Information for Authors of Articles or Performance Reviews

All submissions to SSS Journal go through a double-blind peer review process. Full manuscripts (only) in English are accepted for submission to the journal. We do not accept simultaneous submissions or previously published articles or material. Specific guidelines for articles and performance reviews, as well as a manuscript submission checklist and information on the Committee On Publication Ethics, can be found below. Please submit your materials via email to:

Hannah B. Harvey, Ph.D., Managing Editor
email:  SSSJournal@yahoo.com

Article Guidelines:

Submission of Manuscripts:

Full manuscripts (only) in English are accepted for submission to the journal. We do not accept simultaneous submissions or previously published articles or material. Please submit your materials via email to Hannah Blevins Harvey, Managing Editor, at hharvey3@kennesaw.edu. A separate cover page should include all of the following: title of the paper, full names of the author(s), (for multiple authors, please indicate which author is to receive correspondence and proofs), author(s) organization affiliation, complete U.S. or international mailing addresses, telephone and fax numbers, email addresses, history of the paper (if presented previously at a conference, if published in smaller/larger version, based on thesis research, contributions of others, etc.).

Manuscript Preparation:

Manuscript length is up to 9,000 words, inclusive of notes and references, with a separate abstract of no more than 120 words. Prepare the document in Microsoft Word only. No other formats accepted. If you use WordPerfect, check to see if it offers a "save as Word" option. Format body of the paper in standard 8.5" x 11" page size. All copy, including references and captions, must be typed double-spaced. Word Processing: 12-point type, double spaced, one-inch margins, page numbers, etc. Authors are encouraged to use gender-cultural sensitive language. Remove all references that would reveal the identity of the author. Citations: The accuracy and completeness of the references is the responsibility of the author.

Reference Style:

The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (6th ed.). (2003). New York: Modern Language Association of America.

Acknowledgement of Receipt of Manuscripts:

All material submitted will be acknowledged upon receipt and subject to peer review. Referees' comments will be forwarded to the author along with the editorial decisions and recommendations.

Copyright:

No article can be published until SSS receives a signed publication agreement. This will be discussed with authors when papers are accepted for publication.

Illustrations:

Illustrations submitted (line drawings, halftones, photos, photomicrographs, etc.) should be clean originals or digital files. Digital files are recommended for highest quality reproduction and should follow these guidelines: 300 dpi or higher, sized to fit on journal page, EPS, TIFF, or PSD format only, submitted as separate files, not embedded in text files.

Color Reproduction.

Color illustrations will be considered for publication; however, the author will be required to bear the full cost involved in color art reproduction. Color art can be purchased for online only conversion and reproduction or for print + online reproduction. Color reprints can only be ordered if print + online reproduction costs are paid. Rates for color art reproduction are: Online Only Reproduction: $225 for the first page of color; $100 per page for the next three pages of color. A maximum charge of $525 applies. Print + Online Reproduction: $900 for the first page of color; $450 per page for the next three pages of color. A custom quote will be provided for articles with more than 4 pages of color. Good-quality color prints should be provided in their final size. The publisher has the right to refuse publication of color prints deemed unacceptable.

Tables and Figures:

Tables and figures (illustrations) should not be embedded in the text, but should be included as separate sheets or files. A short descriptive title should appear above each table with a clear legend and any footnotes suitably identified below. All units must be included. Figures should be completely labeled, taking into account necessary size reduction. Captions should be typed, double-spaced, on a separate sheet. All original figures should be clearly marked in pencil on the reverse side with the number, author's name, and top edge indicated.

Proofs and Reprints:

Page proofs are sent to the designated author using Taylor & Francis Central Article Tracking System (CATS). They must be carefully checked and returned within 48 hours of receipt. Reprints of individual articles are available for order at the time authors review page proofs. A discount on reprints is available to authors who order before print publication.

Performance Reviews Guidelines:

 SSS reviews endeavor to cover a range of topics and genres related to storytelling.  Reviewers come from a wide range of disciplines, and approaches to particular books, recordings, or performances will reflect those differences.

We are particularly interested in reviews of storytelling performances or performances in related genres such as autobiographical monologue, theatrical impersonation, stand-up comedy, solo folk music with storytelling elements, theatrical or cinematic folktale adaptations, or other blended genres. We look for writing that goes beyond celebration or disapproval to raise critical issues of tradition, technique, story form, and performer-audience relationship.

Reviews should be submitted electronically to John Gentile at jgentile@kennesaw.edu, either as a cut-and-paste or a word document attachment. All reviews must include full bibliographic information.

By submitting your review to SSS you represent that the review is your own work, that it is original to SSS, and that it is unencumbered by any existing or anticipated contractual relationship; further, you are granting SSS permission to publish your review, including any editing the SSS editorial team finds necessary and appropriate. (Major edits will involve consultation via email or other means.) If you've reviewed the book elsewhere please be sure that your review for SSS is substantially different.

Please supply your title, e-mail address, and phone number along with complete contact and mailing information..

