PUBLISH WITH US

This section outlines all stages of the submission process and manuscript expectations.

File Formatting for Submission

Title
Please select an informative title that indicates the subject of the item in only 10-15 words. Since the purpose of the title should be to improve access and encourage/inspire readers to use the discovered materials, a strong title indicates the contents or topic(s) covered and may also include the approach (e.g., methods) to the topic(s). Abbreviations discouraged. Consider following plain language guidelines (www.plainlanguage.gov/guidelines/)

Short Title/Running Head (50 characters): 
This is a short summary of your title (ensure it captures the focus of the work)

Keywords: 
To increase the discoverability of your work, please select 4-5 key words or phrases that indicate the topic, themes, theories, fields of study, or geographical region that the publication relates to.

Author/Creator Bio (50 words):
Provide a biography for each author/creator that includes relevant position titles, current institutional or extra-institutional affiliations, and a statement of research interests.

Abstract (100 words):
The abstract must describe either the goal or motivation of the work; novelty of the work in relation to previous work; significant innovations, accomplishments, and/or contributions to the institution or community; significance to the field. 

The text of the abstract should be written in plain language, following effective practices for helping the broadest possible audience find and make use of your materials. While jargon (or discipline-specific language) should be avoided, essential terms from languages other than English must include a translation in parenthesis as per Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) 17th Edition. For example, ‘Everyone knew le chat noir (the black cat).’ For guidance, please see the following plain language guidelines (www.plainlanguage.gov/guidelines/). Additionally, please avoid the use of contractions (i.e., “don’t” must be written as “do not”). With this said, we recognize that in-text direct quotations must be left in their original form.

Spelling, Punctuation, & Grammar:
ICER Press follows the CMOS for punctuation and grammar and the Canadian Oxford Dictionary for spelling. Use Canadian, rather than US or British spelling and punctuation, consistently throughout the document. Abbreviations are strongly discouraged; please avoid the use of acronyms if possible. However, when necessary, write out in full the phrase/object/entity followed by the acronym in parentheses (i.e. North American Space Agency (NASA)).

Resources: CMOS (https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/home.html); The Canadian Oxford Dictionary, 2nd ed. Online version (www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195418163.001.0001/acref-9780195418163)

Ethical Representation & Capitalization:
ICER Press aligns itself with social justice, decolonization, diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts and thus we follow Dr. Gregory Younging’s second principle of Indigenous style: when ICER Press’s style guidelines disagree with Indigenous style, you should follow Elements of Indigenous Style: A Guide for Writing By and About Indigenous Peoples.

• Capital letters should be used when describing people’s names and identities (e.g. Black or Indigenous).

• Following the CMOS, authors should consult with individuals regarding their pronouns and refer to individuals only by their stated pronouns in writing or other media.

• Following the guidance of the UBC Office of Equity and Inclusion, ICER Press prefers the acronyms  IBPOC and 2SLGBTQAI+ (instead of BIPOC or LGBTQIA).

Emphasis & Italics
Please follow CMOS for guidelines on punctuation. Note that it is the preferred style of ICER Press to implement the use of the Oxford Comma consistently throughout manuscripts. Additionally, for instances where emphasis is needed, please use italics rather than quotation marks. Finally, for any words not in the English language, please prioritize the original word or concept in italics followed by the closest English translation or understanding. For example: Everyone knew le chat noir (the black cat). For guidance, please see the following plain language guidelines (www.plainlanguage.gov/guidelines/).

Citations, Notes, & Bibliographies
ICER Press follows the Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) Guidelines 17th edition; however, whenever Indigenous Style and the CMOS disagree, Indigenous Style will be used at ICER Press. All submissions must follow the Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) 17th Edition and use the Author-Date (CMOS) citation format. Citations should appear in the body of the text, with a complete list of references organized alphabetically at the end of the manuscript. Please see the CMOS Quick Guide for examples or worksheets in the Resources section.

ICER Press is aligned with the Cite Black Women’s Collective in upholding citational practices that work to decolonize exclusionary institutional practices.

Thus, authors are encouraged to include multiple voices and perspectives that represent works by authors and makers with intersectional identities, including but not limited to IBPOC, 2SLGBTQAI+, disability, minority, and marginalized voices. While authors may need to draw on and cite their previously published work, it is recommended that they do so in moderation and intentionally in relationship with the voices of others. Peer reviewers will be asked to look closely at submitted work to ensure the voices of marginalized are amplified in the work under review.

Please ensure that submitted work follows style guidelines before submitting manuscripts for consideration; submitted items that do not conform to the guidelines will not be considered.

All parts of the manuscript should be typewritten, double-spaced, one-sided, and in 12 pt type. Please keep margins to 2.54cm for all word files. All files must be uploaded to the Submission Portal [LINK COMING SOON] as a Microsoft Word document (.doc or .docx). Please ensure that you have disengaged any citational plug-ins (Zotero, Refworks, Endnote, etc). Authors should also supply a shortened title for a running head, not exceeding 50 character spaces in the header of their document. All authors of a manuscript should include their full name and affiliation on the cover page of the manuscript, a 50 word biography for each author, and an abstract of not more than 100 words.

Preparing your documents for Peer Review:
As all manuscripts undergo anonymous peer review, it is essential that authors submitting work ensure that their manuscript is fully anonymized and that any reference to authors’ names, affiliations, or publications are removed. Instead, insert [AUTHOR1] and [AUTHOR 2].

Required manuscript elements:
Manuscript style materials should include the following elements in the following order: title page; abstract; keywords; main text introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion; acknowledgments; declaration of interest statement; references; appendices (as appropriate); table(s) with caption(s) (on individual pages); figures; figure captions (as a list)

Images, Diagrams, Tables, Charts, etc (with captions and alt text):
Authors are expected to provide Alternative Text (alt text) and image descriptions or captions for all images and figures within their submission. In some instances, alt text and captions can be very similar; we encourage authors to consult the ICER Press Resources (www:blog.hubspot.com/marketing/image-alt-text) for more information on crafting accurate alt text and captions.

Alt text should follow this format:

• 1. Figure #. Name of creator, Title, location, year. [Alt text: 100-word description of visual content]. Example: Figure 2. Smith, Joe. Fields of Tulips, Holland, 2011. [Alt text: a field of pink and yellow tulips at sunset].

• 2. Figure #. Descriptive Summary of the Image. Photo by [name], year. [Alt text: 100-word description of visual content]. Example: Figure 1: Screenshot from The Sound of Music. Robert Wise, 1965. [Alt text: a blonde haired woman is sitting as she plays guitar to children in a green valley surrounded by snow capped mountains]

Copyright Permissions
It is the responsibility of the submitting author to provide proof of cleared copyright for all media (i.e. images, tables, diagrams, charts, etc) not their own that appear in the manuscript. Even adapted work must have copyright permission. Please ensure all image permission forms are uploaded with original submission. We also strongly encourage authors to honour the image makers' labour and facilitate payment following the Canadian Artists' Representation/Le Front des Artistes Canadiens (CARFAC) guidelines: www.carfac.ca. ICER Press does not cover the costs associated with copyright. Materials without copyright clearance will not be published.