We welcome reviews of books by women, especially those that would otherwise receive little critical attention. We like to be consistent, and we offer these guidelines so reviewers can approach the task of reviewing with these issues in mind. Please look over reviews in CALYX Journal as style guidelines.
• Book reviews go through our Journal editorial process like all other submissions. Acceptance of a review for publication depends on the decision of the Journal Editorial Collective.
• Reviews should be double-spaced and from 500 to a maximum of 1000 words. Length of the review should be proportional to length of book. Reviews of chapbooks should be limited to 50-100 words. We have only limited space for reviews.
• Please include a 50-word biographical statement and a self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE).
• The following information must be listed in a paragraph at the beginning of the review:
(1) COMPLETE BOOK TITLE (All caps, italics), (2) Author’s full name [or editor’s, and translator if needed] (Caps & lower case, italics). (3) Publisher’s name and complete street address, (4) Publisher’s website, (5) Year of publication, (6) Number of pages, (7) Price (cloth and/or paper).
- Include in your review both a judgment of the quality of the writing and an analysis of the content of the work, together in an overall statement of why the book is worth reading.
- Quotations should be used to illustrate a point within the context of the review, not just because you like them. Don’t quote more than you need to make your point, but enough to give the flavor of the book. CALYX Journal style in reviews is to put all direct quotations in italics. The title of a poem should always be given with each quotation from that poem.
- The review should be appropriate to the work being reviewed, e.g., a review of a book of poems will probably concentrate on the language while a review of an autobiography might give some background about the subject’s life.
- Put the book in context as appropriate—in the context of women’s writing, Black writing, this author’s writing, etc.
- Give some analysis of what the writer is saying—or not saying—about women.
- Where appropriate, comment on the publisher and/or format and physical appearance of the book.
- There is a fine line between drawing intelligent, relevant conclusions from the book you are reviewing and merely getting off the subject.
- We believe that a good review excites one to read the book, contains conjecture, emotional response, and tells the reader something that is not already obvious.
Reviews submitted by March 1 will be considered for the Summer issue, and those submitted by September 1 for the Winter issue. We are always open for submissions of reviews. The sooner we receive the review, the sooner it will flow through the editorial process. Again, please be familiar with the reviews in CALYX Journal for style.
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