Submission Guidelines for Aztlán
If you are an author who is interested in submitting an article for consideration, please read the guidelines below for information on manuscript preparation and the publication process.
Aztlán features a Chicano artist in each issue. If you are an artist who would like to submit artwork for reproduction in the Artist's Communiqué and on the cover, please send a request for information to: submissions@chicano.ucla.edu.
Send all submissions to: submissions@chicano.ucla.edu.
About Aztlán
Copyright
Preparing the Manuscript
All Submissions
Essays
Dossiers
Reviews
Preparing Illustrations
All Illustrations
Figures
Tables
Submission and Peer Review
Resubmission of Revised Manuscript
Final Manuscript Checklist
Production Process
Copyediting
Proofreading
Manufacturing
Forms
Artist License Agreement
Author Agreements
Aztlán Stylesheet
Interview Release
Request Permission to Reprint Text
Request Permission to Reproduce Images
Submission and Resubmission Checklist
Editorial Staff
About Aztlán
First published in 1970, Aztlán is the premier journal of Chicano studies. It is an
interdisciplinary, refereed journal dedicated to original scholarly research that is relevant
to or informed by the Chicano and, more generally, Latino experience. Two issues are published each year.
Aztlán welcomes
submissions in the social sciences, the humanities, and the arts. Submissions should
speak clearly to their significance within a particular scholarly debate
as well as to their more general relevance to Chicano studies and other
fields. Aztlán accepts articles in English and in Spanish.
Aztlán publishes three types of articles: essays, dossiers, and reviews.
Essays are substantive, scholarly,
original contributions to the field. Essays are research-based and tend to be formal and centered on a single significant idea that relates to current debates. Essay interviews of leading figures must address a scholarly topic, not the figure’s life history. Submissions should advance research in the field of Chicano studies.
Dossiers are journalistic
pieces or personal views on timely topics.
Reviews are shorter pieces on books, movies, recordings, events, conferences,
exhibitions, and so on. Book reviews are generally of scholarly publications, but reviews of fiction and poetry with wide cultural impact may also be considered.
Aztlán also accepts letters to the editor.
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Copyright
Manuscripts are considered with the understanding that they have not been published previously in either print or electronic format and are not under consideration by another publication or electronic medium. A manuscript will be considered previously published if another work has, either singly or in combination: the same title; the same opening paragraph; 25 percent or more of the same content. Manuscripts that are accepted and subsequently found to be previously published will be dropped.
Upon acceptance of their submission, all authors must sign and return a completed copyright agreement.
The author transfers all copyright ownership exclusively to the Regents of the University of California in the event that such work is published by Aztlán. The Regents have the exclusive right to publish, to copyright, and to allow or deny reproduction of the submission, in whole or in part, although authors are usually granted the right to reprint their submission in a collected volume of their own work. In consideration of the transfer of copyright to the publisher, each author receives five complimentary copies of the issue in which the article appears.
Questions or concerns about copyright should be directed to CSRC Press before a manuscript is submitted.
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Preparing the Manuscript
All Submissions
This section contains information applicable to all manuscripts submitted to Aztlán. Subsequent sections contain additional requirements for each type of article—essay, dossier, review.
Content of Submission: A submission comprises (1) an email message to the editor, and (2) an attached document file containing the manuscript. The submission may include additional files for illustrations. For information on submitting illustrations for publication, see Preparing Illustrations.
All text files must be in MS Word.
Send all submissions to: submissions@chicano.ucla.edu.
Email Message: The body of the email message must include this information:
Whether the manuscript is an essay, a dossier, or a review
The manuscript’s scholarly significance
The word count, including notes and works cited
Number of illustrations including (photos, tables, graphs)
A statement confirming that the manuscript has not been previously published and is not under review elsewhere
A statement confirming that the author(s) is (are) the sole copyright owner(s) of the manuscript
Manuscript: Submit the manuscript as a single electronic file, with components in this order:
Cover page
Abstract (for essays)
Text
Endnotes (for essays and some dossiers)
Works cited (for essays and some dossiers)
Captions (if any)
Label the manuscript file with title, type of submission (essay, dossier, review), and month and year of submission. For essays and dossiers, use a shortened title (for example: golden age mexican cinema essay 11-08); for reviews, use a shortened title of the work reviewed (for example: chicana art review 11-08).
