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The Journal of Commonwealth Literature

The Journal of Commonwealth Literature

Other Titles in:
Literature | Literature Reviews

eISSN: 17416442 | ISSN: 00219894 | Current volume: 58 | Current issue: 4 Frequency: Quarterly

"The Journal of Commonwealth Literature has long established itself as an invaluable resource and guide for scholars in the overlapping fields of commonwealth Literature, Postcolonial Literature and New Literatures in English. The journal is an institution, a household word and, most of all, a living, working companion." Edward Baugh

The Journal of Commonwealth Literature is internationally recognized as the leading critical and bibliographic forum in the field of Commonwealth and postcolonial literatures. It provides an essential, peer-reveiwed, reference tool for scholars, researchers, and information scientists.

Three of the four issues each year bring together the latest critical comment on all aspects of ‘Commonwealth’ and postcolonial literature and related areas, such as postcolonial theory, translation studies, and colonial discourse. The fourth issue provides a comprehensive bibliography of publications in the field. Read more about the Bibliography issue here.

In the inaugural issue of JCL in 1965, the editors argued that 'the name of this journal...should on no account be construed as a perverse underwriting of any concept of a single, culturally homogeneous body of writings to be thought of as "Commonwealth Literature"'.

This observation remains true today: JCL welcomes a wide range of critical and theoretical submissions on literatures that have been shaped by the British Empire and its residues. We recognize that colonialism is not safely in the past, and the Journal reflects literature's shifting margins, including critiques of texts that explore diasporas and neocolonialism. We also welcome articles that connect gender and sexuality with colonialism, the Commonwealth, and postcoloniality.

This journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

All issues of The Journal of Commonwealth Literature are available to browse online.

Editors
Rehana Ahmed Queen Mary University of London, UK
Shital Pravinchandra Queen Mary, University of London, UK
Bibliography Issue Editor
Lucinda Newns King’s College London, UK
Editorial Assistant
Diana Mudura University of York, UK
Editorial Board
Elleke Boehmer University of Oxford, UK
Laurence Breiner Boston University, USA
Claire Chambers University of York, UK
Ralph Crane University of Tasmania, Australia
Corinne Fowler University of Leicester, UK
Rachael Gilmour Queen Mary University of London, UK
Shane Graham Utah State University, USA
Faye Hammill University of Glasgow, UK
Caroline Herbert Leeds Beckett University, UK
Hugh Hodges Trent University, Ontario, Canada
Coral Ann Howells University of Reading, UK
Graham Huggan University of Leeds, UK
Michelle Kelly University of Oxford, UK
Malashri Lal University of Delhi, India
Dr Nukhbah Langah Forman Christian College University, Pakistan
Arini Loader Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
Gail Low University of Dundee, UK
John McLeod University of Leeds, UK
Lindsey Moore Lancaster University, UK
Peter Morey University of Birmingham , UK
Stephen Morton University of Southampton, UK
Pablo Mukherjee Warwick University, UK
Stephanie Newell Yale University, USA
Brendon Nicholls University of Leeds, UK
James Ogude University of Pretoria, South Africa
Ranka Primorac University of Southampton, UK
Gillian Roberts University of Nottingham, UK
Minoli Salgado Sussex University, UK
Dennis Walder The Open University, UK
Susan Watkins Leeds Metropolitan University, UK
Bibliographic Representatives
Mahruba T. Mowtushi (Bangladesh) BRAC University, Bangladesh
Kirstine Moffat (Aotearoa New Zealand) University of Waikato, New Zealand
Mafruha Mohua (Bangladesh) University of London, UK
Van Ikin (Australia) University of Western Australia, Australia
Nathan Hobby (Australia) University of Western Australia, Australia
Joel Deshaye (Canada) Joel Deshaye, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada
Maria Alonso Alonso (The Caribbean) Universityof santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain
Terry Barringer Independent Scholar, UK
Olabode Ibironke (West Africa) Rutgers University, New Brunswick, USA
Diana Chlebek University of Akron, USA
Sheri-Marie Harrison University of Missouri, Columbia, USA
Van Ikin University of Western Australia, Australia
Keira McKenzie University of Western Australia, Australia
Kirstine Moffat University of Waikato, New Zealand
Grace Musila University of Stellenbosch, South Africa
Shyamala A Narayan Jamia Millia Islamia, India
S. Walter Perera University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
Muneeza Shamsie "A" Street, Defense Housing Project, Karachi, Pakistan
Ismail S. Talib National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore
  • Abstracts of English Studies (Discontinued)
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    1. Article types
    2. Editorial Policies
      2.1 Peer review policy
      2.2 Authorship
    3. Publishing Policies
      3.1 Publication Ethics
      3.1.1 Plagiarism
    4. How to submit your manuscript
    5. Journal contributor’s publishing agreement
      5.1 Sage Choice and Open Access
    6. Declaration of conflicting interests policy
    7. Other conventions
    8. Acknowledgments
      8.1 Funding acknowledgement
    9. Permissions
    10. Manuscript style
      10.1 File types
      10.2 Journal style
      10.3 Reference style
      10.4 Manuscript preparation
      10.4.1 Keywords and abstracts: Helping readers find your article online
      10.4.2 Corresponding author contact details
      10.4.3 Guidelines for submitting artwork, figures and other graphics
      10.4.4 Guidelines for submitting supplemental files
      10.4.5 English language editing services
    11. After acceptance
      11.1 Proofs
      11.2 E-Prints
      11.3 Sage production
      11.4 OnlineFirst publication
    12. Further information

