Submissions

CONTENTS

II.  RESUBMISSION OF ESSAYS

See also Manuscript Preparation: III. Final Manuscript Preparation, IV. Production, V. Forms and Style Sheets

I. ALL SUBMISSIONS

Beginning July 15, 2025, essay submissions will move to Scholastica. Only essays submitted through Scholastica will be considered for publication. Essays that are currently under review will not migrate to Scholastica, and their authors may continue to use email to communicate with Aztlán editorial staff. 

ABOUT AZTLÁN

First published in 1970, Aztlán is the premier journal of Chicanx studies. It is an interdisciplinary, refereed journal dedicated to original scholarly research that is relevant to or informed by the Chicanx and, more generally, Latinx experience. Two issues are published each year in print and electronic formats. Aztlán is a copublication of UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center (CSRC) Press and University of California Press. 

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—and features a Latinx artist in each issue. 

MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION

COPYRIGHT

Manuscripts are considered for publication in Aztlán with the understanding that they have not been published previously in either print or electronic format and are not under consideration by another publisher for publication in either format. A manuscript will be considered previously published if another work has, either singly or in combination, the same title, the same opening paragraph(s), or 25 percent or more of the same content. Manuscripts that are accepted and subsequently found to be previously published will be dropped.

Authors whose work is accepted for publication must sign and return a completed Author Agreement that assigns copyright for the work to the Regents of the University of California. In the event that the work is published in Aztlán, copyright will be held by the Regents. 

The Regents have the exclusive right to publish and to allow or deny reproduction of the work in whole or in part, although authors are granted the right to use the work in a few specific ways, including its reproduction in a book or anthology of which the author is editor or sole author. In consideration of the transfer of copyright to the publisher, each author receives two complimentary copies of the issue in which the work appears.

Questions or concerns about copyright should be directed to Aztlán editorial staff before a manuscript is submitted. 

ESSAYS AND PEER REVIEW

Essays are original scholarly contributions to the field. Essays are research-based, tend to be formal, and are 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 Chicanx/Latinx studies. Essays are peer reviewed. 

Aztlán accepts essay submissions through Scholastica. Authors may log in using their existing Scholastica account or create a new account. 

Corresponding author: For co-authored essays, the lead author is the corresponding author, who is responsible for all communication between authors and Aztlán staff. 

Metadata: In addition to the metadata fields that are required by Scholastica, Aztlán requires that these fields be completed: institution, department, degrees, and academic position. For co-authored essays, the lead author enters metadata for all authors.

Length: An essay manuscript should not exceed 12,000 words, including notes, works cited, references, and illustrations. Count each half-page illustration (photo, chart) or table as 225 words; count each full-page illustration or table as 450 words. Essays accepted for publication in Aztlán typically have 10,000-12,000 words. 

References to the author: Since essays undergo an anonymous review process, the content of the manuscript must not refer to the author(s) by name or contain information that would disclose their identity. Authors must cite their own work as they would cite that of another author.

Subheads: Use topical subheads to break up the text at logical points. Put subheads in headline style; do not use all capital letters. Subheads are not numbered, and a subhead cannot precede the text.

Acknowledgments: Author’s acknowledgments may be added as an unnumbered note at the beginning of the endnotes section after the manuscript is accepted for publication. Acknowledgments should identify all financial and material support for the author’s research. 

Essay submission checklist: Complete and upload the Aztlán Essay Submission Checklist as an additional file when an essay manuscript is submitted. For co-authored essays, the lead author is responsible for submitting the submission checklist. For the checklist form, go to V. Forms and Stylesheets.

Peer review: 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. 

All communication between the author and Aztlán staff during the peer review process is through Scholastica. 

After uploading and submitting the manuscript, the author (or lead author for co-authored essays) will receive an acknowledgment of receipt. 

If Aztlán editorial staff determines that the manuscript meets the minimum criteria for care, scholarship, and topic suitability, the author will be notified that the manuscript will be peer reviewed. If the submission is incomplete or does not meet the minimum criteria, the author will be notified through Scholastica.

CSRC Press selects at least two specialist readers; usually one 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.

Criteria for acceptance: Referees determine whether the manuscript is clear, relevant, well referenced, and well argued, and whether it makes a contribution to the field. Referees then indicate whether a manuscript should be accepted, rejected, or needs further work (revise and resubmit). Aztlán editorial staff makes the final decision about publication based on the quality of the manuscript, the recommendations of the referees, and the number of manuscripts already accepted. 

Once a decision is made, the author receives a decision letter through Scholastica. The letter states whether the manuscript has been rejected or accepted or, most common, needs further work. The author also receives the referees' comments. If the manuscript is to be revised and resubmitted, the suggested revisions are listed. 

For information about submitting the final version of an accepted manuscript, go to III. Final Manuscript Preparation.  

For more information about revise and resubmit, go to II. Resubmissions (below). 

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.

Scholastica’s Author Guide offers a step-by-step description of the submission and peer review process. 

