Literature/Film Quarterly Book Review Guidelines

Overview

Literature/Film Quarterly publishes approximately eight to ten book reviews a year (usually, one to three reviews per issue).  These reviews are focused on books published in the field of adaptation studies or those that might interest an audience of adaptation scholars, and they tend to be books published within two years of the current volume’s publication date.  We have a history of publishing established scholars and new critical voices in our pages, and we welcome submissions from both.

The Books We Review

We review any books published on the subject of adaptation or a subject that might interest adaptation scholars.  Writers are encouraged either to propose a book that they wish to review or to contact the Book Review Editor, Dean R. Cooledge, who keeps a running list of titles, ones of interest to the journal.  Dr. Cooledge is most easily reached via email, at the following address:

drcooledge [at] umes [dot] edu

Please note that while we will consider suggestions for titles to review, we do not accept unsolicited reviews or reviews whose titles have not been approved prior to the review’s being written.   Publishers who also have books they wish for us to consider should send queries either to Dr. Cooledge or directly to our journal address at

litfilmquart [at] salisbury [dot] edu

Review Guidelines

Our reviews are normally about 1500 words in length (as few as 1000 or as many as 2000), and writers must take care to address the primary audience of our journal, which is composed of scholars of adaptation studies.  In many cases, the review text will fall so clearly within the interests of our audience that it will not be necessary to make any indications of its relevance.  But in such cases where the book does not immediately suggest a connection, the writer must address an adaptation-studies readership, even if the writer is ultimately rendering a negative assessment of the book’s intrinsic worth.  For example, a writer might review a book on film noir that does not treat the subject of adaptation directly, but in such cases, the writer would additionally need to speak to an adaptation-studies audience as part of his or her overall assessment.

Review Evaluations

Asssignation of a review does not guarantee publication.  Although the journal will reserve a book for an author until the review is complete, if said review fails to meet minimum standards or otherwise does not meet expectations, the editors may choose to reject a piece that has already been written and may seek another reviewer for the book.  In such cases, the writer is welcome to submit his or her review to another publication.  Until that time, however, the writer should not have the book review under consideration at any other publication.  As with our essays, we do not consider simultaneous submissions. 

Review Essays

From time to time, writers may wish to propose a review essay on several related texts that have been published within the past two years.  Review essays tend to be longer than normal book reviews and may also have certain characteristics that a normal book review would not.  If you have an idea for a review essay, feel free to contact Dr. Cooledge at the email address provided above.

Sample Book Reviews

In cases where writers are unfamiliar with our book review format, we are happy to provide a sample review or two so that the writer understands the possible approaches one might take.  We strongly recommend, however, that writers unfamiliar with our journal examine the most recent issues, both their essays and reviews, to gain a sense of our reader expectations.

Review Format

The New MLA Style must be followed for documenting sources and listing them in Works Cited.  We generally run an image of the book cover with the review; if you have one, please send it, though we can procure one ourselves as well.  Please also include a title for your review (the title should not be that of the book itself).  Reviews should be submitted via email as MS Word attachments to

litfilmquart [at] salisbury [dot] edu

Our journal will confirm receipt of your review within a week of its arriving.  If you have not heard from us in that timeframe, please feel free to contact us in order to confirm our having received your submission.

Copyright

It is a condition of publication that authors assign copyright of their articles to Literature/Film Quarterly at Salisbury University.  This enables us to ensure full copyright protection and to disseminate the articles, and of course the Journal, to the widest possible readership in print and electronic formats as appropriate.  Articles published by this journal do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its editors and are not the legal responsibility of Literature/Film Quarterly.

Further Information

For further queries, please contact us at

litfilmquart [at] salisbury [dot] edu

Last updated March 2012