     

    1. Article types

    With over forty years of publication, The Journal of Commonwealth Literature is internationally recognized as the leading critical and bibliographic forum in the field. It provides an essential reference tool for scholars, researchers and information scientists involved in all aspects of Commonwealth and postcolonial literatures.

    Three of the four issues each year bring together the latest critical comment and occasional interviews with authors and theorists, dealing with all aspects of Commonwealth and postcolonial literature, and with related areas, such as postcolonial theory, translation studies and colonial discourse. The fourth issue provides a comprehensive, very popular and widely-read bibliography of publications in the field.

    Articles submitted should be between 6,000-7,000 words in length.

    The Journal of Commonwealth Literature has discontinued its 'Books Received' section and does not carry book reviews. However, the annual Bibliography issue of the Journal includes discussion of critical and creative texts, published in the previous year, from the following Commonwealth regions: Australia, Canada, the Caribbean, East and Central Africa, India, Malaysia and Singapore, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and West Africa. If you would like a book related to one or more of these regions to be included in the listings of the Bibliography issue and to be considered for a brief review within the introduction for a particular region, please contact the bibliography editor, Dr Lucinda Newns, to put you in touch with the author of the appropriate section of the Bibliography. Read more about the Bibliography issue here.

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    2. Editorial Policies

    2.1 Peer review policy

    The Journal of Commonwealth Literature operates a double anonymize peer review process in nearly all cases, such that the reviewer's name is withheld from the author and the author's name from the reviewer. 
    The only exceptions are in the cases of: 
    1) interviews, which will not necessarily be anonymous because of the conversational format, and often go to one reader because they tend to represent a straightforward decision; 
    2) symposia, which may go to one reader, because the guest editor(s) of the symposium act as the second reader (of course that cannot be anonymous); 
    3) in complex cases, where the two reviewers do not agree, some articles are sent to a third reader.  
    All manuscripts are reviewed as rapidly as possible, and an editorial decision is usually reached within 2 months of submission, although authors are told to expect a decision within 3-4 months in their acknowledgement email.

    If you are asked to provide the names of a peer who could be called upon to review your manuscript, please note that reviewers should be experts in their fields and should be able to provide an objective assessment of the manuscript. Please be aware of any conflicts of interest when recommending reviewers. Examples of conflicts of interest include (but are not limited to) the below: 

    • The reviewer should have no prior knowledge of your submission
    • The reviewer should not have recently collaborated with any of the authors
    • Reviewer nominees from the same institution as any of the authors are not permitted

    Please note that the journal’s editors are not obliged to invite any recommended/opposed reviewers to assess your manuscript.

    2.2 Authorship

    All parties who have made a substantive contribution to the article should be listed as authors. Principal authorship, authorship order, and other publication credits should be based on the relative scientific or professional contributions of the individuals involved, regardless of their status. A student is usually listed as principal author on any multiple-authored publication that substantially derives from the student’s dissertation or thesis.

    Please see our guidelines on prior publication and note that The Journal of Commonwealth Literature may accept submissions of papers that have been posted on pre-print servers; please alert the Editorial Office when submitting (contact details are at the end of these guidelines) and include the DOI for the preprint in the designated field in the manuscript submission system. Authors should not post an updated version of their paper on the preprint server while it is being peer reviewed for possible publication in the journal. If the article is accepted for publication, the author may re-use their work according to the journal's author archiving policy.

    If your paper is accepted, you must include a link on your preprint to the final version of your paper.

    Please note that AI chatbots, for example ChatGPT, should not be listed as authors. For more information see the policy on Use of ChatGPT and generative AI tools.