DOSSIER

The Dossier section comprises short essays, journalistic pieces, and/or personal views on timely topics. It provides a forum for multiple and shorter engagements with a specific theme that examines an aspect of Chicanx/Latinx studies. Dossiers might be organized around an object of study, a theoretical or disciplinary question, a methodology, or one scholar's work. While still scholarly in nature, the Dossier is intended to be exploratory, provocative, or experimental in approach.

To inquire about curating a Dossier, send a request for information to repstein@chicano.ucla.edu. 

Acceptance: The Dossier is built around a theme created by a guest curator (or curators). The curator manages development of the dossier with input from Aztlán staff. Dossier articles are not refereed. 

Length: Target length for the Dossier section, including all text, notes, references, and illustrations, is 35,000 words. Target length for a single article is 5,000 words. For the word count, count each half-page illustration (photo, chart) or table as 225 words; count each full-page illustration or table as 450 words. 

REVIEWS

Reviews are short critical writings on books, movies, recordings, or exhibitions. Book reviews are generally of scholarly publications, but reviews of fiction and poetry with wide cultural impact may be considered. Reviews are accepted at the editor’s discretion.

To inquire about submitting a review, send a request for information to revieweditor@chicano.ucla.edu.

Style: Reviews have specific style guidelines that differ from those for essays. These are outlined in the Aztlán Style Sheet.

Length: A review manuscript should not exceed 2,000 words. 

ARTIST’S COMMUNIQUÉ

The Artist’s Communiqué features artwork and an artist’s statement by a Chicanx/Latinx artist. The artist’s work also appears on the cover. 

To inquire about being a featured artist, send a request for information to repstein@chicano.ucla.edu.  

MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION

HOUSE STYLE

Aztlán house style generally follows the latest edition of the Chicago Manual of Style. 

Notes appear as endnotes, following the text. Citations are in author-date format, and references are listed as Works Cited. If a manuscript does not meet the journal’s basic style requirements, Aztlán editorial staff will ask the author for specific revisions before the manuscript is accepted. 

For more information and examples, go to Aztlán Style Sheet and Aztlán Names and Terms. 

All text files must be in MS Word.

PERMISSIONS

Text excerpts: Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to reprint text excerpts from all published or copyrighted works, both in print and online, unless “fair use” applies or copyright has lapsed. 

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: Poetry and song lyrics are considered special cases, and authors should always request permission if more than a total of two lines are quoted. 

Photographs and charts (and other types of line art): Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to reproduce photographs and charts (graphs), regardless of whether they are obtained from printed or online sources. 

Artworks: Assume that any creative work has been copyrighted by its creator. Reproducing a photo of an artwork (including performance art) will usually require the permission of the creator (or their estate) in addition to the permission of photographer and/or institution that commissioned the photography.

Privacy: If a photograph shows a recognizable person, the author may need to obtain a release from that person. Consult with Aztlán editorial staff. 

Requesting permission: Letters of permission, including releases, must be submitted to CSRC Press in their original form. Scans, photocopies, and email communication are not accepted. Permission forms must be completely filled out and signed by all parties. CSRC Press may postpone publication if all permissions have not been secured by the time the copyediting phase of production is completed.

Allow sufficient time for securing permissions. Some publishers and museums need six to eight weeks to process requests.

Authors are responsible for all fees.

For sample letters that can be adapted to request permission, go to V. Forms and Style Sheets.

ILLUSTRATIONS

Authors are encouraged to submit all illustrations and tables when they submit their manuscript. Illustrations appear in black and white in the print edition. Illustrations submitted in color appear in color in the online edition. 

Every figure requires a caption. 

For information on preparing illustrations, go to III. Final Manuscript Preparation, Preparing Illustrations.

AZTLÁN EDITORIAL STAFF

Charlene Villaseñor Black, Editor-in-Chief
Rebecca Frazier, Managing Editor
Kevin Kandamby, Book Review Editor
Rebecca Epstein, Senior Manager of Research Communications and Special Projects

II. RESUBMISSION of EssayS

Almost all manuscripts accepted for publication require some revision. Aztlán staff as well as peer reviewers also frequently make suggestions for improving language, structure, or argument. These changes may not be required, but they will improve the manuscript if incorporated. 

The revise and resubmit process is managed through Scholastica. Authors may log in using their existing Scholastica account or create a new account. 

After peer review is finished, Aztlán editorial staff will send a decision letter to the author (or lead author for co-authored essays) through Scholastica. The letter for a revise-and-resubmit decision will include the peer reviewers’ recommended changes.   

Essay resubmission checklist: Complete and upload the Aztlán Essay Resubmission Checklist as an additional file when a revised manuscript is submitted. For co-authored essays, the lead author is responsible for submitting the resubmission checklist. Update any information that has changed, recalculate the number of words in the document, and add a short biographical statement of around eighty words for each essay author. 

Revision statement: Upload a revision statement as an additional file when a revised manuscript is submitted. This is an MS Word document that outlines, point by point, 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 the revised manuscript is reviewed, Aztlán editorial staff 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, Aztlán editorial staff will ask if the author would like to revise and resubmit a second time based on the follow-up evaluation.

Scholastica’s Author Guide offers a step-by-step description of the submission and peer review process.