The Journal of Popular Culture

Author Guidelines

All contributions to The Journal of Popular Culture will be forwarded to a member of the Editorial Board or other reviewers for comment. Manuscripts must not be previously published, nor should they be submitted for publication elsewhere while being reviewed by The Journal of Popular Culture’s Editorial Board or outside readers.

Manuscripts should be sent to Gary Hoppenstand, Editor, The Journal of Popular Culture, Department of Writing, Rhetoric and American Cultures, Michigan State University, Department of English, 4C Morrill Hall, East Lansing, MI 48824. E-mail: tjpc@msu.edu. Authors must submit three hard copies of the article and an electronic copy on CD in MS Word. A self-addressed stamped envelope must also accompany each submission in order for materials and copies of reviews to be sent to authors.  

Please note that Word 2007 is not yet compatible with journal production systems. Unfortunately, the journal cannot accept Microsoft Word 2007 documents until such time as a stable production version is released. Please use Word’s ‘Save As’ option therefore to save your document as an older (.doc) file type.

We do not accept electronic submissions. A single title page must accompany one of the hard copies, containing complete contact information (address, phone number, e-mail address). On the first page of each of the three copies of the article, only include the article’s title, being sure not to include the author’s name. The JPC has a ‘‘blind review’’ process, meaning that a copy of the article will be sent to reviewers without revealing the author’s name.

Essays should range between fifteen and twenty-five pages of double-spaced text in 12 pt Times New Roman font, including all images, endnotes and Works Cited pages. Essays should also be written in clear US English in the active voice and third person, in a style accessible to the broadest possible audience. Authors should be sensitive to the social implications of language and choose wording free of discriminatory or sexist overtones.

For documentation, The Journal of Popular Culture follows the Modern Language Association style, as articulated by Joseph Gibaldi and Walter S. Achtert in the paperback MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (New York: MLA), and in The MLA Style Manual (New York: MLA). The most current editions of both guides will be the requested editions for use. This style calls for a Works Cited list, with parenthetical author/page references in the text. This approach reduces the number of notes, which provide further references or explanation.

For punctuation, capitalization, hyphenation, and other matters of style, The Journal of Popular Culture follows the MLA Handbook and the MLA Style Manual, supplemented as necessary by The Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago: University of Chicago Press). The most current edition of the guide will be the requested edition for use.

It is essential for authors to check, correct, and bring manuscripts up to date before final submission. Authors should verify facts, names of people, places, and dates, and double-check all direct quotations and entries in the Works Cited list.

We are happy to receive your artwork in digital format. There are three preferred formats for digital artwork submission: Encapsulated PostScript (EPS), Portable Document Format (PDF), and Tagged Image Format (TIFF). We suggest that line art be saved as EPS files. Alternately, these may be saved as PDF files at 600 dots per inch (dpi) or better at final size. Tone art, or photographic images, should be saved as TIFF files with a resolution of 300 dpi at final size. For combination figures, or artwork that contains both photographs and labeling, we recommend saving figures as EPS files, or as PDF files with a resolution of 600 dpi or better at final size. More detailed information on the submission of electronic artwork can be found at http://authorservices.wiley.com/bauthor/illustration.asp.

Authors of manuscripts accepted for publication must subscribe to The Journal of Popular Culture for at least one year at the time of acceptance. Subscription includes membership in the Popular Culture Association.

Upon acceptance of a manuscript, authors are required to sign a form transferring the copyright from the author to the publisher. A copy of Wiley Periodicals, Inc. copyright guidelines will be sent to authors at the time of acceptance.

Book review inquiries should be sent directly to the Editor at The Journal of Popular Culture, Department of Writing, Rhetoric and American Cultures, Michigan State University, Department of English, 4C Morrill Hall, East Lansing, MI 48824. E-mail: tjpc@msu.edu.

Before final submission, the author will be responsible for obtaining letters of permission for illustrations and for quotations, which go beyond ‘‘fair use,’’ as defined by current copyright law.

Please note that unless specifically requested, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. will dispose of all hardcopy or electronic material two months after publication. If you require the return of any material submitted, please inform the editorial office or production editor as soon as possible if you have not yet done so.

Author Services enables authors to track their article – once it has been accepted – through the production process to publication online and in print. Authors can check the status of their articles online and choose to receive automated e-mails at key stages of production. The author will receive an e-mail with a unique link that enables them to register and have their article automatically added to the system. Please ensure that a complete e-mail address is provided when submitting the manuscript. Visit http://authorservices.wiley.com/bauthor/ for more details on online production tracking and for a wealth of resources including FAQs and tips on article preparation, submission and more.

Free access to the final PDF offprint or your article will be available via author services only. Please therefore sign up for author services if you would like to access your article PDF offprint and enjoy the many other benefits the service offers.  Visit http://authorservices.wiley.com/bauthor/ to sign up for Author Services.

OnlineOpen

OnlineOpen is available to authors of primary research articles who wish to make their article available to non-subscribers on publication, or whose funding agency requires grantees to archive the final version of their article. With OnlineOpen, the author, the author's funding agency, or the author's institution pays a fee to ensure that the article is made available to non-subscribers upon publication via Wiley Online Library, as well as deposited in the funding agency's preferred archive. For the full list of terms and conditions, see http://wileyonlinelibrary.com/onlineopen#OnlineOpen_Terms

Any authors wishing to send their paper OnlineOpen will be required to complete the payment form available from our website at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/onlineOpenOrder

Prior to acceptance there is no requirement to inform an Editorial Office that you intend to publish your paper OnlineOpen if you do not wish to. All OnlineOpen articles are treated in the same way as any other article. They go through the journal's standard peer-review process and will be accepted or rejected based on their own merit.