Advice for Authors  – Southern Semiotic Review (SSR)

SSR wishes to encourage open access and exchange of information, knowledge and resources. It intends SSR to support the collaborative production of copyright works that are freely available in all areas related to semiotic studies. Submission of any manuscript (the Manuscript) to SSR is an acknowledgment and acceptance by the author(s) that:

  1. If accepted by SSR, the Manuscript may be published in any format considered appropriate by the SSR editorial Board, including online and print editions.
  2. Manuscripts submitted to SSR must contain strong research, coherent methodology, articulate theory and developed argument. Submissions should be approximately 3000-6000 words in Word format and sent by email to the editor, southernsemioticreview@gmail.com. Variations to recommended length are possible on application. Book and other reviews, commentaries and in memoriam will be accepted in addition to formal papers.
  3. Submitted manuscripts of papers are required to meet the following criteria: • Identifiers removed to allow for blind review • Double-spacing and Times New Roman 12 point • An abstract of 100-150 words • 3 to 5 keywords • Written in keeping with guidelines of APA style is preferred • A separate title page that includes the title of the Manuscript, word count, full names, affiliations and contact details of all authors • Tables and figures, if any, as separate attachments • An accompanying brief biographical statement about the author(s).
  4. If any Manuscript incorporates copyright protected material, authors must be sure they have general permission under fair or education provisions of copyright law to reproduce this material, or else have permission from the original publisher to reproduce this material. All Manuscript submissions are initially screened, before being reviewed by independent anonymous referee(s) in a blind review process.
  5. The author certifies that this is an original work, and that neither this Manuscript, nor a version of it, has been published previously (or if so, and editors deem it is of sufficient interest, there is explicit permission to reprint), and that all individuals represented as author(s) actually contributed to the Manuscript and that all individuals who contributed are included (the journal will under exceptional circumstance do re-prints of articles where permissions to do so exist with previous publishers). This agreement is confirmation by the author(s) that he / she agrees that any Manuscript accepted for publication by SSR will be published in SSR in the format, and in accordance with the production and distribution choices, of the Editor.
  6. The author(s) makes agreement for use of the manuscript. A Creative Commons licence (the Creative Commons License Attribution – Non-commercial – ShareAlike 4.0 International) can apply, or license to publish. A separate agreement form is available to authors on request.
  7. The initial review is envisaged to take approximately 1-2 months. Author(s) may then be invited to undertake revisions. Completed Manuscripts that are accepted for publication will be published in the next issue of SSR. The review process is intended to be positive and collaborative, leading to an improved paper when changes are recommended. Reviewers exercise tolerance in acceptance of methodology and semiotic concepts, but do examine coherence, expression, argument, research and referencing. Papers can be accepted without amendment, with changes or they can be rejected if they fail to meet core standards.
  8. The Editor will select reviewer (s) for a particular paper, in accordance with their interests and expertise, and also in terms of their distance both institutionally and geographically from the author. This ensures a true blind review process. Papers are given single or double blind review. At least three reviewers are used for each issue.  A second review can be sought for a paper that is rejected or high criticised by one reviewer. Two reviews can also be sought for an outstanding paper, in order to identify and share its features. The Editor is responsible for communicating review comments and suggested changes to individual authors, and also supply full text or extracts of comments where appropriate.
  9. Authors are welcome contribute via donation towards the costs of publication.
  10. If a Manuscript is not accepted for publication the terms of these Submission Guidelines will cease to apply.