About the Journal

Focus and Scope

JASAL is a peer-reviewed journal, published online by the Association for the Study of Australian Literature. JASAL welcomes essays that consider Australian literature in all its forms (fictional, poetic, critical, print, filmic, and so on) and in terms of its socio-political and cultural contexts. We encourage comparative studies with other literatures and are particularly interested in contributions that challenge received critical paradigms and contribute to public debate. JASAL also welcomes review articles (up to 4000 words) and responses to previously published material (up to 2000 words).

Peer Review Process

Essay manuscripts must be between 4500 and 6000 words (excluding endnotes and list of works cited), double-spaced in Times New Roman 12pt. font, with 1.5 line spacing and should conform to MLA style in regard to quotations, citations, endnotes, and lists of works cited. The JASAL Author Guidelines appear under Guidelines. Manuscripts that do not comply with the Style Guide may be rejected by the editors. Authors are responsible for obtaining copyright permission for any illustrations or figures cited in their texts. Allow three months for consideration.

Manuscripts are refereed anonymously by two Reviewers. Reviewers will assess the submission against the criteria of content (originality and thoroughness of research, and understanding of context), structure (well-structured argument and conclusion), and clarity of style.

Publication Frequency

JASAL is published at least twice a year in numbered issues including at least one general issue and other "themed" issues each year.

Open Access Policy

JASAL provides open access to all of its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. Such access is associated with increased readership and citation levels. JASAL uses open source software, developed by the Public Knowledge Project <http://pkp.ubc.ca> to help make open access economically viable, and to improve the scholarly and public quality of research.

Articles are made available under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license.

Books for Review

JASAL reviews criticism and scholarly editions of Australian literature, Australian cultural history, and critical/historical works on Australian drama, film and television.

JASAL also reviews individual creative works, such as novels, books of poems, plays, and anthologies, especially when it is clear that such works are significant to current and emerging scholarly literary discourse. 

Publishers should send appropriate books for review to:  

Dr Elizabeth Smyth JASAL c/o College of Arts, Society and Education, James Cook University. PO Box 6811, Cairns, Qld 4870, Australia

OR

Dr Cheryl Taylor, JASAL, Level 1, Building 4, James Cook University, Douglas, Queensland, 4811

Editorial Advisory Committee

  • Evelyn Araluen, University of Sydney
  • Clare Archer-Lean, Sunshine Coast University
  • Nicholas Birns, The New School for Social Research, New York
  • Lachlan Brown, Charles Sturt University
  • Beibei Chen, East China Normal University
  • Emily Direen, University of Tasmania
  • Beth Driscoll, University of Melbourne
  • Vilashini Cooppan, University of California, Santa Cruz
  • Tanya Dalziell, University of Western Australia
  • Kate Douglas, Flinders University
  • Michael Griffiths, Wollongong University
  • Sarah Holland-Batt, Queensland University of Technology
  • Tony Hughes-D'Aeth, University of Western Australia
  • Jeanine Leane, Australian National University
  • Susan Lever, University of Sydney
  • Brenda Machosky, University Hawai'i
  • Susan K. Martin, La Trobe University
  • Lyn McCredden, Deakin University
  • Larissa McLean-Davies, Melbourne University
  • Elizabeth McMahon, University of New South Wales
  • Philip Mead, University of Western Australia
  • Nicole Moore, University of New South Wales - Canberra
  • Catherine Noske, University Western Australia
  • Brigitta Olubus, UNSW
  • Roger Osborne, James Cook University
  • Nathaneal O'Reilly, University of Texas at Arlington
  • Brigid Rooney, University of Sydney
  • Susan Sheridan, Flinders University
  • Christina Spittel, UNSW-Canberra
  • Joanne Tomkins, University of Queensland
  • Mandy Treagus, University of Adelaide

Management Committee

Julianne Lamond (ANU), Brigid Magner (RMIT), Fiona Morrison (UNSW), Maggie Nolan (UQ), Emily Potter (Deakin), Roger Osborne (JCU)

Reader postings

Readers may comment on any article online by opening the article title and posting a comment using the Reading Tools on the right hand column.

A Note to Contributors

JASAL accepts submissions from Authors without qualification, but we encourage Authors to join ASAL.