Book Review Policy

Authors of book reviews hoping to publish in NJAS should first contact the relevant section editor via email (see information on our editorial team page). Please include a statement regarding your motivations for reviewing the book in question (including any potential conflicts of interest or relationship with the author(s) of the book), and why you propose NJAS as an outlet for the review.

The subject editors will refer to the following checklist  when deciding whether to publish a book review:

• Does the reviewed book have a meaningful relationship to our areas of emphasis?
• Does the review make an effort to be balanced? Are negative opinions framed diplomatically? NJAS does not publish reviews that are heavily tilted towards the negative, unless we have specifically commissioned them or there is some other compelling reason.
• Is the author’s academic background appropriate for this review?
• Is the publisher reputable?
• Is there reason to suspect any conflict of interest?

As a general rule (although there may be exceptions if circumstances demand), book reviews will not be sent for external evaluation. Instead, they will be commented on by section editors.  Authors are expected to finalise their review based on those comments. We also reserve the right to reject reviews at any stage of the process, if they do not meet or quality and ethical standards. We aim to assess and publish book reviews as quickly as possible, without compromising on quality.

Book reviews should also conform to our format, style, and reference guidelines.