Cover Page: The first page of the document must list the following information:
Title of the submission
Date of submission
Full name of each author, plus his or her affiliation, department, mail address, email address, fax number, and telephone numbers for office and home
Email is used not only for communication between the author and CSRC Press but also to distribute the copyedited manuscript and page proof. A working email address (or addresses) is essential.
When a manuscript is accepted for publication, it is the author's responsibility to provide CSRC Press with up-to-date contact information, particularly during holiday and vacation periods.
Text, Endnotes, and Works Cited: Aztlán generally follows The Chicago Manual of Style (University of Chicago Press, 2003). Notes appear as endnotes, following the text. Citations are in author-date format, and references are listed in a section of works cited. For more information and examples of accepted style, see the Aztlán Style Sheet.
Permissions: Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to reprint excerpts from all published or copyrighted works that fall outside "fair use." Fair use is determined by the amount of material that is excerpted and how the material is treated. Reprinting a paragraph, with proper citation, to support an argument would be considered fair use; reprinting several pages from a short chapter taken from an edited work would be harder to defend. Poetry and song lyrics are considered special cases, and authors should always request permission for either, regardless of the excerpt's length. See The Chicago Manual of Style for more information.
Authors are responsible for all fees.
Allow sufficient time for securing permissions. Some publishers require a minimum of six to eight weeks to process requests. CSRC Press requires receipt of printed request forms with original signatures; faxes, photocopies, and email communications will not be accepted. CSRC Press will postpone or refuse publication of any article if all permissions have not been secured by the time the copyediting phase of production is completed.
CSRC Press provides a sample letter that can be adapted for requesting permission to reprint text.
For information on requesting permissions for illustrations, see Preparing Illustrations.
Illustrations: Authors are encouraged to submit photographs, graphs, tables, maps, and other illustrations with manuscripts. Illustrations are printed in black and white. For information on submitting illustrations for publication see Preparing Illustrations.
Captions: All figures require captions; see Preparing Illustrations.
Deadlines: Final versions (including revisions, if applicable) of manuscripts must be received by July 1 to be considered for the spring issue and by January 1 for the fall issue. Deadlines for manuscript and proof review will be set by the managing editor; see below for more information on the production process.
Essays
In addition to the guidelines for all submissions, essays have the following considerations:
Length: Essays should have fewer than 12,000 words, including tables, notes, and works cited.
Abstract: Append an abstract of no more than 200 words at the beginning of the essay manuscript. The abstract should impart the main argument, findings, and conclusion. It should emphasize new and important aspects of the research. Do not use quotations, equations, diagrams, or footnotes in the abstract.
The abstract is used for online access to the printed journal, so clear writing that contains key words is important.
If the essay is written in Spanish, provide the abstract in English and Spanish both.
References to the Author: Since essays undergo an anonymous review process, the body of the manuscript must not refer to the author(s) by name or contain information that would disclose the identity of the author(s). Authors should cite their own work as they would cite that of another author.
Subheadings: Use topical headings and subheadings to break up the text at logical points. Put subheads in headline style; do not use all capital letters. Subheads are not numbered.
Acknowledgments: After an essay is accepted for publication, the author may add acknowledgments in an unnumbered note at the beginning of the endnotes section. All financial and material support for the research should be clearly and completely identified in the acknowledgments.
Dossiers
In addition to the guidelines for all submissions, dossiers have the following considerations:
Acceptance: Dossiers, which have a theme, are usually solicited by the editor. Dossiers are not peer-reviewed; they are accepted at the editor's discretion. Authors who would like to submit a dossier or curate a dossier section should contact CSRC Press.
Length: Dossiers should have fewer than 5,000 words, but pieces up to 8,500 words may be considered.
Reviews
In addition to the guidelines for all submissions, reviews have the following considerations:
Assignment: Reviews are assigned by CSRC Press, and they are accepted at the editor's discretion. Authors who are interested in reviewing for Aztlán, or who would like to review a particular book or event, should contact CSRC Press before submitting a manuscript.
Length: Reviews should have fewer than 2,000 words. A good book review summarizes the book, lists its strengths and weaknesses, and avoids multiple block quotes from the work.
