Articles: 5,000-7,000 words
Essays: up to 5,000 words see notes below
Book reviews: 900 words
The Bristol Journal of English Studies publishes articles of between 5,000 and 7,000 words. Short items, of under 5,000 words, can be considered if presented as essays. For the current purposes the board distinguishes as follows:
An article has a greater scope than an essay. Along with making a genuine contribution to its field, it should give a reader who is informed about the subject, but non-specialist about the issues, enough cultural, historical and critical background that they can grasp the content productively. The category of essay allows for pieces that lack some of the contextual support that is important for a full scholarly article. Essays could, e.g., contain a higher proportion of close reading rather than broader cultural analysis, limit particularly tightly the remit of their discussion, respond very precisely to a specific question. An essay in no way indicates a lesser quality of work, rather, it indicates work that serves a different purpose than the full scholarly article would.
All articles and abstracts for consideration must follow the MHRA style guide.
Submissions and general enquiries should be sent to this email address:
english-ejournal@bristol.ac.uk