FORMAT OF THE BOOK REVIEW:

At the beginning of any review, include:

Title (with edition if appropriate)
Names of authors, editors, or artists
Year of publication
Name and complete address of publisher

For books: page number, ISBN, price, and whether available in hardback or paper

For recordings: studio, copyright date, ISBN if any.

For performances:  date, location, venue

At the end of the review, include for publication your name, degree, title, organizational affiliation, city, state, and email address.

There is no formal length requirement. Plan to write a review of 1200-2000 words. Feel free to write more or less depending on the scale and demands of the item under review.

Reviews for SSS should be both a critical summary and analysis of the work:  its themes, topics, intended audience, range, accomplishments, and limitations. They should evaluate the work in the light of relevant issues and theoretical concerns. They should illuminate the work in the context of the author or performer's broader experience and agendas. Strengths and weaknesses of the work should be addressed in a clear-eyed manner, supportive of the diversity and dignity of the field.

NOTES ON TONE:

One of the major goals of Storytelling, Self, Society is to create models for critical writing on traditional and contemporary storytelling performance, as well as critical dialogue on scholarly and popular writing in the field. Just as our articles attempt to express the boundaries and relationships of constituent disciplines within the field, so should our book and performance reviews. Thus it behooves us to think carefully about the distinguishing characteristics of the field, and to reflect that character, not simply in the content and selection of our reviews, but in their tone and sensibility.

Storytelling is an art form and art world that expressly values community. A recurrent motif in storytelling discourse is the power of storytelling to create community, to transcend boundaries, and bring people together. It is often said, following Ong and others, that orality unites, while the analytic impulses of literary consciousness divide. Storytelling is a relatively small art world that, even more than other art worlds such as literature, visual arts, theater, or music, is built on relationships. Thus, in venturing into the contested terrain of storytelling criticism it is important that the authors of reviews strive to maintain a tone of respect and appreciation for different styles and registers of storytelling work, whether in performance or print, in order to support the amity and cooperative spirit of those relationships while at the same time providing an honest assessment of the value of the work under review.

It is important to acknowledge that academic components of the contemporary storytelling world are small in proportion to its popularly-oriented venues and products. It is crucial to recognize and illuminate distinctions of intention, complexity, experience, and scope, without creating rigid hierarchies of value based on those distinctions. It is important that reviewers state their own point of view (positionality) in relation to the work at hand, without apology or defensiveness, but also without implicit or explicit assumptions that theirs is the sole valid position from which to view the work. We encourage use of the first-person pronoun, in reviews as well as articles, to avoid a posture of omniscient disapproval.

The first job of a reviewer for SSS is to illuminate the sources, significance, and values of a storytelling work. If the reviewer is convinced that a performance or publication is lacking in significance and value to the field, the first recourse is not to review the work at all. If the work poses a perceived threat to the integrity of the field (such as a work that appropriates cultural material in an exploitative fashion, or appropriates the name of storytelling in a way that distorts the oral traditions and roots of the field), reviewers should work closely with the editors to shape a critical alembic that properly separates the elements of error from the animating ideal.

SSS Journal Author Submission Checklist

1.  A SEPARATE COVER PAGE SHOULD INCLUDE ALL OF THE  FOLLOWING AUTHOR'S CONTACT INFORMATION AND A HISTORY OF THE PAPER:

 _____ Title of the paper

_____ Full names of the author(s).  For multiple authors, please indicate which author is to receive correspondence and proofs

_____ Author(s) organization affiliation

_____ Complete U.S. or International mailing addresses

_____ Telephone and fax numbers

_____ Email addresses

_____ History of the paper (if presented previously at a conference, if published in smaller/larger version, based on thesis research, contributions of others, etc.)

MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION:

 _____ Manuscript length is up to 9,000 words, inclusive of notes and references

_____ Separate abstract of no more than 120 words

_____ Prepare the document in Microsoft WORD only.  No other formats accepted. If you use WordPerfect, check to see if it offers a "save as Word" option

_____ Format body of the paper in standard 8.5" x 11" page size. All copy, including references and captions, must be typed double-spaced

_____ Word Processing:  12 point type, double spaced, one-inch margins, page numbers, etc.

_____ Authors are encouraged to use gender-cultural sensitive language

_____ Figures should be prepared separately, not embedded in your Word file. Figures should be professionally prepared and in camera-ready copy. Photographs should be submitted as unscreened glossy prints

_____ Bibliography:  The accuracy and completeness of the references is the responsibility of the author

_____ Remove all references that would reveal the identity of the author

STYLE USED:

_____ The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (6th ed.). (2003). New York: Modern Language Association of America.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF RECEIPT OF MANUSCRIPTS:
All material submitted will be acknowledged upon receipt and subject to peer review.  Referees' comments will be forwarded to the author along with the editorial decisions and recommendations.

COPYRIGHT:
No article can be published until SSS Journal receives a signed publication agreement.  This will be discussed with authors when papers are accepted for publication.

Ethics and COPE:

A UK-based charity, the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) assists journal editors in dealing with breaches in research and publication ethics. As part of our corporate subscription, all Taylor & Francis journals, including Storytelling, Self, Society, are members of COPE. To find out more, visit: www.publicationethics.org.