Headnote: Reviews are not titled. A headnote prefaces each review; the headnote follows this format:
The Other Rebellion: Popular Violence, Ideology, and the Mexican Struggle for Independence, 1810–1821. By Eric Van Young. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001. 736 pages. Hardcover $75.00, paperback $25.00.
Documentation: Reviews do not contain a separate section of notes or of references. References to other directly related scholarly texts must include the publisher and date of publication in this format: The Other Rebellion: Popular Violence, Ideology, and the Mexican Struggle for Independence, 1810–1821 (Stanford University Press, 2001). Limit the number of these references to two or three titles.
Author Byline: Reviews do not include author profiles. The author's name and university affiliation follow the review.
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Preparing Illustrations
All Illustrations
Format: CSRC Press accepts illustrations submitted in electronic format. Do not send original materials. Images downloaded from Internet sources are of insufficient quality for print reproduction and cannot be used. Contact CSRC Press for instructions on transmitting large digital files.
All illustrations are printed in black and white.
Numbering: All illustrations, whether figures (photographs, artwork, graphs) or tables, must be numbered, and they must be "called out" in the manuscript by inserting the words "Figure 1 about here" after the paragraph in which the illustration is first mentioned.
Permissions: Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to reproduce works of art, copyrighted photographs, and graphs obtained from a published source.
Authors are responsible for all fees.
Allow sufficient time for securing permissions. Some museums and publishers require a minimum of six to eight weeks to process requests. CSRC Press requires receipt of printed request forms with original signatures; faxes, photocopies, and email communications will not be accepted. CSRC Press will postpone or refuse publication of any article if all permissions have not been secured by the time the copyediting phase of production is complete.
CSRC Press provides a sample letter that can be adapted for requesting permission to reproduce illustrations.
Figures
Reproductions of artwork, photographs, and graphs are considered figures and are numbered according to their order of appearance in the manuscript.
Place each figure in a separate electronic file. Label the file with the last name of the author, type of submission, and figure number(s) (for example: Smith essay 11-08 fig 3).
Reproductions of artwork and photographs: Files must be in grayscale, in .tif format, and with a minimum 300 dpi.
Author-produced digital photographs have the same requirements—.tif format, minimum 300 dpi—and they should be no smaller than 4 x 6 inches; 5 x 8 inches is preferred.
Poor scans and snapshots, photographs shot from
books, and scanned photocopies will not be accepted for publication.
Graphs: Author's graphs may be prepared with drawing (e.g., Illustrator) or spreadsheet (e.g., Excel) software. Graphs from print or online sources require permission to reproduce.
Author-prepared graphs are usually reformatted by the designer for publication. It is the author's responsibility to ensure that graphs produced with spreadsheet software can be emended by the editor and the designer. All links must be broken with the source spreadsheet OR the spreadsheet (containing all the data) must be included. Graphs that cannot be emended may be dropped.
Captions: Every figure must have a caption. List captions by figure number at the end of the manuscript.
Captions for artwork include the creator's name, title of the artwork, the date; medium and dimensions; credit line.
Captions for photographs describe the content of the photograph and include date and location and, if applicable, photography credit.
Tables
Prepare tables in MS Word. Place each table in a separate file. Tables will be reformatted for publication.
Number the tables according to their order of appearance in the manuscript.
Give each table a title of no more than twelve words. Place the source (in author-date format) and any notes below the table.
Label files with the lead name of the author, type of submission, and table with number(s) (for example: Smith essay 11-08 table 3).
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Submission and Peer Review
All communication from the Press to authors is via email. Send all submissions to: submissions@chicano.ucla.edu.
After receiving a submission for an essay, CSRC Press acknowledges its receipt. CSRC Press checks the completeness of the submission and reviews the manuscript to see if it meets minimum criteria for care, scholarship, and topic suitability. If the submission is incomplete or does not meet the minimum criteria, the manuscript is returned with a short explanation. If the manuscript meets the basic requirements, the Press notifies the author that the manuscript will be peer reviewed.
Peer review ensures the quality of the scholarship that is presented in Aztlán. The review process is anonymous: authors are not informed of the identity of those reviewing their work, and referees are not informed of the authors’ identity.
