Guidelines for Submission

The editor invites submission of original, previously unpublished article-length manuscripts (not exceeding 35 pages in length). Articles that have been published elsewhere in any form, version, or language cannot be considered for publication. Please be advised that articles available on the world wide web constitute previously published articles. Manuscripts may be submitted in English, French, or other languages, but they will generally be published in English. Submissions cannot be accepted via electronic attachment to e-mail. Please send four copies to:

Research in African Literatures
The Ohio State University
c/o Department of French and Italian
248 Cunz Hall / 1841 Millikin Road
Columbus, Ohio 43210 USA

We regret that we cannot return manuscripts unless a self-addressed return envelope with return postage is included with the submission. Research in African Literatures will not send out for review any articles that are under consideration elsewhere.

Authors of articles that have been accepted for publication will be asked to submit the final version of their paper both in hard copy and on an IBM-compatible disk in Microsoft Word. Authors must sign a consent-to-publish form, which is an agreement vesting copyright in Indiana University Press.

RAL follows the MLA Style Manual, 2nd ed. Chapters 6 and 7 offer documentation and bibliographic information. Please note that articles that do not conform to our house style may be returned to the author before being considered for publication.

1. Articles should be printed on only one side of the paper and should be formatted for 8 1/2" x 11" paper even if you use European-size paper.
2. Double-space everything, including the title, the article itself, all quotations, notes, and the list of works cited. Typescript must be in dark, standard-sized print, with the same type face and size used throughout. Note that underlines become italics.
3. Do not center or fully justify your text--all text should be left-justified. Paragraph indentations should be tabbed at five spaces. Do not enter carriage returns within paragraphs, especially for indented quotations, where you should set new margins.
4. RAL does not print subtitles or section titles within essays.
5. Prepare in separate files and print on separate sheets all endnotes (if used) and the list of works cited. Note numbers should be prepared in superscript and normally occur at the end of a sentence, not following an author's name. Do not use word processor features that embed notes as footnotes or endnotes. All diagrams and graphic materials are the responsibility of the author and must be submitted in camera-ready copy as well as in electronic files.
6. Use American spellings and punctuation except when quoting from a source that has used British style. All punctuation except colons and semicolons is placed inside quotation marks. Single quotes are used only for quotes within quotes; otherwise, double quotation marks are to be used.
7. Provide translations (your own--or the standard, if there is a printed translation available) of all material in languages other than English. The translations should be incorporated into the text, following the foreign term or foreign selection.
8. In order to facilitate blind review, do not print your name or affiliation on the article itself, but provide a separate sheet with that information.
9. Please pay particular attention to the following matters of punctuation:
   Apostrophes: All singular proper nouns, including the names of persons and places, form their possessives in the same manner (Mars's wrath, Camus's novel, Kansas's weather, Dickens's popularity; but the Dickenses' economic woes). See Section 3.4.7.
   Colons: Skip one space only, not two. In separating a title and subtitle of a book, use a colon.
   Periods: Skip one space only (not two) after all periods, semicolons, and commas.
   Commas: Always use a comma before all coordinating conjunctions in a series of three or more items and always after "i.e." and "e.g." See also MLA Style Manual section 3.4.2.
   Hyphens: Do not use spaces before or after hyphens.
   Em-dashes: Prepare on...