Featured East-West Center Series

East-West Center Special Reports

SUBMISSIONS GUIDELINES

Authors interested in publishing in the East-West Center Special Reports series should visit the Publications website to look at earlier issues. The East-West Center Editorial Committee prefers to begin the process with a proposal, although full manuscripts will be considered as well. Submissions should be sent electronically to the Publications Office.

Special Reports can be 10,000 to 30,000 words and are written for policymakers, educators, journalists, scholars, and others interested in significant contemporary issues. These publications are especially suited to presenting analysis that can be enhanced by illustrative material such as maps, photographs, tables, and figures. Because of relatively quick publication and potential for targeted distribution, publishing in this series offers authors a unique opportunity to communicate the results of their research. The range of production values—use of illustrative materials, color, and so on—will reflect available funding. Special Reports authors work closely with the Center on editorial development and plans for distribution and promotion.

The East-West Center mails publications to key individuals and institutions in the United States, Asia, and the Pacific. In addition, downloadable publications are available for free on the organization’s website and are announced widely via email, press releases, and a news wire service. Center publications are also available through several major databases.

To submit a proposal to the Special Reports series, please contact the Publication Office with the following:

1. cover letter. Identify the topic of your proposed report and why the topic fits the series. Please state whether any part of the report has been published elsewhere. Note topic and date of any future relevant events. Please also discuss possible sources of funding support for production and distribution.
2. proposal (6–8 pages). Describe the paper, identifying its main argument, why the issue is important, how you support your argument, what your conclusions are, and what the implications for public policy are. Discuss illustrative materials if you envision them as a vital element of the report.
3. curriculum vitae of each author and editor.

Based on the proposal, the author may be invited to submit a complete manuscript. An invitation to submit does not constitute a commitment to proceed to the peer-review process.

The elements of a complete Special Report manuscript are as follows:

• working title
• draft summary (approximately 300 words)
• main body of report (with notes embedded, using MS Word notes feature). Submitted manuscript must be 10,000 to 30,000 words; should clearly lay out the main point, why the issue is important, the supporting argument, the conclusions, and the implications for public policy; and should demonstrate sound academic inquiry, methodology, and presentation of information. The author is responsible for the accuracy of facts, quotes, and citations.
• text for boxes/sidebars
• bibliography
• author biography (approximately 150 words) and contact information to be published in report
• acknowledgments (not required)
• charts/graphs/images. Provide in separate files from main body of report. Include source information and caption material. (Contact editorial office for image file requirements.)

Upon receipt of a complete manuscript, the Editorial Committee will decide whether to (1) send to review, (2) request revision and resubmission, or (3) decline the submission.

Following peer review, the Editorial Committee may invite an author to revise taking into account the reviews, editorial direction, and series requirements. Based on the author’s response to the proposed revisions, the Editorial Committee may request the author to proceed.

If the manuscript is accepted for publication, the author will be responsible for securing necessary photo or illustration reprint permissions and be expected to play a significant role in planning for the distribution of the Special Report to target audiences. The author will be asked to assign copyright to the East-West Center.

For matters of style, the East-West Center Special Reports series largely follows The Chicago Manual of Style (15th Edition). Authors and editors should use the serial comma, spell out numbers less than 10, use SI (metric) units of measure, and use American spelling.

Special Reports follow Chicago style notes and bibliography system (not in-text citations). Notes in Special Reports are allowed in the form of endnotes (usually references, but may also include comments on sources or other material) or as brief footnotes. The notes and bibliography system allows for using a full bibliography or a selected bibliography.

Please refer to our house style guidelines and documentation examples.

Go to the East-West Center Special Reports series page.