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On this page

  1. What we’re looking for
    1.1 Scholarly articles
    1.2 Interviews
    1.3 Creative works
    1.4 Book reviews
  2. Reading periods
  3. Preparing to submit your article to TEXT
    3.1 Please use the TEXT Scholarly Article Template
    3.2 Familiarise yourself with TEXT Journal policies
    3.3 Suggested length for scholarly articles
    3.4 Peer review
    3.5 Submit two copies
    3.6 Biographical note
    3.7 Abstract
    3.8 Keywords
  4. TEXT Style Guide
    4.1 Formattting
    4.2 Spelling, capitalisation and foreign words
    4.3 Punctuatation
    4.4 Citations and referencing
    4.5 Tables and figures
    4.6 Requirements for notes
    4.7 Acknowledgements
    4.8 Abbreviations
  5. Post submission: what next?
    5.1 Acknowledement of receipt
    5.2 Initial read through
    5.3 How we select referees
    5.4. How referees assess your work
    5.5. What happens post-review stage
    5.6 How to respond to referees’ comments
    5.7 Acceptance

1. What we’re looking for

TEXT is a scholarly journal in the creative and professional writing discipline. We welcome the submission of research articles on creative and professional writing and processes, research in creative writing, the teaching of writing and related issues. We may also be interested in articles of an interdisciplinary nature or research relevant to allied disciplines such as literary studies and publishing studies, where the subject matter is deemed relevant to our readership. To submit a scholarly article for the general issue, use the above link. Book reviews and creative works are submitted via the email links listed below. We also publish Special Issues twice per year. For information about pitching a Special Issue see our About page.

1.1. Scholarly articles

When you submit a scholarly article for our general edition, we will allocate a managing editor and conduct a pre-assessment within six weeks to determine if the piece is suitable for the journal, and whether it requires further work or is ready for the double-blind review process.

Please note the below information that outlines the publication processes and associated deadlines we aim for. If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact our general editorial team at textgeneraleditors@aawp.org.au.

1.2 Interviews

We occasionally publish interviews that we feel would be of interest to our readership. We expect that such interviews will make a contribution the creative writing discipline by focussing on aspects of creative writing pedagogy or practice. We do not publish interviews that are primarily about promoting an author’s publication. Rather, we expect a scholarly and sophisticated exchange on a topic with some specificity aimed at a disciplinary-specific audience of creative writing scholar/practitioners. As with our scholarly articles, interviews should generally be 6-8000 words in length. Interviews for TEXT may be either single or blind-peer reviewed. In the case of single-blind review, the interviewer’s name will be visible to the reviewer, but the reviewer’s name will not be released to the interviewer.

1.3. Creative works

TEXT also considers short creative works of prose and poetry, however we only publish creative works which concern the exploration of creativity, or the nature and processes of writing, or the nature and processes of the teaching of writing, or the investigation of writers’ issues.

Creative works are assessed on artistic merit, originality, and the general quality and success of the writing in light of the intentions outlined.

Creative works are not peer reviewed but are selected by our Creative Works editor/s. Creative Works can be submitted directly to textcreativeworks@aawp.org.au with the subject heading Creative Work Submission.

In general we encourage authors of creative works to follow the same style guidelines as for scholarly articles (outlined below) however we accept and encourage variations on these in line with an author’s creative vision for their work.

1.4. Book reviews

We publish book reviews. These are not subject to peer review but are managed by our dedicated Reviews Editors. Please send enquires about reviews to contact our Book Reviews Editors at: textreviews@aawp.org.au.

2. Reading periods

Scholarly articles can only be submitted to our general editions within set reading periods.

Summer reading period

Submissions open: 1 November – 31 January
Sent for review: First week of February
We aim to return referee reports to author/s in early March
Revisions window: 4-12 weeks depending on extent of revision required
Editing and publication: March-April for the April edition; Sept-Oct for the October edition. Please note that many articles accepted for publication out of the summer reading period are published in October of that year.

