ISSN 0043-3462
eISSN 1948-7142
In a desire to further this tradition of integrating western studies into global scholarly conversations, there is special interest in publishing theoretical and critical articles in areas such as critical regionalism, global indigeneity, settler-colonialism, digital humanities, cinema and new media, global wests, and other cutting edge approaches.
Visit the journal's editorial page on the WLA website.
Western American Literature publishes literary criticism and interdisciplinary work with a literary focus. We invite manuscripts on any aspect of the literature, culture, and place-oriented pedagogy of the North American West, including western Canada and northern Mexico. We are especially interested in work that advances the field in new and provocative directions and that engages in a conversation with the latest scholarship.
If unfamiliar with our journal, take a look at recent copies available on Project MUSE.
Due to space limitations, WAL will not consider essays more than 35 pages in length, inclusive of endnotes and works cited. Please do not submit an essay that is under consideration elsewhere or that has been previously published.
Articles should be submitted via our online portal.
Do not put your name anywhere on the article or in a running head, and veil any references to your own work (if applicable) to assure anonymity with the readers. You will need to register with the online portal before submitting, so we will have your personal information in the system keyed to your submission.
Typically, the peer-review process takes 3-6 months, sometimes longer. Please be patient.
NOTE: Your manuscript should follow the most recent edition of the MLA Handbook. Please use endnotes, not footnotes. Long discursive notes should be avoided and will count toward the page limit.
You are welcome to provide illustrations that are pertinent to your essay. Images should be scanned at 350 dpi or higher and saved as a TIF or EPS file. It is your responsibility to obtain reprint permission for images, for both print and digital formats. The editors and the publisher reserve the right not to use poor-quality images.
Also, if you are writing about poetry, it is almost certain that you will need to obtain permission to quote from the poems. If you don't do so ahead of time, be prepared to do so immediately should your article be accepted.
A word to the wise: we receive many submissions on a few authors about whom much has already been written, in particular Cormac McCarthy, Willa Cather, and Leslie Marmon Silko. Please be sure you have something truly new to say about these authors and are familiar with the latest critical studies of their work.
Editor
Amy T. Hamilton, Northern Michigan University
Editorial Board
José F. Aranda, Jr., Rice University
Neil Campbell, University of Derby, UK
Krista Comer, Rice University
Victoria Lamont, University of Waterloo, Canada
David Rio, University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU, Spain
Susan Shillinglaw, San José State University
Sara Spurgeon, Texas Tech University
Janis Stout, Texas A&M University
Lisa Tatonetti, Kansas State University
Nicolas S. Witschi, Western Michigan University
Book Review Editor
Emily Rau, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Editorial Fellow
Jennifer McMahon, Northern Michigan University
Graduate Editorial Assistants
Dylan Couch, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Elizabeth Martinez, University of Texas-Austin
Tucker McLain, Northern Michigan University
Meagan Meylor, University of Southern California
Sarah Nolan, University of Southern California
Erin Seaward, Idaho State University
Trending Articles - Summer 2021
“'The Sterility of Their Art:' Masculinity and the Western in Leslie Marmon Silko’s Ceremony" (Vol. 49 No. 3, 2014)
"The Only Cure Is a Dance: The Role of Night Swan in Silko’s Ceremony" (Vol. 50 No. 3, 2015)
“'Sovereignty'” (Vol. 53 No. 1, 2018)
"From Mysteries to Manidoos: Language and Transformation in Louise Erdrich’s The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse" (Vol. 49 No. 2, 2014)
"The Chinaman’s Crime: Race, Memory, and the Railroad in Willa Cather’s “The Affair at Grover Station'" (Vol. 49 No. 2, 2014)
Founded in 1965, the Western Literature Association (WLA) is a non-profit, scholarly association that promotes the study of the diverse literature and cultures of the North American West, past and present.
Since its founding, the WLA has served to publish scholarship and promote work in the field; it has gathered together scholars, artists, environmentalists, and community leaders who value the West’s literary and cultural contributions to American and world cultures; it has recognized those who have made a major contribution to western literature and western studies; and it has fostered student learning and career advancement in education.
WLA members receive Western American Literature as a benefit of membership and only members are able to obtain individual subscriptions to the journal.
Check out this list of peer-reviewed articles focusing on Critical Theory, Environmental Ethics, Economics & Business, and other areas of study on Climate Change.
Reading List: Sexual and Gender-Based ViolenceThis reading list is full of academic articles for both instructors & students seeking peer-reviewed materials on Rape Culture, Sexual Help, Models of Resistance, and other areas of study.
Reading List: MigrationThis list of peer-reviewed materials features articles on many topics spanning Globalization, Genocide, Religion, Diaspora Communities, and other aspects on the topic of Migration.
Reading List: Willa CatherThis list of peer-reviewed articles & reviews centers on the work of acclaimed author (and UNL alum) Willa Cather. Known for her novels on the pioneer experience, her works are reexamined here through the lens of modern-day academics.
Reading List: PandemicThis list of peer-reviewed articles looks at epidemics and pandemics from the Influenza Pandemic of 1918-19 to COVID-19 from the perspective of research in the humanities.
This site, a project of the journal Western American Literature and the Western Literature Association, is a useful starting point for researchers wishing to utilize the wealth of information on specific authors and topics presented over the many years of the journal's publication.
