What We Value
Serving MLA Members
MLA publications are peer-reviewed by MLA members, approved for publication by a standing committee of the association, and developed as a service to members, the professions they represent, and their students.
New Insights
The planned volume should not contain previously published material. We also discourage the practice of adapting essays in these volumes from previously published work. If authors or contributors to edited volumes wish to base their essays on work they have previously published, they must make this known in the essay abstract, give full bibliographic citation of the previously published work, and explain why the proposed essay should not be passed over in favor a completely new one. The finished essay must not duplicate any language from the previously published work. Essays that do not conform to these requirements may be dropped from the volume.
If an essay based on previously published work is accepted, contributors must show that they have copyright or have permission in writing from the publisher of the previously published work and include a permission statement with the essay.
Diversity
Successful projects will engage with diverse perspectives, and volume editors are encouraged to reach out to a wide range of possible contributors at the prospectus stage in order to achieve this goal. The MLA book publications program expects editors to make active efforts to ensure diversity among the contributors to their volumes.
Students’ Voices
It is the MLA’s policy that authors obtain permission from students to quote from their writing. The MLA staff will, on request, supply a form that contributors can use to obtain such permission. Editors should remind their contributors to obtain permission before including quotations from students’ writing in their essays. If an essay or volume uses student writing or research data covered by an institutional review board (IRB), a copy of the IRB permissions statement must accompany the manuscript.