Winter reading period

Submissions open: 1 May – 31 July
Sent for review: First week of August
We aim to return referee reports to author/s in early September
Revisions window: 4-12 weeks depending on extent of revision required
Editing and publication:March-April for the April edition; Sept-Oct for the October edition. Please note that many articles accepted for publication out of the winter reading period are published in April of the following year.

3. Preparing to submit your article to TEXT

3.1 Please use the TEXT Scholarly Article Template

Please use the TEXT Scholarly Article Template to style your content when planning to submit a scholarly article or interview. This document is available via email and will save both you and our editorial team precious time. Contact our editors to request a copy: textgeneraleditors@aawp.org.au.

3.2 Familiarise yourself with TEXT Journal policies

Before submitting your work to TEXT, you must familiarise yourself with our policies. We particularly draw your attention to the warrant of originality you are agreeing to when you submit your work for consideration, as well as to our policies on copyright. These are available on our Journal Policies page.

3.3 Suggested length for scholarly articles

Scholarly article submissions are expected to make a distinctive contribution to knowledge that extends the scholarly literature in the field. This requires the development of a substantial idea or argument, and often includes a comprehensive literature review and/or considerable analysis. Most scholarly articles we publish in our general editions at TEXT are 6-8000 words in length. If you are aiming to publish an article developed out of a conference paper of, say, originally 3000 words, we advise you to develop it considerably before you submit it to our journal editors.

3.4 Peer review

This journal operates a double-blind review process for all scholarly submissions, including scholarly ficto-critical work. The Editors are responsible for the final decision regarding acceptance or rejection of articles.

Interviews are single-blind peer reviwed. Creative works are accepted at the sole discretion of the creative works editors. Editors decisions are final.

Further information about the handling of our peer review process is available below (see ‘Post submission: what next?’) and via our Journal Policies page.

We are very grateful to the many peer reviewers who volunteer their time to evaluate scholarly submissions to the journal. If you are suitably qualified and interested in joining our peer reviewer pool, please email our general editors at textgeneraleditors@aawp.org.au with a copy of your CV and an indication of your areas of expertise as a reader.

3.5 Submit two copies of your scholarly article via Scholastica

If you are submitting a scholarly article for peer review, we require two copies of your manuscript. This enables us to operate our double-blind peer review process efficiently, in line with our journal policies, and means your identity will not be revealed to peer reviewers, while also enabling us to move quickly with the publishing process once your article is accepted.

Main manuscript file (no author details): This version of your manuscript, presented using our preferred template, should contain NO information that identifies you or your co-authors. This includes authors’ names or affiliations on the title page, as well as mentions in references, figures, tables, headers and acknowledgements. If you make mention of published or otherwise publicly available works by you in the body of your text, the titles of those works should also be replaced in order to secure anonymity. For example, a book you have published titled Ulysses could be replaced in the document with the phrase TITLE REMOVED FOR PEER REVIEW. Such works should also be removed completely from the reference list.

Manuscript with author details. This version of the manuscript, presented using our preferred template, includes author names, affiliations and biographical notes on the title page & any other identifying features as necessary in the body of the article, reference list, notes and acknowledgements .

Your submission cannot proceed without both of these files being uploaded.

3.6 Biographical Note

Scholarly authors should prepare a biographical note of 100 words maximum and include this in the ‘Manuscript with author details’ submission. Authors submitting via our Scholastica site will also be asked to provide this information as part of the online submission form. Our creative works and reviews editors will liase directly with creative works and reviews authors regarding the provision of biographical notes as these operate slightly differently in those sections of the journal.

3.7 Abstract

Scholarly journal article submissions will require an abstract of up to 200 words. You should have one prepared. If you are submitting via our Scholastica site will be asked to provide the abstract as part of the online submission.

3.8 Keywords

Scholarly journal articles require 3-5 succinct and accurate keywords or phrases that you imagine readers might use if they were searching electronic databases for an article just like yours. These should be arranged in order of importance, first keyword capitalised, others use minimal capitalisation, separated by commas Be sparing with abbreviations: only abbreviations firmly established in the discipline should be used. These keywords will be used for indexing purposes. Again, if you are submitting via our Scholastica site will be asked to provide these keywords as part of the online submission. Please have them prepared.