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    3. Publishing Policies

    3.1 Publication Ethics

    Sage is committed to upholding the integrity of the academic record. We encourage authors to refer to the Committee on Publication Ethics’ International Standards for Authors and view the Publication Ethics page on the Sage Author Gateway

    This journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

    3.1.1 Plagiarism

    The Journal of Commonwealth Literature and Sage take issues of copyright infringement, plagiarism or other breaches of best practice in publication very seriously. We seek to protect the rights of our authors and we always investigate claims of plagiarism or misuse of published articles. Equally, we seek to protect the reputation of the journal against malpractice. Submitted articles may be checked with duplication-checking software. Where an article, for example, is found to have plagiarised other work or included third-party copyright material without permission or with insufficient acknowledgement, or where the authorship of the article is contested, we reserve the right to take action including, but not limited to: publishing an erratum or corrigendum (correction); retracting the article; taking up the matter with the head of department or dean of the author's institution and/or relevant academic bodies or societies; or taking appropriate legal action.

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    4. How to submit your manuscript

    Before submitting your manuscript, please ensure you carefully read and adhere to all the guidelines and instructions to authors provided below. Manuscripts not conforming to these guidelines may be returned.

    All new submissions should be made online at the The Journal of Commonwealth Literature Sage Track site: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/tjcl

    As part of our commitment to ensuring an ethical, transparent and fair peer review process Sage is a supporting member of ORCID, the Open Researcher and Contributor ID. ORCID provides a unique and persistent digital identifier that distinguishes researchers from every other researcher, even those who share the same name, and, through integration in key research workflows such as manuscript and grant submission, supports automated linkages between researchers and their professional activities, ensuring that their work is recognized.

    The collection of ORCID IDs from corresponding authors is now part of the submission process of this journal. If you already have an ORCID ID you will be asked to associate that to your submission during the online submission process. We also strongly encourage all co-authors to link their ORCID ID to their accounts in our online peer review platforms. It takes seconds to do: click the link when prompted, sign into your ORCID account and our systems are automatically updated. Your ORCID ID will become part of your accepted publication’s metadata, making your work attributable to you and only you. Your ORCID ID is published with your article so that fellow researchers reading your work can link to your ORCID profile and from there link to your other publications.

    If you do not already have an ORCID ID please follow this link to create one or visit our ORCID homepage to learn more.

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    5. Journal contributor’s publishing agreement   
    Before publication Sage requires the author as the rights holder to sign a Journal Contributor's Publishing Agreement. For more information please visit our Frequently Asked Questions on the Sage Journal Author Gateway.

    The Journal of Commonwealth Literature and Sage take issues of copyright infringement, plagiarism or other breaches of best practice in publication very seriously. We seek to protect the rights of our authors and we always investigate claims of plagiarism or misuse of articles published in the journal. Equally, we seek to protect the reputation of the journal against malpractice. Submitted articles may be checked using duplication-checking software. Where an article is found to have plagiarised other work or included third-party copyright material without permission or with insufficient acknowledgement, or where authorship of the article is contested, we reserve the right to take action including, but not limited to: publishing an erratum or corrigendum (correction); retracting the article (removing it from the journal); taking up the matter with the head of department or dean of the author's institution and/or relevant academic bodies or societies; banning the author from publication in the journal or all Sage journals, or appropriate legal action.

    5.1 Sage Choice and Open Access

    If you or your funder wish your article to be freely available online to non subscribers immediately upon publication (gold open access), you can opt for it to be included in Sage Choice, subject to payment of a publication fee. The manuscript submission and peer review procedure is unchanged. On acceptance of your article, you will be asked to let Sage know directly if you are choosing Sage Choice. To check journal eligibility and the publication fee, please visit Sage Choice. For more information on open access options and compliance at Sage, including self author archiving deposits (green open access) visit Sage Publishing Policies on our Journal Author Gateway.

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    6. Declaration of conflicting interests

    Within your Journal Contributor's Publishing Agreement you will be required to make a certification with respect to a declaration of conflicting interests.The Journal of Commonwealth Literature does not require a declaration of conflicting interests but recommends you review the good practice guidelines on the Sage Journal Author Gateway.

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    7. Other conventions

    None applicable.

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    8. Acknowledgements

    Any acknowledgements should appear first at the end of your article prior to your Declaration of Conflicting Interests (if applicable), any notes and your References.

    All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in an 'Acknowledgements' section. Examples of those who might be acknowledged include a person who provided purely technical help, writing assistance, or a department chair who provided only general support. Authors should disclose whether they had any writing assistance and identify the entity that paid for this assistance.

