Submissions

British Art Studies publishes new scholarship of the highest quality on all aspects of British art, architecture, and visual culture, in their most diverse and international contexts.

Articles, proposals for features, and proposals for special thematic issues of the journal can be submitted at any time. Content that incorporates digital tools into art-historical scholarship is especially welcome.

Submissions should be sent electronically to the editors at [email protected].

Articles

Please keep in mind that:

  • Complete manuscripts should be submitted in Microsoft Word .doc and .docx format only.
  • The standard length for scholarly articles ranges between 6,000 and 9,000 words, and shorter or longer texts are considered when appropriate to the nature of the content.
  • Manuscript submissions should be prefaced by an abstract of no more than 150 words.
  • An image/media list, with low-resolution files and complete captions, should be appended to the submission.
  • Select only illustrations that are strongly connected to your argument.
  • Use 12-point Times New Roman font for all elements.

Features

British Art Studies embraces the creative possibilities of publishing art-historical scholarship online. Our special features explore a variety of innovative formats and our current range of formats is described below.

To propose a feature, please submit an abstract of roughly 500 words and a presentation of materials (images, multimedia, data sets, contents list etc.) to discuss with the editors. You may also propose a new feature format.

Existing features:

Animating the Archive
A highly visual series that presents and annotates media and primary sources in an assemblage, which supports both linear and non-linear readings. Past example: 1964: A Year of Exhibitions (Issue 12), by Stephen Bann

Conversation Piece
A guest coordinator invites a group of contributors to respond, in brief, to an idea or question. Past example: Landscape Now (Issue 10), coordinated by Alexandra Harris

Cover Collaboration
A visual artist, curator, or researcher is invited to generate a series of covers for the issue. These are randomly assigned to visitors each time they load the journal. Past example: Photography and Britishness (Issue 4), by Martin Parr

In the Artist’s Words
An audio-visual format that juxtaposes artistic testimony, read aloud, with a montage of related imagery. Past example: “From a Sheet of Paper to the Sky” (Issue 7), by Inga Fraser

Look First
A pre-eminently visual examination of a subject, which is made possible by the digital format of the journal. Past example: Deakin: Double Exposures (Issue 1), by Paul Rousseau, James Boaden, and Jonathan Law

One Object
A series that uses an object, often from a museum collection, as a starting point for collaborative research. Past example: The Hereford Screen (Issue 5), coordinated by Ayla Lepine

Virtual Exhibition
A mode of presenting an argument or narrative that is primarily led by visual material, where multimedia is displayed in sequence alongside interpretative texts. Past example: Performing Pacifism (Issue 11), by Grace Brockington

Special Issues

The journal publishes at least one special thematic issue per year. The content is selected by guest editors, who are responsible for commissioning the material and providing authors with detailed editorial feedback. Guest editors each receive a fee of £1,000. Where appropriate, to support commissioning, British Art Studies may be able to provide funding and facilities to host a workshop that generates content for the planned issue.

To propose a special issue, please submit a brief of roughly 1,000 words to discuss with the editors.

Please keep in mind that:

  • We currently welcome proposals only for special issues that will publish in 2027 or beyond. Proposals will be reviewed next in January 2025.
  • Proposals should deal with a major topic in the field, and aspire to become the definitive resource on that subject.
  • The proposal should explain why the material would benefit from digital publication and how it would incorporate digital features.
  • If you envision a supporting workshop, please include thoughts on its ideal structure and participants, and estimated costs.
  • Special issue contents may derive in part from a conference, but they are not intended to translate event proceedings into a publication. Newly commissioned material must be included.
  • We are interested in proposals that suggest collaboration or co-publication with other journals or institutions.

Peer Review

All materials published in British Art Studies are subject to rigorous scholarly appraisal. Peer review is generally conducted by a minimum of two readers. Projects that employ statistical analysis will be reviewed by readers capable of critically assessing their methods and conclusions. To ensure transparency, the manner in which each article or feature has been reviewed is displayed openly on its respective webpage. The journal employs four different kinds of review, depending on the project.

  • Double blind: The names of the author and reviewers are kept secret from each other.
  • Single blind: The author does not know who the reviewers are.
  • Open: The reviewer and author are known to each other.
  • Editorial review: The material has been reviewed only by British Art Studies editors.

Publishing Schedule

The journal appears three or four times per year. There are generally at least two open issues per year, whose contents are drawn from a call for submissions, and one or two special thematic issues with contents selected by guest editors.

Submissions will be acknowledged by a member of the editorial team, and the editors will send those that meet the basic criteria to be peer reviewed. The editors aim to send prospective contributors feedback from peer review within three months of assessing the submission or proposal. Due to the varied nature of our content, the total life cycle of an article or feature can take anywhere from five months to over a year.

Collaborative Process

The editors often work closely with authors, alongside web designers, technologists, film-makers, and artists, to shape the final publication. This results in an iterative and collaborative framework, which incorporates not only the usual stages of peer review, rewriting, editing, copy-editing, design, and proofreading, but also adds further opportunities for team-based discussion and revision.

Publishing Fees

There are no fees or charges associated with making a submission to the journal.

For accepted essays and features, British Art Studies funds and sources all reasonable use of images and media. This can include the development of new film and audio content, as well as digital features like maps, data visualisations, and virtual reconstructions. The quantity of illustrations permitted in an article, and any new media developed to accompany the research, are chosen by the editorial team.

Translation

The journal invites submissions in all languages. To the best of their ability, the editorial team will secure peer reviewers for submissions that are not in English. Following positive reviews, the journal may fund translation of the submission into English, after which a final assessment will be carried out by the editorial team prior to issuing a formal acceptance.

As British Art Studies publishes all contributions in English, only the translated version of a submission in another language will appear in the journal.