The following briefly explain the processes of assessing papers, special issues, book reviews, article reviews, translations and reports at PLSJ. Should you have any particular questions, please get in touch with our review editors.

 

Papers

Upon submission, every paper undergoes an in-house review. A paper that fails to meet scholarly standards will be sent back with recommendations for revision. Otherwise, it will be read anonymously by at least two experts in the field and evaluated for its contribution to the field as well as the rigor of its discussion.

At PLSJ, we support and promote new ideas and radical readings of literary texts. As a result, when a paper is well-written and documented, and likely to open new discussions in the field, we will consider its publication even if it goes against the grain of established ideas and assumptions in the field.

 

Special Issues

For special issues, either the PLSJ board invites an expert to act as a guest-editor, or the idea is proposed to PLSJ by potential guest-editors. In the latter case, the proposal will be reviewed by the Editorial Board.

All the papers included in a special issue must be evaluated by at least one reader other than the guest-editor. The manuscript should comply with PLSJ's style-sheet. Upon the submission of the manuscript, one to three external readers, depending on availability, will assess the special issue as a whole.

To propose a special issue, or for further details, please get in touch.

 

Book Reviews

We review both fictional and non-fictional books. Publishers of Persian literary books as well as publishers of books in English, French and German are welcome to write to our review editors to arrange for reviews of their products.

If you would like to have your book reviewed, know of a book that is worth reviewing, or would like to review a book yourself, please write to us.

 

Article Reviews

At PLSJ we believe that peer-review does not end with the publication of an article. Post-publication peer-review is equally significant, will sustain the scientific exchange beyond publication and contribute to the development of critical discussions.

We will publish review of articles that have already been published in a forum, and author(s) of reviewed articles will have the chance to read the comments (anonymously, of course) and respond to them.

Articles will be selected for review either by PLSJ board members, recommended by the writers of articles themselves, or suggested by authors interested in writing a review on a particular article. We will consider all materials published in or after January 2011.

If you would like to have your article reviewed, know of an article that is worth reviewing, or would like to review an article yourself, please contact us.

  

Translations

Since part of the mission of PLSJ is to study Persian literature and its foreign relations, we will consider publishing translations of Persian literature into other languages. There is, however, a limit on the word-count for every translation piece, as well as on the number of translated works we are able to accommodate in each issue.

If a translator is not the native speaker of the language she/he translates into, we strongly recommend working closely with a native speaker who is particularly aware of the subtitles of literary translation.

Any translation piece will be treated as an independent submission, and will be subject to review by experts. Therefore, we will ask translators to submit both the original piece and their translations.

We do not publish Persian translations of other literatures. However, reviews of recently translated pieces will be acceptable. The reviewer must have read both the original work and the Persian translation.

 

Reports

Occasionally, we will publish reports on the status of the literary studies, in general, and comparative literary studies, in particular, with reference to Iran. Reports and opinion pieces are not subject to peer-review; nonetheless, they require the approval of the PLSJ board to be accepted for publication.

 

PLSJ is currently considering a number of other projects. When launched, the details will be announced via this website and the review processes will be explained.