SUBMISSIONS
LA+ welcomes submissions from academic faculty, professionals, students, activists, writers and thinkers in any discipline that can bring relevant critical perspective to the theme chosen for each issue. Submissions can take a variety of forms including, but not limited to:
• Articles/Essays – 2000 to 3500 words
• Design Criticism – under 3000 words
• Provocations – 600 to 1000 words (What’s this? See below*)
• Interviews – contact editor
• Book/Exhibition Reviews – contact editor
• Visual Essays – text approx. 500 words
• Original Illustrations, Artworks, Designs, or Photography (See below**)
STYLE + AUDIENCE
LA+ encourages a clear and fluent “plain English” style of prose that is accessible across disciplines. Please avoid use of disciplinary jargon and unnecessarily complex vocabulary where possible. Contributions should be original, demonstrate rigor in research and argument, and bring critical perspective to the issue’s theme. LA+ has a global readership, that is generally familiar with contemporary discourses in the arts and sciences. Nonetheless, submissions should take care to ensure that specialist knowledge is not assumed in the reader. LA+ welcomes works that are novel, provocative, or speculative. Works that are merely descriptive are not typically accepted for publication.
ABSTRACTS / RESPONSES TO CALLS FOR PAPERS
Potential contributors should email a referenced synopsis/abstract (maximum 700 words) of the proposed work with a brief bio in .doc or .docx format to laplus@design.upenn.edu by the abstract deadline, which is published with the Call for Papers for each issue. Please include an indication as to the intended length of your submission in the synopsis. Abstracts should be clearly related to the theme of the issue and set out the aims of the essay. The information below under the heading "Editorial Assessment + Review" should guide your submission to LA+. We encourage you to include preview images with your submission. Ideally these would be submitted in a single document in .pdf format, preferably under 10MB and with any captions necessary to understand the images included.
One reason LA+ asks for a synopsis in advance is so that, as a courtesy, we can advise potential contributors if we have in fact already invited a paper on a topic similar to their proposal so that they may submit for publication elsewhere without undue delay. The editorial team may make comments or suggestions in response to submitted synopses to assist potential contributors to develop their work in a way that will give them the best possible chance of acceptance for publication in the issue. Such response should not be taken as a guarantee of publication. All submissions, whether invited or unsolicited, are subject to review and editorial assessment (see below). If your submission is accepted for development, the final work will typically be due within three months after the abstract date, or as otherwise agreed.
* Submissions to the “provocations” category are not just short-form essays – they must be highly original and unusually speculative, challenging, or thought provoking. In this category we welcome novel ideas and critical insights on the issue theme from all disciplines, as well as thoughtful and engaging takes on design thinking, education, or practice. Manifestoes welcome. Original artworks, illustrations, or other suggested imagery may be included with submissions in this category. Submissions to the provocations category must include the full, final text (600–1000 words) and a brief author bio.
** Submissions of original artworks should include a short artist's bio, a statement of materials/media/size, and a descriptive explanation of the work and how the work relates to the issue's theme (max. 300 words). Among other things, submitted artworks are assessed for publication on how well they speak to the theme and how well they fit with the curated content of the journal. If the artwork has been previously exhibited or published (in print or online), please provide details with your submission.
EDITORIAL ASSESSMENT + REVIEW
All submissions are assessed for publication by the issue editor/s and selected internal (and sometimes, external) reviewers on the basis of clarity of expression, rigor of supporting research, criticality of arguments, novelty of material, originality of insights/conclusions, and relevance to the issue’s theme and audience. Curatorial requirements of the issue (including matters such as length, topic, and relation to other articles) also play a part in whether or not a manuscript is ultimately accepted for publication. Because LA+ is an interdisciplinary journal, we cannot submit papers for double-blind peer review. Please note that an abstract selected for development does not guarantee publication. While previous publication of a piece does not necessarily preclude publication in LA+, if you have published on a similar topic elsewhere (online, print, or exhibition), or have been accepted for publication, or have submitted a piece for possible future publication it is important that you provide date, forum, and other relevant information to LA+.
MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION + SUBMISSION
If your abstract is selected for development, you'll receive the LA+ Guide for Authors, which includes instructions for preparing your submission. Our citation style roughly follows The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition. Please save each manuscript component (text, captions list, and author biography) as a separate Word .doc or .docx file labeled with your last name and item name.
Manuscripts and accompanying images and material should be submitted by email by the negotiated due date to LA+. If your submission is accepted for publication, the editorial team will request high-resolution image files (specifications below). You must have permission to publish submitted images. Note that LA+ does not guarantee publication of images supplied with submissions.
IMAGE SPECIFICATIONS + USE*
LA+ is a very visual publication and, while we have dedicated design teams working on original pieces to illustrate each issue, we strongly encourage authors (especially those in the design disciplines) to submit suggested images to accompany their papers. Where possible, submitted images should be original and previously unpublished. If images have been previously published, it is helpful if you can provide brief details of publication forum/s to assist us in making layout decisions.
Please do not insert images into the text document. Accompanying images or artwork should be provided as separate digital files and a list of short captions/credits should be provided in a separate document. Photographic images should be provided in separate files as print-ready, high-resolution (300 dpi or greater at full page size - 8.75x10.5 for portrait format images and 17x10.5 for landscape format images) .tiff or .jpg files. Line drawings or hand drawn illustrations should have a minimum resolution of 1200 dpi at full page size. Digital linework should be in vector (.eps) format - minimum line weight is 0.25.
* Please note that LA+ does not guarantee publication of author supplied or suggested images, charts, or figures; however, our designers will consider their use and may consult with you in respect of other potential images. Decisions about images used to accompany an article accepted for publication and how such images are used, or adapted for use, lie with the journal. The journal has final say on presentation, illustration, and layout of all issue content. Page proofs are not provided.
PERMISSIONS
Contributors are responsible for obtaining necessary permissions or releases to use any submitted third-party material, such as graphics, charts, tables, photographs, designs, and artwork. Copies of permission letters/emails should be forwarded to the editor along with correct attribution details. If permission is still outstanding for any material, please note the material for which permission remains pending, as well as its source and status.
If a fee is required to gain permission to use a specific image, please provide LA+ with a review copy of the image, its source, license-holder contact details, and other pertinent information to help the journal make a decision regarding possible licensing for use in the journal.