CSRC Press selects at least two specialist readers; usually one reader is a member of Aztlán's editorial board. These referees are chosen for their knowledge in the relevant field. Referees are instructed to disqualify themselves if they note any conflict of interest that might bias their review.
Referees determine whether the manuscript is clear, relevant, well referenced, and well argued, and whether it makes a contribution to the field. Referees then make one of six recommendations that indicate whether a manuscript will be accepted, rejected, or needs further work.
CSRC Press makes the final decision about publication. This decision is based on the quality of the manuscript, the recommendations of the referees, and the number of manuscripts already accepted.
CSRC Press sends a message that explains the decision; referees' comments are attached. If the manuscript needs revision, the requirements are listed.
CSRC Press attempts to return decisions within six months of the date of the original submission and to publish within twelve months.
Submissions are the private property of the authors and all communication about submissions is privileged. CSRC Press does not reveal any information about submissions (receipt, content, status in the reviewing process, referee comments or recommendation, disposition) to anyone other than the author. Reviewers are prohibited from making copies of manuscripts.
Revised Manuscript Resubmission
Almost all manuscripts accepted for publication require some revision. Referees also frequently make suggestions for improving language, structure, argument, and so on that are not required, but that may improve the manuscript if incorporated.
Revised manuscripts should be accompanied by a message that explains how the author(s) addressed the referees' recommendations for revision. The author is advised to defend in detail any decision not to incorporate a specific recommendation, particularly on a theoretical point. The rationale may make the difference between approval and rejection.
After resubmission of the revised manuscript, CSRC Press will decide whether to approve the article for publication or to send it to one or both of the original referees for a follow-up evaluation. If a referee concludes that the manuscript needs further work, it will be returned to the author with the referees' comments.
Final Manuscript
After a revised manuscript is approved, the author must emend it, as necessary, to meet Aztlán style requirements. Manuscripts that do not follow style, particularly in regard to notes and documentation, will be returned to the author for emendation. CSRC Press reserves the right to refuse publication of articles that, upon repeated resubmission, do not meet style standards. For examples of Aztlán style, see the Aztlán Style Sheet.
All figures and tables, plus all necessary statements of permission, must accompany the final manuscript. Publication may be deferred to another issue if illustrations or permissions are incomplete.
Components of the final submission are listed in the Final Manuscript Checklist.
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Production Process
After a manuscript has been accepted for publication and the author has submitted the final version, it goes through a production process that comprises three phases: copyediting, proofreading, and manufacturing.
Production follows a strict schedule and has tight deadlines. Failure on the part of the author to meet deadlines at any point in the production process may jeopardize publication of the article.
Copyediting
CSRC Press reserves the right to correct grammar, improve clarity, and impose Aztlán style. Authors are responsible for content, including the spelling of personal and place names.
The manuscript is edited electronically by a professional copyeditor. Instructions for responding to the editing and to the copyeditor's queries accompany the copyedited manuscript when it is sent to the author for review.
Authors generally have a week to review the copyediting. The manuscript then returns to CSRC Press, and the copyeditor does the clean-up edit. This edit occasionally generates new queries, which are sent to the author. The time allotted for responding to these follow-up questions may be as short as twenty-four hours.
Proofreading
After copyediting is complete, the issue is composed. Layout takes seven to ten days.
Page proof of articles are sent to authors as PDF files. Authors receive instructions for proofreading with the proof. Authors generally have a week to read the pages and send final corrections to CSRC Press. Proofreading very occasionally generates additional queries for the author; response to these queries usually must be made within twenty-four hours.
Manufacturing
The issue is sent to manufacturing after all corrections are incorporated and the files are prepared according to the printer's specifications. Imposition, printing, binding, and shipping require six to eight weeks.
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Forms
Aztlán Stylesheet
Copyright Agreement for Coauthors
Copyright Agreement for Sole Authors
Interview Release Form
License Agreement for Artists
Request an Image plus Permission to Reproduce It
Request Permission to Reproduce an Image
Request Permission to Reproduce Text
Submission and Resubmission Checklist
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Editorial Staff
Chon A. Noriega, Editor
Rebecca Frazier, Managing Editor
David O'Grady, Assistant Editor
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