Are you a postgraduate student interested in having your work published in an academic journal?

Ad Alta: the Birmingham Journal of Literature is an interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed journal that is published annually, both electronically and in print form. It includes submissions from postgraduate students with a diverse range of interests and backgrounds, including specialists in literature from all periods and cultures.

Our first round of submissions is now open. We are looking for:

  • Articles
  • Notes
  • Book reviews
  • Original poetry and short stories
  • Artwork

Whether in the course of postgraduate study or during your free time, you will undoubtedly have come across books both stimulating and provocative. If you want to hone your skills of critical appraisal or make use of notes and material you’ve naturally accrued in the course of your research, consider writing a review for publication in Ad Alta: The Birmingham Journal of Literature.

A good review will require an evaluation of the author’s goals and the extent to which those goals have been achieved. It will challenge your ability to write concisely, to deploy quotation in such a way as to provide flavour, and—crucially—to resist giving away the ending!

We are currently seeking submissions for short reviews on all manner of fiction and non-fiction. This is an excellent opportunity to enhance your engagement with the research community and a valuable addition to any academic CV.

Guidelines

  • Books under review must have been published in 2015 or later.
  • Review length should be 800-1000 words.
  • Deadline - Friday 24 April 2020
  • For any further enquiries, contact adaltabjl@gmail.com.
  • Submissions are open to postgraduate students from any institution, and University of Birmingham alumni.
  • Articles should be between 3500 to 4000 words in length. Notes and book reviews should be between 800 and 1000 words in length. This word count includes all titles, notes, and the bibliography.
  • Poetry submissions should not exceed three poems, or forty lines. Short story submissions should not exceed 2500 words.
  • All written submissions should be in the .docx file format (Microsoft Word) and conform to the following guidelines:
    • Font: Garamond 12 pt. Body text left aligned.
    • Line spacing: exactly 2.0.
    • Page layout: A4, portrait, single column, normal margins.
    • Referencing: Please follow MLA citation guidelines. Please use (Author, page number) for in-text citations [e.g. (Smith, 27)] and include a list of works cited at the end of the article, review, or note.
    • Please do not use footnotes and only use endnotes if absolutely necessary.
    • The author’s name and academic affiliation should appear on a separate cover page only, along with the title and word count of the submission, the name(s) of your supervisor(s) and internal examiner(s) (if known or relevant), and a brief abstract of 100 to 150 words.
    • Deadline for submissions is Friday 24 April 2020
  • Font: Garamond 12 pt. Body text left aligned.
  • Line spacing: exactly 2.0.
  • Page layout: A4, portrait, single column, normal margins.
  • Referencing: Please follow MLA citation guidelines. Please use (Author, page number) for in-text citations [e.g. (Smith, 27)] and include a list of works cited at the end of the article, review, or note.
  • Please do not use footnotes and only use endnotes if absolutely necessary.
  • The author’s name and academic affiliation should appear on a separate cover page only, along with the title and word count of the submission, the name(s) of your supervisor(s) and internal examiner(s) (if known or relevant), and a brief abstract of 100 to 150 words.
  • Deadline for submissions is Friday 24 April 2020

Note: Submissions may be published elsewhere in the future, but the editors would appreciate an acknowledgement where possible.

You can also follow us on Twitter (@AdAltaBJL) and like our page on Facebook (Ad Alta: The Birmingham Journal of Literature) for future updates.

Submissions and enquiries should be sent to the General Editors (Jayde and Liam) using the following email address: adaltabjl@gmail.com