Guidelines for Special Issues

KULA welcomes proposals for special issues on topics that fall within the journal's scope. If you are interested in editing a special issue, please email the editor-in-chief at kulajournal@uvic.ca with an expression of interest before submitting a full proposal. 

Submitting Proposal

If the editor-in-chief invites you to submit a proposal, you should include, as part of your proposal:

  • The names and affiliations of the guest editor(s). We recommend that the issue not have more than three guest editors.
  • A provisional publication timeline 
  • A draft of the Call for Papers, which should provide a brief description of the issue theme, list possible submission topics, and mention the types of submissions to be featured (e.g., research articles, teaching reflections, creative submissions, etc.).

Submission Process

We recommend that guest editors plan to use a two-stage submission process:

  1. Invite abstract submissions first
  2. Based on the abstracts, invite contributors to submit full pieces for editorial consideration and, if applicable, peer review. 

Journal Management System

Guest editors should be prepared to use the workflow on OJS 3 to manage submissions, peer review, and editing. They will need to create accounts on the journal website (kula.uvic.ca). The associate editor will then give them administrative access to the submissions for the special issue.

Editorial Workflow

Once the editors have accepted submissions, the typical steps in the editing process are as follows:

  1. Editors complete the first round of edits (content-related and structural edits) and return submissions to authors
  2. Authors submit revised versions of submissions
  3. If authors’ revisions are satisfactory, editors complete stylistic editing and copyediting
  4. Authors submit second revised versions of submissions
  5. Editors send submissions to typesetting
  6. Authors proofread and approve submissions for publication

Guest Editor Duties

Guest editors have full direction of the special issue and so should expect to be involved in and make all decisions at each stage of the editorial process. They will be responsible for: 

  • Circulating the CFP and approaching potential contributors
  • Vetting abstracts and deciding which authors to invite to submit full submissions 
  • Choosing which peer reviewers to approach for each submission
  • After peer review, deciding whether to
    • accept (with major, minor, or no revisions) submissions
    • have submissions resubmitted for review
    • decline submissions 
  • Providing detailed editorial feedback to authors
  • Establishing deadlines for each stage of editorial workflow 

If the guest editor(s) would like support in arranging peer review, communicating with authors and reviewers, copyediting, etc., the associate editor can provide as much support as required. However, in that case, guest editors should expect to be in regular contact via email, responding within 48 hours to the associate editor's inquiries. 

Diversity and Inclusion

Guest editors should do everything they can to encourage diversity among their contributors. KULA will not publish special issues with an all-white or all-male group of authors.