Submission Guidelines
Essays
(Revised July 2009)
Christianity and Literature is a peer-reviewed journal devoted to the scholarly exploration of how literature engages Christian thought, experience, and practice. Although the journal presupposes no particular theological orientation, it yet respects an orthodox understanding of Christianity as a historically defined faith. Submissions will be reviewed by the journal editors and by scholars in the field in a traditional double-blind process. The editors will consider a submission only with the understanding that it has not been concurrently submitted elsewhere.
All essays submitted for publication should conform to the MLA Style Manual, 7th ed. Articles of fewer than 4,000 or more than 9,000 words in text are not ordinarily considered. Submissions should comply with accepted guidelines for nonsexist usage and language and should employ the documentation style outlined in the MLA handbook, including a Works Cited list and parenthetical citations in the text.
All submissions should include
• A title page with the author's name, email address and mailing address
• A 100-word abstract on a separate page
• The essay, with the title on the first page and page numbers on all following pages. There should be no author identification in the body of the essay.
Electronic submissions in Microsoft Word are preferred. The essay should be sent as an email attachment to christianityandliterature@pepperdine.edu.
To submit an essay by mail, send two printed copies to Christianity and Literature, Humanities Division, Pepperdine University, 24255 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, CA 90263-7232.
The editors will make every effort to respond to all submissions within four months.
Poetry
We look for poems that are clear and surprising. They should have a compelling sense of voice, formal sophistication (though not necessarily rhyme and meter), and the ability to reveal the spiritual through concrete images.
Only hard copies of poetry submissions are accepted. Copies of submissions should be sent to Poetry Editor Julia S. Kasdorf, Pennsylvania State University, English Dept., 114 Burrows Bldg., University Park, PA 16802. Please be sure to include all relevant contact information along with the poem or poems. Because of the volume of poetry received, submissions will not be acknowledged or returned unless they are accompanied by an SASE with sufficient return postage.
One poem from the most recent journal issue will be featured on this site. For examples of poetry published in the journal and featured on this site, see recent poetry.
Questions to Tammy Ditmore (tammy.ditmore@pepperdine.edu)