Submission guidelines
Popular Culture Review seeks to publish compelling, well-argued, and well-researched articles on a variety of topics related to popular culture, both contemporary and from earlier eras. While film, television, literature, and video games are common popular culture subjects, we wish to broaden the journal's exploration of popular culture as well. Examples might include regional popular cultures, popular culture and food, popular culture in previous decades or eras, popular culture and social media, popular culture and music, and the like.
Popular Culture Review comes out twice a year – in the summer and late winter. Our winter issue is a general issue open to all topics related to popular culture and the summer issue is a special issue focused on a particular topic.
Submissions for general issues are due by January 10th for consideration in that year's general issue and by June 10th for that year's special issue. Submissions undergo a rigorous peer review process.
Upcoming Special Issues:
Black Popular Culture in America: For this special issue, Popular Culture Review is interested in articles related to all aspects of Black popular culture in America. This includes, but is certainly not limited to topics related to
Submission of Manuscripts
Popular Culture Review gratefully acknowledges the contributions made to this journal by the UNLV College of Liberal Arts, the UNLV Department of English, the Popular Culture and American Culture Associations, and Westphalia Press (an imprint of Policy Studies Organizations).
Popular Culture Review comes out twice a year – in the summer and late winter. Our winter issue is a general issue open to all topics related to popular culture and the summer issue is a special issue focused on a particular topic.
Submissions for general issues are due by January 10th for consideration in that year's general issue and by June 10th for that year's special issue. Submissions undergo a rigorous peer review process.
Upcoming Special Issues:
- Popular Culture and COVID-19 – The global pandemic and long periods of self-quarantine shifted everything from work habits, to school, to media consumption, and more. For example, the game Animal Crossing: New Horizons brought families together and even provided a supportive space for on-line memorial services. Zoom parties became a new way of coming together, as did streaming watch parties. Our food culture changed, with many chefs offering free, online cooking classes to people cooking at home, perhaps for the first time. These are just a few of many possible topics to explore as we process the immediate and lasting impact of the pandemic and popular culture. Submissions are due by July 22, 2022.
Black Popular Culture in America: For this special issue, Popular Culture Review is interested in articles related to all aspects of Black popular culture in America. This includes, but is certainly not limited to topics related to
- art
- literature
- music
- video games
- food culture
- fashion
- social media culture
- television and film
- Asian American Popular Culture Summer 2024
- Hispanic and Latin American Summer 2025
Submission of Manuscripts
- Submission of an article requires that it presents original, unpublished work not under consideration for publication elsewhere.
- Submissions should be in English, using American spelling and punctuation, and be double-spaced.
- We accept articles between about 25-30 pages (including notes and citations). We may consider longer pieces if the subject matter and quality of the article warrant a longer length.
- All figures require a caption and should be referenced in the text. If manuscript is accepted, high-quality files of all photographs, drawings, maps, and other artwork must be submitted as separate attachments.
- Please submit articles for consideration as a Word attachment, with no identifying information on the attached document, to the Editor at popularculturerevieweditor@gmail.com.
- In a separate attachment, please include your name, your email address, the article title, a 75-word abstract, a 50-word bio, and a short list of keywords. Please also indicate if the submission is for a general issue or a special issue.
- All submissions will receive acknowledgment of receipt, and peer reviews with notice of acceptance or rejection.
- Upon an article being accepted for submission, the author will need to submit a final copy, with any revisions as needed, conforming to the Manuscript Guidelines as indicated in the "Formatting and Style" guidelines in the next section.
- Please utilize MLA (8th edition) format (https://style.mla.org/). Quotes and paraphrased passages must be followed by their citations within the text. The Works Cited should be on a new page, after the last page of End Notes.
- Please utilize End Notes instead of Footnotes.
- Please refrain from the use of we, you, or us.
- Please refrain from the use of the first person in the body of your article. Personal anecdotes or experiences relevant to the article can be included in the End Notes.
- Please do not announce the paper's main argument with phrasing like "This paper will..." Instead, utilize a compelling and arguable claims or set of claims, as these will draw in readers' interest.
- The author is responsible for obtaining permissions for illustrations, song lyrics, advertisements, etc., which are to be published with the article.
- Quoted material should stay within copyright Fair Use guidelines (generally not exceeding one-hundred (100) words in length per quote/extract). See 17 U.S. Code § 107 for guidelines on what qualifies as Fair Use.
Popular Culture Review gratefully acknowledges the contributions made to this journal by the UNLV College of Liberal Arts, the UNLV Department of English, the Popular Culture and American Culture Associations, and Westphalia Press (an imprint of Policy Studies Organizations).
