Guidelines for the submission of manuscripts to The North American Geographer

Preparation of Manuscripts | Reference Citation | Procedures

IMPORTANT NOTE: In the interest of preserving our webiste as an "historical document" of sorts, we are leaving this submission page as is. We are on semi-permanent hiatus, so to speak, and we are therefore no longer accepting submissions. Thanks.

The North American Geographer is an independent journal that publishes original material of interest from a wide range of scholars. It is oriented especially toward emerging geographers, including graduate students. Submitted articles should be relevant to North American human geography (the realm from Panama to the Arctic) and be either traditional researched or field observation pieces. Book, software, and map reviews are also encouraged. All submissions should be free of technical language. Send submissions to: The North American Geographer; c/o

Douglas A. Hurt
University of Central Oklahoma
Department of History and Geography
100 N. University Dr.
Edmond, OK 73034
e-mail: dhurt1 (at) ucok (dot) edu

Preparation of Manuscripts

The North American Geographer publishes three types of articles: "geographical voice" position papers, traditional articles, and field observation pieces. While writing conventions will vary depending on the type of manuscript written, general guidelines are outlined below.

Typically, articles should be 10 to 30 double-spaced pages (2,500 to 7,500 words). References should follow the in-text, author-date system. Locate the citations at the end of sentences, when possible (Example 2001: 23-33). Please include page numbers only when citing direct quotations or statistics. When referring to more than one source, list the oldest first and the most recent last. A limited number of endnotes may also be used in order to expand on points while maintaining the flow of the text.

The manuscript should be double-spaced on 8.5"x11" paper with one inch margins. Please paginate the document. All ancillaries should be camera-ready. List the name of the author(s)/photographer(s) for each illustration, table, and photograph. Consider the journal page size (approximately 8.5"x5.5") when drafting figures. Include a cover page with the title of the piece, the name(s) and affiliation(s) of author(s), address, phone number, e-mail address, and a three-to-five sentence personal biography. An abstract of 100 to 150 words with three to five keywords should accompany the manuscript.

References

All works cited in the text, endnotes, and figures should be listed in the "References" section following the article. List entries alphabetically by the author's last name. Multiple works by the same author should be listed chronologically. Common examples of citations are found below. For additional examples, please consult past issues of the journal or contact the contributing editors.

Book:
Salter, Christopher L.  1971.  The Cultural Landscape.  Belmont, CA: Duxbury Press.

Co-authored book:
Nostrand, Richard L. and Lawrence E. Estaville.  2001.  Homelands: A Geography of Culture and Place Across America.  Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Chapter in an edited book:
Lewis, Peirce.  1979.  Axioms for Reading the Landscape: Some Guides to the American Scene.  In The Interpretation of Ordinary Landscapes, ed. D. W. Meinig, pp. 11-32.  New York: Oxford University Press.

Journal article:
Wishart, David J.  1997.  The Selectivity of Historical Representation.  Journal of Historical Geography 23(2): 111-118.

Newspaper article:
McKinnon, Shaun.  2000.  Arizona Grows to Edge of Water Crisis: Cities Drain Groundwater With No Backup Plan.  The Denver Post, 20 May, p. 32A.

Web page:
Egan, Timothy.  2001.  Las Vegas Bet on Growth but Doesn't Love Payoff.  The New York Times, 26 January.  <www.nytimes.com/2001/01/26/national/26VEGA.html> (last accessed 27 January 2001).

Refereeing and Submission Procedures

All articles and book reviews are peer reviewed. Typically, the contributing editors and at least two "blind" reviewers comment on each manuscript. In order to ensure anonymity, author names should not appear anywhere in the manuscript or figures. Please place all contact information on a cover page that will be detached for refereeing purposes. Submit one hard copy of the manuscript with all text and figures and one copy of the manuscript (with any available digital figures) on an IBM-formatted disk, ZIP disk, or CD in WordPerfect or Microsoft Word. A cover letter should accompany the submission that states that the manuscript is not under review elsewhere, it will not be submitted to another publication until an editorial decision by The North American Geographer is reached, and the work has not been published elsewhere and is not under copyright. It is the responsibility of the author to secure permission for the reproduction of copyrighted material. Every attempt will be made to ensure an expeditious refereeing process. Although the length of time will vary, the standard turn-around time is approximately four months.

Any additional questions can be directed to the above address.

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