Contribution Guidelines for Authors
The Rural Review is an online journal produced in conjunction with The Rural Reconciliation Project. We aim to post a variety of voices and contributions on The Rural Review but specifically welcome writing in the following three categories:
Digests: very short objective summaries of recent academic or other scholarly contribution related to rural pasts, presents, or futures (very brief, typically 200-300 words) (samples here)
Reviews: thoughtful reflections on the contribution of a recent item of rural-related scholarship; these posts are best when they celebrate what is interesting and important about the new work while also situating it within a larger academic or social/political/economic context (typically 500-1000 words) (sample here)
Commentary: guest opinions, essays, and other posts from a range of voices (both academic and non-academic) in a short blog-style piece on a topic of interest to our Project; these commentary posts should be informative and advance the wider Rural Reconciliation Project conversation (typically 800-1500 words) (samples here)
We prioritize interdisciplinary (and even transdisciplinary) engagement. New posts should be written in a tone that assumes an intelligent reader – but a reader who is not necessarily a deep subject-matter expert. Posts must be readable by a general audience.
We publish original work and by publishing with us you agree that your work is original, that you have the rights to publish this original content, and that your submission to us does not violate anyone else’s copyright or other rights. You also agree to grant us a license to share your work freely on The Rural Review. If your post is not original but you believe it appropriate for you to publish it the The Rural Review nonetheless, please discuss this with us before submission.
An author may not review or digest their own work (or work they have edited or otherwise been directly involved in researching or writing). Students are most welcome to publish on The Rural Review, but we ask that students not review or digest the work of their own professors or teachers.
We are a small, informal operation. We cannot offer internal editing, cite-checking, or peer-review coordination except in the rarest of situations. You are responsible for what you publish, and we will welcome submissions in the form of responses to any post on The Rural Review.
Any opinions expressed solely reflect the opinions of the authors themselves.
Citations should be formatted as hyperlinks rather than footnotes or other academic references.
We prefer submissions as Word documents wherever possible.
If you would like to discuss a proposed submission with us before completing it, please reach out.
We maintain complete discretion in what we select to publish.
