Author Guidelines

Submissions are now open for the twelfth issue of The Digital Literature Review, “Finding Home: Migration, Exile, and Diaspora in Literature.” This year, we are looking for writing that examines migration studies: an interdisciplinary field that explores the history, context, and consequences of migration. Our identities as humans have been sculpted by the places we have lived in and the places we have left. This connection between our identities and our homes is deeply intertwined with this year’s topic. Essay submissions might include but are not limited to: 

• immigration and how gender or class or caste or religion or sexuality organizes the immigrant experience 

• migration and the environment 

• human and nonhuman (plant, animal, insects, and material) migrations - parallels or comparisons 

• exile  

• the migrant's return home or the impossibility of return 

• intergenerational migrant experiences and conflicts  

• migrant labor 

• refugee narratives 

• genre and the migrant narrative 

Essays must be anchored in a work of literature, cinema, or other artistic media and relate to the journal's theme of migration. They must also be supported by scholarly research. We encourage submitters to explore the many nuances of migration studies within their essays. 

All essays must be submitted as a Word document. Submissions should be between 2,500 and 5,000 words and adhere to MLA citation and formatting guidelines with double-spacing and 12 pt. Times New Roman font. Please direct any questions to dlr@bsu.edu. All journal submissions are due by 11:59 p.m. Friday, January 31st. 

Essay Submission Guidelines

• Paper submissions should be saved as a Microsoft Word document.
• Papers should be in MLA style format.
• Papers should be between 2,500 and 5,000 words (or 10-20 double-spaced pages).
• Submissions are to be well researched and must contribute to ongoing scholarly conversations.
• All submissions will be blindly reviewed, so please do not put your name on your essay.
• Submissions will close on January 28th, 2024.

Blog Submission Guidelines

• Posts should address the theme of “Multispecies Encounters"
• Possible blog submissions may include high-resolution JPEG original photography (digital original prints), drawings, paintings, and digital art. We are also seeking poems or other short creative works, personal stories and testimonies, and TV, film, or music reviews (up to 5 separate pieces). Written pieces should be under 1500 words and submitted as a Word document. 
• Please include a biographical statement (3-5 sentences) and a rationale (4-5 sentences) with your submission.
• Please send all blog submissions via email to dlr@bsu.edu with “Blog Submission” as the subject.
• Submissions will be accepted and posted here on a rolling basis.

What happens next?

• The editing team will review your work.
• If accepted, you will have a chance to revise your piece and return it to the Digital Literature Review at dlr@bsu.edu. Along with this, you will need to include an abstract and a short bio about yourself.