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Submission instructions

Submitting a paper to Compass

Only papers submitted with prior agreement of the editors will be considered for publication. However, we welcome proposals from the field.

Current Authors
Potential Authors

The Compass style/format

Compass only publishes review articles which survey the state of the field. We do not publish primary research papers. Articles will fall into at least one of the following three categories and will answer one or more of the areas below:

An overview of recent research and debates in your field
Comparative look across sections or boundaries
State of the field

Compass papers are written in a crisp, concise and informative manner. They are livelier than a research paper. They are 5000 words in length (excluding bibliography but including endnotes) and are written with a non-specialist in mind. They should be accessible to a graduate student audience.

We are not looking for dry surveys of the literature. Authors are encouraged to include their views of the field and where it is going.

Compass papers have a specific style and as such it is highly unlikely that a paper written without Compass in mind would be accepted for publication without major changes in tone and focus. As such it is essential that you study the relevant Notes for Authors for your subject area and get in touch before you start writing.

Current Authors

If you have been commissioned to write an article, but have questions/concerns, you can direct them to the addresses below.

Geography Compass - GECOeditorial@wiley.com
History Compass - HICOeditorial@wiley.com
Literature Compas - LICOeditorial@wiley.com
Language and Linguistics Compass - LNCOeditorial@wiley.com
Philosophy Compass - PHCOeditorial@wiley.com
Religion Compass - RECOeditorial@wiley.com
Sociology Compass - SOCOeditorial@wiley.com
Social and Personality Psychology Compass - SPCOeditorial@wiley.com

You can also find our Notes for Authors specific to each Compass journal here.

Potential Authors

If you have an idea for a Compass paper or would like to discuss potential ideas we would love to hear from you.

As a potential author, you should, in the first instance, study the relevant Notes for Authors to gain an understanding of the scope/style.
You should then contact the relevant section editor, providing a prospective title or area to be covered, a proposed delivery date and an abstract. You can find the names and email addresses for each editor under the 'editors' tab on each Compass home page
If you are unsure which section your article would fit into, please get in touch with the relevant editorial contact for your subject area (see below).
DO NOT submit a full paper on Manuscript Central, as it will be removed if you do not have the editor's prior agreement.
Articles submitted for publication should not exceed 5,000 words.

You may also find the Author FAQ useful.

Editorial Contacts