Submission guidelines
Popular Culture Review seeks to publish compelling, well-argued, and well-researched articles on a variety of topics related to popular culture. 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 – A Summer issue published in July and a Winter issue published in February. We are transitioning to the Winter issue being a general issue open to all topics and the Summer issue being a Special Issue.
Submissions for general issues are due by January 10th for consideration in that year’s issue. Submissions undergo a rigorous peer review process.
Upcoming Special Issues:
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 – A Summer issue published in July and a Winter issue published in February. We are transitioning to the Winter issue being a general issue open to all topics and the Summer issue being a Special Issue.
Submissions for general issues are due by January 10th for consideration in that year’s 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 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.
- The next few Special Issues seek to celebrate and explore the popular cultures of people of color in America. Topics are open and might explore food culture, media representation, media consumption, literature, and more.
- African American Popular Culture Summer 2023
- Asian American Popular Culture Summer 2024
- Hispanic and Latin American Summer 2025
- Submission of an article implies 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 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 Associate 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 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 two reader reports 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 document attached as a .pdf at the very bottom of this page.
- 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).
