Submissions

Submission Instructions

GUIDELINES FOR PROPOSAL SUBMISSIONS: 

• Proposals should be no longer than 250 words, and may include a selected bibliography.
• We also welcome short (250 word max) bios or CVs, but they are not required.  
• Authors may choose for their proposals to be reviewed anonymously. In this case, your materials must not include any identifying information. 
• If your proposal is best conveyed using audio, video or image materials (for example references to past work or sketches of proposed work) please include up to three links to these using Dropbox, Soundcloud, Google Drive, your personal website etc. in the body of your proposal. Please specify, as necessary, which aspects of the linked materials the selection committee should focus on using timestamps or explanatory notes. Reviewers will review up to 5 minutes or material.
• Proposals must adhere to the deadline and word limits. 
• Proposals from both individual authors/artists or groups will be accepted. Only one submission is allowed per individual or group.

We aim to represent diverse works across disciplines, welcoming contributions from both academic and non-academic spheres, particularly those not typically suited for conventional journals. As an online journal, we encourage digital media, including videos, audio, images, and animation, as well as imaginative uses of digital formats and online presentational possibilities, such as audio essays, interactive essays, and digital exhibitions.

We are seeking proposals for the following formats:

• Full-length academic essays (about 5000–7000 words)
• Shorter creative pieces (about 500–2500 words)
• Cultural, political, theological (etc.) commentaries, manifestos and polemics.
• Artistic reflections
• Multimedia formats that use text 
• Surprise us! 
• Artworks
  • Duration: submission cannot exceed 50MB 
  • File Format: mp3, mp4 (for music videos)
  • 2500 words maximum
  • Duration: submission via an outside link
  • File Format: mp4
• Music: stand-alone pieces, albums, DJ sets, music videos etc.
• Poetry 
• Short films, photo collections, essays or collages 

Submitting Your Proposal

Submitting Your Proposal

Proposals and CVs / Bios should be submitted as separate PDF files.

Use the file naming convention: Lastname_ProposalTitle.pdf ; Lastname_CV ; Lastname_Bio

If you would like to remain anonymous, please use “Anonymous” in lieu of “Lastname”

Please email your proposal to the openwork editorial team openworkjournal@gmail.com with “openwork-2 proposal” as your subject line. 

Should your proposal be accepted, you will receive an email notification by February 5th, 2024.
Submission Formats

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GUIDELINES FOR FULL INVITED SUBMISSIONS: 

If your proposal was accepted and you are submitting your final materials, please submit your work using the Online Journal System. Click here to submit your materials.  

Submissions should include the following:

Articles

• Cover sheet​ including the title of your submission, your full name and your email address.
• A scholarly abstract​ (no references) is required for use in bibliographical databases. The abstract should serve as a brief summary of your article. It must include the aims and outcomes of your research and make mention of any major personalities, collections, or locations discussed. This should be no more than 250 words.
• The full text file ​for your submission. Texts should be submitted as a Microsoft Word document with a .doc or .docx extension. 
• A Dropbox, Google Drive or Wetransfer link to all illustrations and media that appear in the article. Full art preparation guidelines can be found here.   
• Any necessary copyright permissions, in pdf file format. Permission instructions can be found here; a template for requesting permissions is available here.

Artworks

Music

• Cover sheet​ including the title of your submission, your full name and your email address, names of performers or other primary contributors and the date and location of the recording.
• The full audio file ​for your submission, converted to mp3 file format. The submission cannot exceed 50mb.
• Any necessary copyright permissions associated with your piece, in pdf file format. Permission instructions can be found here; a template for requesting permissions is available here.

Poetry

• Cover sheet​ including the title of your submission, your full name and your email address
• The full text file ​for your submission. Texts should be submitted as a Microsoft Word document with a .doc or .docx extension.
• A short note in pdf file format that addresses how the poem should be formatted for publication.
• Any necessary copyright permissions associated with your piece, in pdf file format. Permission instructions can be found here; a template for requesting permissions is available here.

Videos

• Cover sheet​ including the title of your submission, your full name and your email address, and the names of any other important contributors.
• The file ​for your submission in mp4 format.  The file cannot exceed 50mb.
• Any necessary copyright permissions associated with your piece, in pdf file format. Permission instructions can be found here; a template for requesting permissions is available here.