4. TEXT Style Guide

4.1 Formatting

Please use the TEXT Scholarly Article Template for scholarly articles and interviews, available by emailing our general editors at: textgeneraleditors@aawp.org.au. Our reviews editor will also supply a TEXT ReviewsTemplate via email.

Our templates contain many of the below TEXT Style notes and are already formatted according to our house style, saving you and our reviewers and editors precious time.

Page numbers are placed in the bottom right corner, in 9-point font. The title page (where the abstract and bio are located) is page 1. Please note that the formatting templates include a blank page before the title page, which is numbered with an invisible 0. Please do not remove this page.

Margins: use “Normal” setting in Word

Epigraphs: TEXT does not encourage epigraphs for scholarly articles; however they may be appropriate in some cases. Follow the formatting instructions in the TEXT Scholarly Article Template. On a new line below the quote, use an en dash and include the author’s name, as well as any other details you consider necessary, such as the date, title of the work, and page number. Include the full reference details in the reference list.

Footnotes and notes: We ask authors not to use Endnote or Word’s “Footnotes” function to insert notes. Manually place a square-bracketed numeral in text [1] and include a corresponding numbered list in the Notes section at the end of the document. (See the TEXT Scholarly Article Template for an example.)

4.2 Spelling, capitalisation and foreign words

Note: In general, follow APA 7 guidelines. However, TEXT house style as detailed below overrides APA guidelines if the two conflict.

Use Australian spelling, including -ise rather than -ize endings (for example, colour, labelled, organise). (Exception to APA rule).

Use minimal capitalisation in all headings and subheadings (that is, only capitalise the first word, names, pronouns, acronyms and so on), but do use a capital letter after a colon in headings and subheadings (not for in-text colons). (Exception to APA rule).

Use maximal (title case) capitalisation for publication titles in-text, even when minimal (sentence case) capitalisation is required for the reference list (in line with APA guidelines).

Do not use Latin abbreviations (e.g., ibid., op. cit.). (Exception to APA rule).
Avoid all other abbreviations as much as possible, but where used follow APA guidelines.

Avoid contractions unless absolutely necessary (creative works excepted).

APA guidelines recommend italicising important theoretical or technical terms and phrases at first use. TEXT does not require this, but if in doubt follow APA guidelines. (Exception to APA rule).

Foreign words and phrases that are common in English should not be italicised; unusual foreign term or lengthy phrases should be italicised (in line with APA guidelines).

Avoid using authors’ pronouns where possible. Use “they” for mixed author groups or nonbinary authors as required.

In general, spell out all whole numbers (fifty, seventy, one hundred, one thousand) as well as numbers zero through ten. Use numerals for numbers 11 and above, and for complex numbers (456, 1033, 10 389, 51st). (Exception to APA rule).

• Always spell out any numbers beginning a sentence (or reword to avoid unwieldiness)
• If you are using a lot of numbers within the same paragraph, be flexible with the number style rule if doing so will improve clarity and comprehension
• Use numerals for centuries and decades, and spell out the word century in lowercase (4th century, 19th century, 21st century, the 80s)

Choose plain, modern language, for example while rather than whilst (creative works excepted).

4.3 Punctuation

Note: This section also includes information specific to punctuating quotes, citations, and references. For more information on referencing, refer to the next section.

Double quotation marks, “curly” not straight.

Single quotation marks for “quotes ‘within’ other quotes”

En dashes – spaced like so – for parenthetical asides in body text (not em dashes). (Exception to APA rule).

Unspaced en dashes between page numbers and spans (1–5, L–K).

Semicolons only between two independent clauses (where a full stop or coordinating conjunction would otherwise be used) or to separate items in complex lists (where using commas would cause confusion).

Possessive apostrophe on names/words ending in s: add the extra s (Dickens’s) unless the original s is unpronounced (Decartes’)

Reduce unnecessary full stops (for instance in abbreviations) and commas; only use the Oxford/serial comma when necessary for clarity. (Exception to APA rule).

