Focus and Scope

Call for Submissions

Preternature is a rigorously peer-reviewed interdisciplinary forum for original research that touches on the appearance of magic, prophecy, demonology, monstrophy, the occult, and related topics that stand in the liminal space between the natural world and the preternatural.

Preternature welcomes submissions on an ongoing basis which represent original scholarship in English on any topic relating to the appearance of the preternatural or closely related topics (magic, esotericism, demonology, the occult), from any academic discipline and theoretical approach. The journal especially or ancient languages that have not yet appeared in scholarly edition or made available in English.

Preternature takes advantage of an online journal management system, through through which contributors submit manuscripts for consideration.

Section Policies

Articles

Open Submissions

Indexed

Peer Reviewed

Book Reviews

Open Submissions

Indexed

Peer Reviewed

Short Editons

Open Submissions

Indexed

Peer Reviewed

Peer Review Process

Information for Authors

Interested in submitting to this journal?

Authors need to register with the journal prior to submitting, or if already registered can simply log in and begin the process. All submissions are done via this online system.

Contributions should be roughly 8,000 - 12,000 words (with the possibility of longer submissions in exceptional cases), including all documentation and critical apparatus. Manuscripts must be made annoymous and adhere to the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition (style 1, employing endnotes). Submissions must be accompanied by the author's full contact information, a letter to the editor, six keywords, a 250 word abstract, and the names / contact information of four unbaised reviewers.

Manuscripts must be submitted as a Microsoft Word document (Times New Roman font, size 12, flush left, double spaced). The article should be saved using a number for the placement in the journal and the author’s last name (for example: 02_Edwards.doc).

1. Citations must be in endnotes (not footnotes). The endnote numbers at the end of the article should not be superscript text and note numbers must be followed by a period. Notes are the only type of formatting permitted.

1. Documents should be plain text and should not contain automated formatting. Please
do not try to design your article, the press will work on the design during composition. The more elaborate your article (with article openers and subheads in larger type sizes or typefaces), the more difficult and time consuming it will be for the press to remove before composition. Here are a few examples of formatting that should be avoided: 
A. No function of “Track Changes” should be in use.
B. The “Style” field in the upper left corner should read “Normal” throughout the text. C. The “tab” key should be used for paragraph indentation. 
D. Do not use automated lists. All numbers or bullets must be keyed.
E. Extracts should be set off with line spacing. Do not format an indent.

1. Tables, figures, and photos must be submitted in the original format (.tiff, .jpeg or .eps) at the size the author/editor would like them to appear.
   1. Digital files must be saved as a separate file with an indication in the text for placement; i.e., <Table 1>, <Figure 2>, <Photo 3>.
   2. Captions must be saved in a separate Word document.
   3. Digital files should be saved in grey scale.
   4. Digital images MUST be submitted at 300 dpi

1. Manuscripts must consistently conform to The Chicago Manual of Style. Proofs allow a chance to review the document for typos and compositor errors. For additions or changes beyond the allowance specified in the publication agreement, the journal may be subject to a charge.

1. A publication agreement from every contributor must be submitted with the manuscript. It is imperative that all information provided by the authors be clearly written, accurate, and complete.

In order for an image to be print-worthy, its resolution must be a minimum of 300 dpi (dots per inch) at the size the image is to appear in the journal. Because resolution is crucial to the image’s print quality we cannot accept anything less. Remember: Most Internet sites post images at 72 dpi because they take up less space and still appear clear on the screen. Therefore, images taken from the Internet cannot be accepted for reproduction because the resolution is too low.

How to check resolution:

MAC: Using “Preview” –> Tools menu –> Inspector (or Get Info) PC: Using “Microsoft Photo Editor” –> File menu –> Properties

Permissions

A manuscript received in final form for publication is assumed to be cleared for use of all material from other sources, with written permission and payment of any fees. Items in journal articles that should be checked for third-party copyright include, but are not limited to: poetry, song lyrics, translations, fiction, maps, graphs, letters, diaries, pamphlets, advertisements, illustrative material, images, and any other expressive material that does not fall under "fair use."