Still Images

• Cover sheet​ including the title of your submission, your full name and your email address, and the names of any other important contributors.
• The file ​for your submission in PNG, JPEG or TIFF format, and of a suitable standard to reproduce, at least 300 dpi.  Full art preparation guidelines can be found here.   
• Any necessary copyright permissions associated with your piece, in pdf file format. Permission instructions can be found here; a template for requesting permissions is available here.

ARTICLE SPECIFIC PREPARATION GUIDELINES

All texts should be original. Neither previously published work, nor work under consideration for publication elsewhere, will be accepted. Texts must be submitted in English.

Formatting

• For articles and commentaries, figure references should be included in the text (in parentheses, e.g. ‘(fig. 1)’) and the images labelled numerically (not descriptively). Low-res image files, if available, may be uploaded initially, and hi-res versions sent subsequently, if the submission is accepted. ​For more information on media and captioning, please see “Illustrations and Media”.
• Ensure that references are provided in the endnotes for all quotations.
• Please do not use headers and footers.
• Please paginate all submissions.

House Style

Please use Chicago (author-date) style for in-text citations (cf. The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition);  ​Refer to the manual for guidance on internal style and crafting reference citations. 

Please adhere to the following house style preferences:

• All texts should be single spaced 
• Paragraphs should be indicated by a line-space, not indented.
• Bold type and underlining should not be used.
• In the main text, italicize titles of books and journals (please do not use underlining).
• Put titles of articles, doctoral theses and exhibitions in single inverted commas.
• Illustrations should be referred to in text as: (fig. 2) etc.
• Notes should be formatted as endnotes, with Arabic numerals.

Spelling

Follow American English usage e.g. color, center, recognize, etc.

Quotations​

Set within double inverted commas; quotations within quotations in single inverted commas. Quotations more than six lines long should start on the next line and should be indented.

Illustrations and media

If your article includes figures or illustrations, please submit them as high-resolution [3000 dpi] TIFF files using Dropbox, Google drive or Wetransfer link. Full art preparation guidelines can be found here.

If the images are not the work of the author, please begin acquiring images and clearing rights as soon as your article or review has been accepted. Permission instructions can be found here; a template for requesting permissions is available here.

All images must have been cleared for copyright purposes and all costs and permissions to reproduce are the responsibility of the contributor, who must provide correct credit lines for the image as well as the digital files. Online rights must be obtained from the rights-holder. Openwork illustrates its digital publication in full color, although grayscale images may be accepted  depending on the source material.

The Journal also accepts multimedia additions to its articles. Copyright clearance and any associated costs for permissions for audio and video recordings, or other varieties of digital media, are the sole responsibility of the author.

Captions

• Please number figures in order and make sure that image files can be clearly identified from their file-names.
• All images must have a catalogue-style caption supplied as a separate list. Captions should include:
  • Maker
  • Title (in italics)
  • Date
  • Medium
  • Measurements (in centimeters or meters)
  • Location (Institution, Geographic Location)
  • Copyright statement
  • Courtesy line and/or photo credit

Example:

Fig 1.​ Yinka Shonibare, ​The Swing (after Fragonard),​ 2001, mannequin, cotton costume, 2 slippers, swing seat, 2 ropes, oak twig and artificial foliage, 3.3 x 3.5 x 2.2 m (Tate, London) © Yinka Shonibare; image courtesy Stephen Friedman Gallery, London.

SELECTION FOR PUBLICATION

• Authors will be alerted by an editor as to whether their submission has been accepted, declined, or a revision requested.
• If a revision is requested, authors should carefully consider and respond to the referee comments, and resubmit.
• Authors of accepted papers will receive proofs of their article 3-5 weeks after the decision is sent. Timely attention to proofs will ensure the article is prepared in time for publication of the next issue.

RESUBMISSIONS

Submissions not accepted for publication because they did not fit the scope of the issue’s themes, may be resubmitted. If you would like to resubmit, please include a cover letter detailing when you originally made your submission and the comments you were provided.