    8.1 Funding Acknowledgement
    To comply with the guidance for Research Funders, Authors and Publishers issued by the Research Information Network (RIN), The Journal of Commonwealth Literature additionally requires all Authors to acknowledge their funding in a consistent fashion under a separate heading. Please visit Funding Acknowledgement on the Sage Journal Author Gateway for funding acknowledgement guidelines.

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    9. Permissions
    Authors are responsible for obtaining permission from copyright holders for reproducing any illustrations, tables, figures or lengthy quotations previously published elsewhere. For further information including guidance on fair dealing for criticism and review, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions on the Sage Journal Author Gateway.
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    10. Manuscript style

    10.1 File types
    Only electronic files conforming to the journal's guidelines will be accepted. Preferred formats for the text and tables of your manuscript are Word DOC, RTF, XLS. LaTeX files are also accepted. Please also refer to additional guideline on submitting artwork and supplemental files below.

    10.2 Journal Style
    The Journal of Commonwealth Literature conforms to the Sage house style. Click here to review guidelines on Sage UK House Style.

    10.3 Reference Style
    The Journal of Commonwealth Literature has moved to the Sage Harvard reference style. Click here to review the guidelines on Sage Harvard to ensure your manuscript conforms to this reference style.

    If you use EndNote to manage references, download the Sage Harvard output style by following this link and save to the appropriate folder (normally for Windows C:\Program Files\EndNote\Styles and for Mac OS X Harddrive:Applications:EndNote:Styles). Once you've done this, open EndNote and choose 'Select Another Style...' from the dropdown menu in the menu bar; locate and choose this new style from the following screen.

    10.4. Manuscript Preparation
    The text should be double-spaced throughout and with a minimum of 3cm for left and right hand margins and 5cm at head and foot. Text should be standard 10 or 12 point.

    10.4.1 Your Title, Keywords and Abstracts: Helping readers find your article online
    The title, keywords and abstract are key to ensuring readers find your article online through online search engines such as Google. Please refer to the information and guidance on how best to title your article, write your abstract and select your keywords by visiting Sage's Journal Author Gateway Guidelines on How to Help Readers Find Your Article Online.

    10.4.2 Corresponding Author Contact details
    Provide full contact details for the corresponding author including email, mailing address and telephone numbers. Academic affiliations are required for all co-authors. These details should be presented separately to the main text of the article to facilitate anonymous peer review.

    10.4.3 Guidelines for submitting artwork, figures and other graphics
    For guidance on the preparation of illustrations, pictures and graphs in electronic format, please visit Sage's Manuscript Submission Guidelines.
    Figures supplied in colour will appear in colour online regardless of whether or not these illustrations are reproduced in colour in the printed version. For specifically requested colour reproduction in print, you will receive information regarding the costs from Sage after receipt of your accepted article.

    10.4.4 Guidelines for submitting supplemental files
    This journal is able to host approved supplemental materials online, alongside the full-text of articles. Supplemental files will be subjected to peer-review alongside the article. For more information please refer to Sage's Guidelines for Authors on Supplemental Files.

    10.4.5 English Language Editing services
    Non-English speaking authors who would like to refine their use of language in their manuscripts might consider using a professional editing service. Visit English Language Editing Services for further information.

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    11. After acceptance

    11.1 Proofs
    We will email a PDF of the proofs to the corresponding author.

    11.2 E-Prints

    Sage provides authors with access to a PDF of their final article. For further information please visit http://www.sagepub.co.uk/authors/journal/reprint.sp.

    11.3 Sage Production
    At Sage we place an extremely strong emphasis on the highest production standards possible. We attach high importance to our quality service levels in copy-editing, typesetting, printing, and online publication (http://online.sagepub.com/). We also seek to uphold excellent author relations throughout the publication process.

    We value your feedback to ensure we continue to improve our author service levels. On publication all corresponding authors will receive a brief survey questionnaire on your experience of publishing in The Journal of Commonwealth Literature with Sage.

    11.4 OnlineFirst Publication
    A large number of Sage journals benefit from OnlineFirst, a feature offered through Sage's electronic journal platform, Sage Journals Online. It allows final revision articles (completed articles in queue for assignment to an upcoming issue) to be hosted online prior to their inclusion in a final print and online journal issue which significantly reduces the lead time between submission and publication. For more information please visit our OnlineFirst Fact Sheet

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    12. Further information

    Any correspondence, queries or additional requests for information on the Manuscript Submission process should be sent to the Editorial Office as follows:

    jcl_sagepub@candmdigitals.com

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