Full stops go after parenthetical citations in body text (like this). But full stops go before parenthetical citations in block quotes. (Like this)

Full stops go outside quotation marks “at the end of sentences”. (Exception to APA rule).

Ellipses have … a space to either side, and three dots only unless they end a sentence …. In this case they may have a fourth closing period, question mark, or even exclamation point …!

When ellipses are used to indicate matter omitted from a quote, no brackets are required. For other editorial adjustments to a quote, use square brackets to enclose the changes.

Do not begin and end quotations with ellipses unless included in the original.
Ampersands between authors’ names within parenthetical citations (Smith & Lewis) but “and” when authors Smith and Lewis are referred to in body text.
Ampersands between authors’ names in headers and footers. “And” spelt out in headers and footers where it is part of a title.

4.4 Citations and references

Use APA 7 style. Consult the APA website for guidelines and examples: https://apastyle.apa.org/

Refer to the APA 6 archive for issues not yet covered on the new site.

Note: APA style encourages paraphrasing over direct quotations; however, direct quotations are often preferred in our discipline. TEXT recommends a number of exceptions to APA style to accommodate this difference.

Make all links in the reference list live.

Do not use Endnote to format references. To remove Endnote formatting, highlight all text and hold down Ctrl+Shift+F9

Use block quotes for quotations of 40 words or more.

If making a correction to a quotation, include [sic] in square brackets.

Page numbers are required for all direct quotations.

Do not include paragraph numbers for unpaginated resources (such as webpages). (Exception to APA rule).

Do not include time stamps when quoting from or referring to audiovisual materials unless you think it is especially important to highlight the exact location of the material. In this case, either include the information in text, or follow APA guidelines for formatting time stamps in citations. (Exception to APA rule).

Avoid overcitation (for example long lists of in-text citations), especially where citations inhibit readability, in line with APA guidelines.

For successive citations to the same source in the same paragraph, give the full information (author’s name, date, page number) at the first quotation, then include only page numbers in parenthesis for all successive citations. As soon as a new source is quoted or a new paragraph started, the full citation must be given again. If in doubt, include the full citation. (See the TEXT Scholarly Article Template for an example.) (Exception to APA rule).

When quoting from new or republished editions of an older work, it is only necessary to include the date of the edition you are quoting from. However, if you think it is important to include the original publication date as well, or if your edition includes significant new revisions or materials (such as a new introduction) give both the original and new dates in citations and the reference list, following APA guidelines for citing republished resources.

When repeating a quotation found in another source, follow APA guidelines for citing secondary sources. Include the note “as cited in” in the parenthetical citation, and use the details for the secondary (rather than primary) source in the reference list. For example (Smith, 1989, as cited in Jones, 2004, p. 17) with Jones in the reference list.

For translated works, follow APA guidelines.

For audiovisual materials, follow APA guidelines.

For archival material, follow APA guidelines.

For personal communications, including your own drafts or unpublished creative works, follow APA guidelines. APA does not require such works to be included in the reference list, but if you use the source extensively it may be best to create a reference list entry to simplify in-text citations.

4.5 Tables and figures

Note: The TEXT Scholarly Article Template provides more detail and can be requested from the editors at textgeneraleditors@aawp.org.au.

Captions: 10pt italicised Times New Roman, centred below tables/figures.

Wording follows this convention: Figure 1: Title of the figure (used for images of any kind), relevant description in minimal caps including citation where applicable or Table 1: Depending on what is being captioned.

Follow APA guidelines (for example here, here and here) for including images, artworks, and tables in the reference list as applicable.

Presentation: Tables and figures should be centred with a 1pt black border.

Including images, video or sound files as part of your submission

TEXT accepts photos, graphs, tables, simple animations or illustrations to support and enhance your articles or creative works. These should generally be submitted or uploaded as separate files, with a clear indication in the body of the text as to where the file should be placed [e.g. Insert Image 2.jpg]. Video files may be better managed as links to external sites.

