KB Journal takes as its mission the exploration of what it means to be "Burkean." To this end, KB Journal publishes original scholarship that addresses, applies, extends, repurposes, or challenges the writings of Kenneth Burke, which include but are not limited to the major books and hundreds of articles by Burke, as well as the growing corpus of research material about Burke. It provides an outlet for integrating and critiquing the gamut of Burkean studies in communication, composition, English, gender, literature, philosophy, psychology, sociology, and technical writing. In light of this, Kenneth Burke need not be the sole focus of a submission, but Burke should be integral to the structure of the argument.
All scholarly approaches—historical, textual, empirical, pedagogical, performative—are welcome and encouraged. Each essay, hypertext, or other project submitted for possible publication will be anonymously reviewed by a minimum of two associate editors or experts from a particular area. Submissions for possible publication should be sent to the editor as a Word, RTF, or HTML file (or files) and should conform to the most recent style guide of the Modern Language Association (MLA, currently the 3rd edition of the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publications), which covers all matters related to manuscript preparation not covered by KB Journal guidelines. Authors must use in-text citations and provide a reference or works cited page at the end of the essay. Authors may also include explanatory endnotes, though such notes should be kept to a minimum. Hypertext or other projects requiring multiple files may be submitted on CD-ROM or as a Zip file. All essays may run a maximum of 7,000 words (not including the Works Cited or other endmatter). Any essays that exceed the word limit will be returned unread.
Each submission should include a letter of interest and cover page that includes the author's or authors’ name(s), title, professional affiliation, mailing address, e-mail address, and telephone number. No author-identifying information should appear in the corpus of the text itself. Each submission should include a fifty-word abstract. Works submitted for review should not have appeared in any other published form. If any part of the submission has been presented at a colloquy, conference, or convention, the date and form of that presentation should be indicated in the cover letter. It is expected that such submissions will be substantially revised to make them suitable as journal article-length submissions.
In submitting to KB Journal, the author or authors agree to license the work under the Creative Commons license (Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported), under which the author retains copyrights but allows KB Journal and other noncommercial entities to print or repost the work, provided attribution is made KB Journal, at its pleasure, may republish the work in forms such as anthologies, books, electronic formats, and other possible emerging technologies. All accepted material, including images or song lyrics, that does not conform to fair use policy must be accompanied by the appropriate letters of permission from rights holders prior to publication. In submitting to KB Journal, the author or authors warrant that a) he/she/they will not submit the contribution for possible publication elsewhere while under review; b) the submission is original material; and c) appropriate credit has been given to and permission has been granted from others when the work includes copyrighted material beyond standard fair use limits.
If a work is accepted for publication, it is published and the author or authors may take part in an online conversation about the issues raised in the publication. Once the conversation ends, the author or authors may submit a rejoinder, which functions as a second publication and continuation of the conversation.
KB Journal seeks reviews of recent books focused on Burke and his ideas. Reviews should run a maximum of 1,500 words and include the book title in MLA format at the beginning of the review. The journal also seeks review essays discussing at least three books and/or articles that share a common Burke-related focus. Review essays should discuss how these works forward, enhance, or challenge Burke studies. Reviews essays should run a maximum of 2,000 words and should include the titles in MLA format at the beginning of the review.
Inquiries and submissions should be addressed to the following:
Dr. Paul Lynch and Dr. Nathaniel Rivers
KB Journal Editors
Department of English
Saint Louis University
3800 Lindell Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63108
plynch11@slu.edu or nathaniel.rivers@gmail.com
Dr. Ryan Weber
Research and Book Review Editor
University of Alabama in Huntsville
ryanpatrickweber@gmail.com
Dr. Elizabeth Weiser
Happenings Editor
Ohio State University
weiser.23@osu.edu
Dr. David Blakesley
Clemson University
dblakes@clemson.edu