Submission Formats

Format Types & Guidelines

 

  1. Research Papers :: Theoretical- and/or empirically-based research papers not exceeding 9,000 words inclusive of abstract, footnotes, references, and acknowledgements.

 

  1. Interventions :: Critical commentaries and/or observations ranging from 1,500 to 5,000 words, inclusive of abstract, footnotes, references, and acknowledgements.

 

  1. Roundtables :: Three or more people in a conversation, transcribed and edited for readability, ranging from 3,000 to 9,000 words. We are particularly interested in conversations that explore the contours of critical intersections which are shifting or still in formation. For instance, conversation among people engaging shared interests in a theory, method, or subject but who may be differently situated and seeking to better understand possible connections; conversations seeking to stage critical engagements between previously disparate fields; etc. Contributing authors should reach out to the editorial team with queries or clarifying questions about potential roundtables and / or include a brief cover letter explaining how you believe your roundtable submission embodies such critical intersections, although slightly longer pieces will be considered with editor approval.

 

  1. Interviews :: Structured or semi-structured conversational exchange that seeks to engage one or more spatial thinkers to draw out previously unarticulated, supplementary, or biographical dimensions of the interviewee’s critical thought, practice, body of work, etc. Contributing authors should reach out to the editorial team with queries or clarifying questions about potential interviews and/or include a brief cover letter explaining how you believe your interview submission embodies and extends our critical commitments. Interviews should range from 3,000 to 9,000 words, although slightly longer submissions will be considered with editor approval.

 

  1. Review Essays :: State-of-field reviews which explicate shifting or emerging developments across critical debates, and are limited to 9,000 words. We are especially interested in coverage of topics that do not receive multi-year or multi-report consideration in other journals.

 

  1. Translations :: Critical geography originally published in languages other than English and translated for English readers. The goal of this section is to create a platform for geographies/geographers from different locations and language contexts to be published within ACME and to provide access to new translations of work previously published in other languages in order to expand access to those texts. The texts will be preceded by a brief commentary (2,000-3,000 words) that contextualizes the translated text and highlights its importance for the advancement of critical geography.

 

  1. Visual Analyses :: Analytical visual images that require textual interpretation, including maps, photographs and images, infographics, or creative graphs. Visual work must present critical content and arguments in ways that are aligned with the scope and aims of ACME. Visuals must be accompanied by a commentary or explanatory text (500-1000 words not including references). Visual submissions are reviewed by our collective and, if accepted, published in the next appropriate issue. (Note*: we will be accepting interactive visuals at a later date.)

 

(here and hereafter, * indicates a submission format for which authors can submit interactive or multimedia components--see Figures, images, and multimedia elements section above for further details.)

 

  1. Creative Works, including Poetry, Comics, & Speculative Fiction :: ACME has long published poetry and speculative fiction that critically explores space and place, and we now welcome comics and photography, including submissions using non-linear writing or fragmented disposition. Limit of 9,000 words.

 

  1. Letters :: What are letters if not iterative modes of written communication shared between two or more people, that blur the intellectual, contextual, personal, historical, and biographical. ACME is interested in publishing curated (deliberately selected, appropriately condensed, and edited) collections of letters that convey the fluid, collective and subjective coming together of the often fragmented character of ideas, concepts, projects, communities, individuals, critiques, disciplines, and historical moments. Submissions may range from 3,000 to 15,000 words, depending on the number of letter writers.

 

  1. Performances* :: Performance and performance-based methods have the capacity to reveal and unsettle relationships between performer and audience, subject and object, knower and known, fixed and ephemeral, and space and time in ways that other approaches cannot. Recognizing that written formats often fail to do justice to these relational nuances, ACME is happy to consider performances submitted as videos or stills, along with a written reflection about the work ranging from 1,000 to 5,000 words.

 

  1. Podcasts* :: Podcasts are recorded, streamable audio features which use sound to explicate critical spatial knowledge and sonic landscapes that other formats may fail to adequately convey. Podcasts must be submitted with a transcript as well as a written framing statement to situate the audio material, with the total word count (including transcript and framing statement) not exceeding 15,000 words. As this is a new publishing format for ACME, please contact us in advance of submission to ensure the selection of appropriate file types and formats.

 

  1. Editorial :: A reflection written by an ACME editor or group of editors on a current or continuing issue related to critical geography, ranging from 1,500 to 9,000 words.

 

  1. Tribute / Remembrance  :: Memorials on the passing or retirement of an individual or group that contributed to critical geography, ranging from 1,500 to 9,000 words.