4.6 Requirements for notes

Please note that TEXT does not use footnotes. Instead we run a list of linked notes at the end of the piece. Submissions utilising numbered notes or appendices should have them listed at the end with, of course, clear indication in the body of the text showing where they’ll be linked to. Please don’t use any computerised footnote or endnote devices available in most Word programs. Just make a numbered list of your notes and indicate them with a bracketed number in the body of the text, e.g. [4] for note number 4.

4.7 Acknowledgements

If you wish to provide an acknowledgements section, please place it at the end of your article, between your Notes (if you have them) and your References section.

4.8 Abbreviations

Define abbreviations that are not standard in this field. Such abbreviations as are unavoidable must be defined at their first mention. Ensure consistency of abbreviations throughout the article.

5. Post-submission: what next?

5.1 Acknowledgement of receipt

You will receive acknowledgement of receipt of your submission. If you are submitting through our Scholastica site, this acknowledgement will be automated. If you are submitting via email to our Creative Works or Book Reviews editors, or to a Special Issue, you will receive a manual acknowledgement via email. In the latter case, please allow several working days for our editors to respond.

5.2 Initial-read through

In the case of scholarly journal and creative works submissions, the TEXT editor assigned to your submission will do an initial read through to ascertain the suitability of your submission for our particular journal, and to check that the submission meets our basic requirements. You should allow around 6 weeks for this stage of the process. Once the assigned editor has finished this initial assessment, they will be in contact with you to let you know whether they have decided to progress the article to the referee stage. It is possible that your submission will be rejected at this stage; if so, reasons will be provided.

5.3 How we select referees

As our journal has been operating for twenty-five years, we have a substantial network of creative and professional writing academics from Australia, New Zealand, the UK, north America, South East Asia and Europe on our list of potential referees. Our editors will invite referees to assess your work based on your article title, the keywords you have used, and your abstract. We always take into account our journal’s ethics and conflict of interest policies at this stage (see our TEXT Journal Policies page).

5.4 How our referees assess your work

Scholarly journal articles are assessed on the basis of whether they make a distinctive contribution to knowledge that extends the scholarly literature in the field. Successful refereed articles will draw on a sound framework of methodology and scholarship pertinent to the paper’s topic; this may include personal experience and/or anecdotal evidence where relevant to the argument and Writing disciplines, and usually this will be supported by analysis of recognized primary and secondary literature. Our reviewers will also be asked to assess the quality of the argument, including structure, and the clarity of the conclusions, as well as the quality of the citation and referencing, the writing (including effectiveness and clarity) and the general quality of the article’s presentation.

5.5 What happens post the review stage?

Our editors will use the reports and recommendations provided by the chosen reviewers to make a decision about your submission. At this stage, your article may be:
• Accepted for publication; or
• Accepted subject to minor revisions; or
• Accepted subject to major revisions; or
• Rejected outright.

The assigned editor’s decision is considered final.

5.6 How to respond to referees’ comments

The vast majority of articles that are published in TEXT have been through a revision process in light of comments and suggestions provided by our referees, and many of our contributors feel very pleased with the final product as a result of the advice of our experienced specialist readers.

If you are required to complete revisions, your assigned editor will help you through this stage of the of process, and in some cases articles go back and forth between authors and assigned editors a number of times.

If you are having trouble with moving forward with this stage or the process, or you are new to responding to feedback from referees, we recommend the article “How to reply to peer review comments when submitting papers for publication” by HC Williams (2004), available online here:
http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/859/2/How_to_reply_to_referees.pdf

Please note that should your assigned editor be unhappy with the revisions you have provided, it is still possible for your article to be rejected at this stage.

5.7 Acceptance:

Once your scholarly article is officially accepted for publication by your assigned editor, the final stage is proof and style editing and formatting the article for online publication. We will do everything possible to get your article published quickly and accurately. This stage is for checking the typesetting, editing, completeness and correctness of the text, tables and figures. Significant changes to the article as accepted for publication will only be considered at this stage with permission from the assigned editor.

It is important to ensure that all correspondence with us is replied to promptly at this final stage so that we can meet our publication deadlines.