Author Information

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Submissions

          The American Journal of Play seeks articles that present significant new research about the nature of play; synthesize and put into perspective major themes of play scholarship; summarize emerging areas of research regarding play; illuminate the important role of play in learning and human development throughout the life cycle; examine the interrelationship of play to other aspects of endeavor; explicate social, cultural, educational, and public policy issues related to play; and explore American cultural history through the window of play.

          Writing for the Journal should be addressed to interested and educated readers as well as to immediate peers in the author’s specialty. Authors should avoid professional jargon and currently fashionable buzzwords, define any necessary difficult terms, and avoid using acronyms without providing the full name upon first usage.
 
          To encompass and accommodate the different disciplines that study play, the Journal publishes works documented through either endnotes or author-text citations. However, the Journal prefers endnotes and, with three notable exceptions, follows The Chicago Manual of Style for both systems of documentation. The Journal requires authors’ full names whenever possible. For books, the Journal does not require the publisher’s name or place of publication, and for articles, the Journal does not require the month or season of publication.

          In general, follow the rules for style, spelling, and capitalization established in the latest edition of The Chicago Manual of Style; Webster’s Third New International Dictionary; and Strunk and White, The Elements of Style.

          The American Journal of Play accepts manuscripts up to 20,000 words in length, but most published pieces are 2,500 to 7,500 words. All text, including quotations, references, and endnotes, should be prepared in double-spaced, 12-point typescript. Each submission should include a one-paragraph abstract of about 150 words detailing both the argument and the significance of the piece.

          Because submissions are evaluated by blind review, the author’s name (and the names of coauthors) should appear only on the cover sheet. Complete addresses for each author, including email, along with academic titles and institutional affiliations are required.

          Submissions should be in Word, WordPerfect, or Rich Text Format and may be submitted on a disk or as an email attachment. Direct all submissions to Jon-Paul Dyson, Editor, American Journal of Play, at jpdyson@americanjournalofplay.org.

                    The Journal does not accept manuscripts previously published elsewhere or currently under consideration for publication elsewhere as either an article or part of a book. Query letters are welcome.

Style

General

           As noted above, in general, follow the rules for style, spelling, and capitalization established in the latest edition of The Chicago Manual of Style; Webster’s Third New International Dictionary; and Strunk and White, The Elements of Style.

         Whenever possible, avoid professional jargon and currently fashionable buzzwords and define any necessary difficult terms. Also, do not use acronyms without providing the full name upon first usage.

          Normally use the active voice, and omit needless phrases, such as “the question as to whether,” “the fact that,” and “along these lines.” Use “that” for restrictive clauses, “which” for nonrestrictive.

          People should be fully identified by first and last names when they are first mentioned in the text. Names of authors mentioned in text should usually correspond exactly to their names as given in endnotes or references. The Journal discourages the use of titles such as Dr., Rev., Gen., Mrs., and Miss in the body of an article.

          As a matter of conviction and policy, the editors and publisher of the Journal urge authors to use inclusive language, that is, language that does not exclude or disparage people on the basis of gender, age, race, class, or disability.

Text abbreviations, quotations, and illustrations

          In general, avoid abbreviations in the text. For organizations that have long names and are frequently referred to by their acronyms, spell out the name of the organization the first time it appears. For example: “American Association for State and Local History (AASLH).”

          Quotations should correspond exactly with the originals in wording, spelling, interior capitalization, and internal punctuation. The Journal will not typically use sic in a published article, but authors should use it in the manuscripts they submit to indicate errors or idiosyncrasies present in the original source.

          If tables are included, each should be identified by both a number and a descriptive title. Each must have its sources indicated, and the author should clearly indicate where each table should be placed in the text. They may not be clustered together at the end of an article.

          Figures and illustrations must be numbered separately from tables and also identified by descriptive captions (including a date). The source for each figure should be given, and the author should clearly indicate where each figure should be placed in the text.

          When an article is accepted for publication, the author is responsible for obtaining permission to reprint the images and for supplying camera-ready art or digital copies of figures.

Endnotes and references  

          As noted above, the Journal publishes works documented through either endnotes or author-text citations, and with three notable exceptions follows The Chicago Manual of Style for both systems. The Journal requires authors’ full names for documentation whenever possible. For books, the Journal does not require the publisher’s name or place of publication, and for articles, the Journal does not require the month or season of publication.

          With endnotes, avoid excessive use and make each note complete in itself. Even if the title or author of a work appears in the text, that information should be included in the note.

          Combine notes when possible. Endnote numbers should appear at the end of text sentences, never in mid sentence. In general, there should be no more than one note per paragraph.

          Keep “see also” references and general bibliographical discussion to a minimum. A citation should usually mention specific pages in the cited work that are directly relevant to the article. Also keep discursive material to a minimum. Notes should not be used to “save” material cut from the text.

          When a note combines citations with discursive material, the citations should follow the discursion and not be inserted within it. Use the form “For a good discussion of the problem, see Joe L. Frost, Play and Playscapes (1992), 230–45” rather than “Joe L. Frost, Play and Playscapes (1992), 230–45 contains a good discussion of this problem.”

Scholarly abbreviations

          The Journal accepts some scholarly abbreviations but not others. The use of ibid. is acceptable. Ibid. refers to the item preceding and takes the place of as much of the succeeding material as is identical. If more than one work is cited in a note, ibid. should not be used for the first citation of the following note.

          Op. cit., loc. cit., idem, and “hereafter cited as” are not part of the Journal’s style. Instead, for second references to books and articles, use the author’s last name, the short title, and pages. In assigning short titles, do not change the order of words in the title. Form a short title by dropping any initial article (i.e., A, An, or The) and anything after a colon. The Journal also does not encourage the use of ff. and passim. Specific pages should be cited whenever possible; otherwise cite the whole title.