A standard request for permission includes nonexclusive English-language rights throughout the world, is valid for all printings of the hard copy, and includes the right to publish and/or license the material in the work as a whole for translation, book club, reprint, and electronic distribution.

REMEMBER: Pretenature runs on a double blind peer review system. Despite best efforts, it may not be possible to find reviewers qualified to evaluate your work. If we are unable to find reviewers to undertake evaluation of your work, we can not move it forward in the system.

REMEMBER: Production does not begin until all materials for a finalized issue have been submitted. This includes articles, tables, figures, photos, captions, written permission for material under copyright, contributor bios, and publication agreements.

Information for Blind-Peer Manuscript Reviews

The following guidelines and statement of the journal's mission may help you in your assessment.

Preternature seeks to publish original research that touches on the appearance of magic, prophecy, demonology, monstrophy, the occult, and related topics that stand in the liminal space between the natural world and the "preternatural." Above all, the journal encourages submissions which raise explicit theoretical or methodological questions; which situate the discussions in appropriate academic context, grounded in recent and relevant secondary criticism; and/or which pay explicit attention (where relevant) to the nature of the categories involved or to the wider resonance of the implications of the discussion within appropriate disciplines.

The journal also welcomes original editions or translations of relevant texts from contemporary or ancient languages that have not yet appeared in scholarly edition or made available in English. In this case, methodological or theoretical framework is not as important, though of course attention should be given to editorial/translation principles as appropriate.

Manuscript Reviewers should make every effort to return frank and helpful criticism-whether positive or negative-to the authors.

Pretenature uses a double-blind peer-review system. The anonymity of the peer review process will be respected at all stages. The review you provide for the article / editon will not be made public.

Some additional recommendations are true for most manuscript evaluations:

• Focus criticisms on more important core issues, and try to give clear, actionable advice in the case of recommended revisions.

• Even in the case of rejection, try to articulate a contribution the submission is making or a strength it exhibits. Positive, forward-looking articulations concerning the author's research directions can help shape the author's ongoing thinking on the topic.

• Be sensitive to alternative voices, different disciplinary cultures, and to your own biases, even as you maintain scholarly rigor. Especially with such topics as this journal engages, there is significant room for disagreement about even core paradigms. At the same time, the journal relies ultimately on the reviewer's honest and expert opinion (for example, are the article's methods or principles grounded in accepted models and on objective evidence, or on what the reviewer would consider a pseudo-science or subjective evidence?).

We appreciate the timely return of peer-reviews, both as a courtesy to the potential authors, and for the smooth operations of the journal.

Please do not hesitate to contact the editors if you have any further questions, either about the process or about the particular submission you are being asked to review.

Information for Book Reviews

Book reviews will be published in the volume the Book Review Editor deems appropriate.

While we appreciate that every review differs in style and emphasis, we would encourage reviewers to keep the following points in mind:

Content

Reviewers should provide a lucid summary of the scope, purpose, argument and logic of the work under consideration. Assess the author's methodology, critical perspective, use of archival and other source material. Consider its implied and prospective audience. If the work is an edition, the reviewer should also note such matters as the principles underlying its compilation.

Evaluation

Reviewers should provide a balanced account of the work's contribution to the field. The most useful reviews will endeavour to situate the work in its broader scholarly context, noting in particular such things as how it stands in relation to the relevant literature in the field as it appears in the major western European languages.

Style

Reviews should be between 1,000 and 2,000 words, although exceptions can be made for longer pieces in certain circumstances. Please check with the review editor in advance if you need additional length.

Give publication data for your work at the top of your review as follows:

Lorraine Daston and Katherine Park. Wonders and the Order of Nature, 1150-1750. New York: Zone Books, 1998. Pp. 511. ISBN 978-0942299915.

Reviews can have footnotes where necessary, but please use them sparingly. Follow the general Preternature style for correct format.

Your name and university, college or other affiliation should appear at the end of the review.

Observe rules of capitalization of the language of the title.

Use US spelling and punctuation.

Conflict of Interest

Preternature follows the guidelines of the American Historical Association: "an individual should normally refuse to participate in the formal review of work by anyone for whom he or she feels a sense of personal obligation, competition, or enmity." This includes people who have written reviews of the work in its pre-publication form.