Guidelines for Book Reviews
Slavic Review receives annually about twice as many books for review as can be accommodated in the journal. Selection of books for review is the result of a careful editorial process of evaluation and examination of the scholarly qualities of books received for review, with attention paid to geographical and disciplinary balance. Since not all of the books we receive can be reviewed, we generally favor research monographs that reflect high scholarly standards and coherent collections of essays, although we will review occasional works of synthesis and primary accounts of special scholarly value. The selection decision is a matter of editorial judgment, and must be considered final.
The authoritative review of scholarly work is an important element of the journal's mission. For this reason, it is normally our policy to seek reviewers who have already published one monograph or the equivalent in refereed articles. Slavic Review does not ordinarily accept unsolicited book reviews. Please consult us if you would like to propose a book for review or a review essay.
Books for review may be sent to:
Editor
Slavic Review
1207 W. Oregon Street
Urbana, IL 61801-3716
USA
Given the volume of books received, it is not possible to return materials submitted by publishers: books not selected for review are listed at the end of the book review section as "Other Books of Interest" or "Collected Essays," in which we list the table of contents. For reviews we have commissioned, author’s guidelines are below (see "Reminders for Book Reviewers").
Note on Critical and Featured Reviews
Along with review essays on multiple related books, featured reviews will highlight books that the editor, in consultation with the editorial board, has identified as likely to be of interest to a wide range of our readers across geographic and disciplinary boundaries. These might be books seen to have particular theoretical, methodological, or comparative importance or scholarly books that are stimulating interest and argument outside academia by engaging controversial questions of public concern. At approximately 1,500 words (3,000 for Critical Reviews) featured reviews will be longer than our regular reviews of monographs, which are normally about 750 words. We welcome readers’ responses, including from the authors whose work is the subject of the essay. Authors’ responses will be printed in the journal. Readers’ discussions will appear in the discussion section of this website. We accept footnotes for both these types of reviews, unlike our policy for regular book reviews.
Reminders for Book Reviewers
- Please return your review as soon as you can, within the limits imposed by a careful and discriminating reading; the need for a fair and serious reading is fundamental.
- Unless otherwise stipulated, please confine your review to approximately 750 words (1,000 words for edited collections), including a brief summary of the book's contents.
- State as clearly as possible the book's interpretation, methodology, style, and its strengths and weaknesses. If possible, please recommend a specific readership.
- Style of composition should be governed by the Chicago Manual of Style.
- Transliteration should follow the Library of Congress system.
- Please include the first and last name of any person the first time mentioned.
- Do not include footnotes (except for featured and critical reviews). If you must cite another work, do so by including a reference (author, title, and year of publication) in parentheses.
- Quotations from the book under review should include a page number.
- Please use italics rather than underlining.
- Your name and affiliation should appear at the end of the review.
Please adapt the following model to the book you are reviewing:
A History of Private Life. Ed. (or By) Philippe Ariès and Georges Duby. Vol. 5, Riddles of Identity in Modern Times, eds. Antoine Prost and Gérard Vincent, trans. Arthur Goldhammer. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1991. vi, 630 pp. Appendix. Notes. Bibliography. Chronology. Glossary. Index. Illustrations. Plates. Photographs. Figures. Tables. Maps. $39.95, hard bound. (If there is no price, capitalize the binding: Paper.)
Your review will be edited electronically. Please send your review as an attachment (as a Word document, not a PDF). Please note that we cannot accept fax transmissions. You will be contacted by the Managing Editor when your review is being copy edited only if there are outstanding questions. Cambridge University Press will send you a link to Cambridge Core from which you will be able to download your review once it has been published. Please keep in mind that your review will appear no earlier than 6-8 months after your submission.
All of us at Slavic Review appreciate your contribution and your service to the profession. Thank you for agreeing to write this review. For further information, you may write to us at slavrev@illinois.edu.