What a proposal includes
- A working title and the theme in a few sentences.
- Why the theme matters now, and how it fits the journal's aims and scope.
- The guest editors: names, institutions and e-mail addresses. Two or three editors from different institutions work best.
- The topics the issue will cover, and colleagues you expect to contribute, if any.
- A rough timeline: call for papers, submission deadline, publication.
How we decide
The journal's Editor-in-Chief reads every proposal and replies, usually within four weeks. If the theme fits the journal, we agree the call for papers and the timeline with you. Every manuscript in a special issue goes through the journal's usual double-blind review, guest editors do not handle manuscripts they have a conflict of interest with, and the final decisions rest with the journal's editors.
Guest editing is voluntary and free of charge. See our editorial appointments policy and peer review policy.