Time of Submission

Essays should be submitted as an attachment to an email directed to the Managing Editor at [email protected]. SAR also requires the following materials to accompany an essay submitted for publication consideration:

An abstract of the essay that does not exceed 250 words. (Format this as a single page with the essay title and author’s name.)
A biographical sketch of the author, of approximately 100 words. (If the work is collaborative, a separate biographical sketch is required for each author.)
The author’s full name and affiliation.
The author’s preferred telephone number, email address, and mailing address.
A statement of the author’s SAMLA membership status.

Section VI: Timeline for Individual Essay Publication

SAR endeavors to administer an efficient review process for essays. There are times, however, when the review process can take longer than expected. Please see the estimated timetable below. If you have not heard from SAR pursuant to this time table, please contact the Managing Editor at [email protected] to inquire about the status of your work.

Time Table for Review Process:

Acknowledgement of Essay and Completion of Internal Review

1 week

External Review Process and Editorial Decision

2-to-3 months

Section VII: Publication Decisions

Upon completion of the external review and editorial decision, authors will receive prompt communication by email regarding the publication of their essay. Please direct specific questions regarding the review process to the Managing Editor at [email protected].

There are four possible publication decisions for an essay submitted to SAR:

An acceptance of the essay in its current form.
A provisional acceptance of the essay with a requirement for minimal revision in consideration of comments from the editors and referees.
An invitation to revise and resubmit the work for additional external review and editorial consideration.
A rejection of the essay.

When the author submits the final version of the essay for publication, the managing editor will communicate to the author the volume number and issue for inclusion on their curriculum vitae. Page numbers are not available until the time of printing. The timetable for copyediting, galley review, and publication will also be communicated at this time.

Section VIII: Additional Essay Guidelines for Guest Editors of Clusters and Special Issues

Because essay clusters and special issues have a guest editor, the communication and formatting process is slightly different from that of a single-essay submission. Guest editors serve as the primary contact for SAR and for the authors during the proposal, editorial review, and publication process. The guest editor will collect the essays and send them as a group to the SAR editorial office.

Author guidelines for essays that part of a cluster or special issue:

Essays follow the same formatting requirements set forth in Section IV.
Authors must provide the information in Section V to the guest editor.
Before sending the essays to SAR, guest editors serve as the internal reviewers for the essays. Authors need to complete corrections or edits identified by the guest editor prior to submission to SAR.

Guest Editor guidelines for submission of cluster or special issue essays:

The guest editor sends all essays as a group to the editorial staff at [email protected].
Include the proposed publication order of the essays.
The required additional information about each author, described in Section V, should accompany the essays.
In addition to the information about each of the contributors, the submitted collection should also include the guest editor’s own biographical sketch (not exceeding 150 words), full name and affiliation, preferred telephone number, email address, and mailing address.