The Birmingham Journal of Literature and Language (BJLL) is an interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed journal published annually, both electronically and in print. It includes submissions from postgraduate students with a diversity of interests and backgrounds, including specialists in literature and language from all periods and cultures.

Volume VIII will feature articles, notes, reviews, poetry, short stories and artwork from current University of Birmingham postgraduates and alumni. With this year being the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, we would like to make a special appeal for Shakespeare-themed submissions. In particular, we are looking for pieces focused on his lesser-known plays and poems.

Submissions for the next edition should be sent via email to the General Editors at webbjll@googlemail.com by Monday 26 September.

Issue VII and all previous volumes of the BJLL are available online at Birmingham Journal of Literature and Language (BJLL).

You can also follow us on Twitter @BirminghamJLL and Facebook.

  • Articles should be 3,500 to 4,000 words in length. Notes and book reviews should be 800-1,000 words in length. This word count includes all titles, notes and bibliographies.
  • Short stories should not exceed 2,000 words in length.
  • Poetry submissions should not exceed three poems, or forty lines.
  • Articles, notes book reviews and short stories should be written using Microsoft Word and conform to the following guidelines:
  • Font: Garamond 12pt Alignment: Justified (body text)
  • Line spacing: exactly 20pt
  • 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
  • Please do not use footnotes and only use endnotes if absolutely necessary
  • The author’s name should appear on a separate cover page only, along with title, word count, the name of your supervisor and internal examiner (if known) and a brief abstract of 100-150 words.
  • Submissions may be published elsewhere in the future, but the editors would appreciate an acknowledgement where possible.

Submissions should be sent to the general editors at webbjll@googlemail.com

Deadline: Monday 26 September 2016