ISSN 0256-4718 printed version
ISSN 1753-5387 online version

AUTHOR GUIDELINES

• Journal Scope
• Editorial Policy
• Preparation and Style of Manuscripts
• Manuscript Submission

The content of the journal consists of research articles and review essays of 6,000 to 7,000 words. Short book reviews of 800–1,000 words are also published. The target audience of the journal is scholars in the field of Literary and Cultural Studies. The main language medium is English but essays written in Afrikaans are also published.

Mission Statement

The aim of the journal is to publish articles and full–length review essays on literature and comparative literature informed by General Literary Theory, Genre Studies and Critical Theory.

Open Access Policy

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.

Authors keep the copyright of their manuscripts under a Creative Commons licence: CC BY SA

Fees

In order to finance open access, JLS requires authors of accepted articles to pay article processing charges (APCs). APCs are payable when the article has been accepted for publication and when an invoice has been delivered. APCs are used to cover all costs related to language editing, publishing, online hosting, and the archiving of each article.

The current rate is ZAR 7 150 per article. These charges are reviewed annually.
The submitting author is responsible for the payment of the APC, which must be confirmed at the time of submission. All amounts are due within 30 days from invoicing. The article will only be published once full payment has been received.
Since JLS encourages researchers from marginalised groups and communities to submit articles, authors could apply to be exempted from the APCs. Since each application will be considered on its own merit, a motivation needs to be provided. Send the application to the Chief Editor when submitting your article. No author would be discriminated against in any way when exemption from the APCs is granted.
Book reviews are exempted from APCs.

Plagiarism

Manuscripts containing plagiarism will not be considered for publication in the journal. Plagiarism is defined as the use of another person's work, words or ideas without attribution or permission, and representation of them as one's own original work. Plagiarism may take many forms, ranging from major plagiarism (the copy–and–paste of large amounts of text), to minor plagiarism without dishonest intent (e.g. when an author uses parts of an introduction from an earlier paper) and even self–plagiarism (the re–use of significant, identical or near–identical portions of one's own work without citing the original version).

JLS subscribes to plagiarism detection software and all contributions submitted to the journal will be scanned to verify originality. iThenticate (http://www.ithenticate.com/) is currently used.

If major plagiarism is brought to light after a manuscript has been published, the journal will proceed to conduct a preliminary investigation. The journal reserves the right to formally retract such manuscripts and publish statements to reference material as plagiarism.

Copyright

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non–exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).

All records are archived.

Requirements specific to this journal in conjunction with the comprehensive style guide.

Article length
Articles should be between 6000 and 7000 words in length (from the first word of the title to the last word of the references).

Abstract
Present an abstract of not more than 250 words. Abstracts may be submitted in Afrikaans and English. Abstracts should not contain any footnotes or citations. Do not type the abstract in italics.

Keywords
Below the abstract, please provide 3–5 keywords for indexing (only proper nouns should be capitalised). Distinguish between keywords/phrases with a comma, e.g. semantics, codeswitching, discourse, southern regions of Africa, indexicality.

Submission guidelines available on the submissions page.