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Academy Series Editor Search - Appendix 2: Academy Series Submission and Review Process PDF-NOTE: Internet Explorer Users, right click the PDF Icon and choose [save target as] if you are experiencing problems with clicking. Print

(This information gives an indication of the administrative work involved in editing a manuscript for the Series.)

Submissions

To be considered for the Academy Series, a dissertation must be nominated by the dissertation advisor or a member of the dissertation committee. The nominating letter should be about 500 words and explain in detail the following:

  • To what measure is the dissertation technically competent?
  • Why is the dissertation a genuine contribution to scholarship within its field?
  • Why is the dissertation of sufficiently wide interest to be suitable for publication in book form?

The letter should also contain at least three suggestions for readers who are competent to review the work. Nominators must provide the following information for each reader:

  • Complete name, address, and institutional affiliation
  • Phone number
  • E-mail address

Contacting potential readers is the responsibility of the Editor once the nominating faculty makes recommendations. Only dissertations defended within two years of submission are eligible for Academy Series publication.

The author should submit to the Editor the following information:

  • A current curriculum vitae 
  • An abstract of the dissertation (200–300 words)
  • Three copies of the manuscript. These copies will not be returned

Reviews

When all these items are on file, the Academy Series Editorial Board will determine which manuscripts should be sent out for peer review. Not all submissions receive external peer review. If a manuscript is sufficiently promising, however, the Editor selects two readers to review each manuscript. A third reader may be solicited if there is insufficient consensus regarding a manuscript’s suitability for the Series. Among the questions we ask reviewers to address are:

  • Does the manuscript make a truly original contribution to scholarship or creative thought within its subfield as well as within the broader field of the study of religion?
  • Does the manuscript have a well-defined academic market?
  • To what extent is the manuscript technically proficient and cognizant of the relevant literature within the study with which it deals?
  • Is the manuscript competently written and interesting to read?
  • What revisions should be made to enhance the manuscript’s publishing appeal?

With all the materials assembled, the Editor begins the process of identifying and requesting peer readers. This can happen overnight or take weeks, depending on the enthusiasm or recalcitrance of the scholars approached by the Editor. The same set of extremities may apply to the reading process. We aim to get reports within three months but it can take much longer. After the reports are in — and assuming they are positive and recommend publication — author and Editor discuss them and plan how the author will reply to the comments. There may be requests or suggestions for revision that the author will need to address as well as the author’s final stages of revision and manuscript preparation. Once the manuscript has been reviewed and accepted by the AAR and the Series Editor and after the author has composed a response to the reviewers’ reports, the Editor sends all the materials along with a recommendation and commentary to the Oxford University Press Religion Editor and final publication decisions are made in consultation with Oxford University Press (OUP). Like other stages of waiting for editorial review, this process can be slow or quick. But if the book is accepted, the author begins to work with the OUP Editor and the AAR Series Editor’s work is done. From then on, the OUP staff advises the author on final manuscript preparation details, including copyediting and publicity. The author will work with OUP — including not just the Religion Editor but support staff in other departments — to bring the process to a satisfying conclusion.

Authors who are interested in submitting their dissertations to the Series should initiate the revision process before submitting a manuscript to the Series. Authors should also expect that peer readers who evaluate their manuscripts for publication consideration might offer suggestions for revisions that authors will be expected to respond to before a manuscript is accepted for publication. Reviews of manuscripts rejected for publication are not provided.



 

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