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American Literature

For Authors

For information on how to submit an article, visit submission guidelines. See ethics and policies.

Journal

Current Volume: 98

Frequency: Quarterly

Academic Editors: Priscilla Wald and Matthew Taylor

American Literature has been regarded since its inception as the preeminent periodical in its field. Each issue contains articles covering the works of several American authors—from colonial to contemporary—as well as an extensive book review section; a “Brief Mention” section offering citations of new editions and reprints, collections, anthologies, and other professional books; and an “Announcements” section that keeps readers up-to-date on prizes, competitions, conferences, grants, and publishing opportunities.

Electronic access to current and back volumes of American Literature is available through a combination of read.dukeupress.edu/american-literature and JSTOR.

Recent Awards

"'A Face of Anguish': Pain and Portraiture in the Civil War Hospital" by Jess Libow (vol. 97, issue 2), winner, Norman Foerster Prize, 2024

"Poetry Will Not Optimize; or, What Is Literature to AI?" by Michele Elam (vol. 95, issue 2), winner, Norman Foerster Prize, 2023

We offer a 20% discount for MLA members. Select MLA rate below.

Price: $50.00

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Information

Editors For Authors Buy an Issue Related Sites Abstractors & Indexers Online Access Advertising Additional Information

Editors

Editorial Office:
Department of English
Duke University
Box 90020
Durham, NC 27708-0020
919-684-3948
919-684-4871 (fax)
am-lit@duke.edu

Editors:
Matthew A. Taylor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Priscilla Wald, Duke University

Managing Editor:
Sadye Teiser

Editorial Assistants:
Elizabeth Apple
Jordan Williamson

Editorial Board:
Tina Chen, 2026
Tara Fickle, 2026
John Morán González, 2026
Carrie Hyde, 2026
Autumn Womack, 2026
Jessica Hurley, 2027
Jennifer C. James, 2027
Benjamin Kahan, 2027
Stephanie Li, 2027
Kathryn Walkiewicz, 2027
Adrienne Brown, 2028
Sarah Ensor, 2028
Benjamin Friedlander, 2028
Mary Caton Lingold, 2028
Jennifer Rhee, 2028

For Authors

American Literature has a blind submissions policy. Submit manuscripts online at mc04.manuscriptcentral.com/dup-aml. Double-space manuscripts throughout; the length of manuscripts should not exceed 11,000 words, including endnotes and reference list. We do not accept simultaneous submissions. For house style, consult The Chicago Manual of Style, eighteenth edition, or a current issue of the journal. Send correspondence about editorial matters to am-lit@duke.edu.

Please read Duke University Press's "Ethics and Policies for Journals," especially the section titled "Originality and the Use of AI." The use of generative AI must be disclosed in your manuscript in order for it to be published in American Literature.

Forms for authors of accepted manuscripts:
• Style guide
• Art and permissions guide
• Reprint order form

Buy an Issue

To purchase an issue not listed here, please contact our Customer Relations department at orders@dukeupress.edu.

The Epistemological Turn in Early American Literary Studies cover image

The Epistemological Turn in Early American Literary Studies
Volume 97, Number 2

New Citizenship Studies
Volume 96, Number 4

Pain
Volume 96, Number 2

Senses With/out Subjects
Volume 95, Number 3

Critical AI: A Field in Formation
Volume 95, Number 2

How Literature Understands Poverty cover image

How Literature Understands Poverty
Volume 94, Number 3

American Game Studies
Volume 94, Number 1

The Infrastructure of Emergency cover image

The Infrastructure of Emergency
Volume 93, Number 3

The Plantation, the Postplantation, and the Afterlives of Slavery cover image

The Plantation, the Postplantation, and the Afterlives of Slavery
Volume 91, Number 3

Postexceptionalist Puritanism cover image

Postexceptionalist Puritanism
Volume 90, Number 4

Queer about Comics
Volume 90, Number 2

American Literature 89:4
Volume 89, Number 4

Pedagogy: Critical Practices for a Changing World
Volume 89, Number 2

American Literature 89:1
Volume 89, Number 1

After the Postsecular
Volume 86, Number 4

New Media and American Literature cover image

New Media and American Literature
Volume 85, Number 4

Thoreau Symposium
Volume 85, Number 1

American Literature 84:4
Volume 84, Number 4

American Literature 84:3
Volume 84, Number 3

Ecocriticism
Volume 84, Number 2

American Literature 84:1
Volume 84, Number 1

American Literature 83:4
Volume 83, Number 4

American Literature 83:3
Volume 83, Number 3

Speculative Fictions
Volume 83, Number 2

American Literature 82:4
Volume 82, Number 4

American Literature 82:3
Volume 82, Number 3

American Literature 82:2
Volume 82, Number 2

American Literature 82:1
Volume 82, Number 1

American Literature 81:4
Volume 81, Number 4

American Literature 81:3
Volume 81, Number 3

American Literature 81:2
Volume 81, Number 2

Technologies of Enslavement and Liberty cover image

Technologies of Enslavement and Liberty
Volume 81, Number 1

American Literature 80:4
Volume 80, Number 4

American Literature 80:1
Volume 80, Number 1

Related Sites

Read the journal online

Abstractors & Indexers

Indexed/abstracted in the following: Academic ASAP, Academic OneFile, Academic Search Alumni Edition, Academic Search Complete, Academic Search Elite, Academic Search Premier, Advanced Placement Source, America: History and Life, ArticleFirst, Arts & Humanities Citation Index, ATLA Religion Database (American Theological Library Association), Biography Index: Past and Present (H.W. Wilson), Book Review Digest Plus (H.W. Wilson), Book Review Index Plus Chicano Database, Current Abstracts, Current Contents, Dietrich's Index Philosophicus, Electronic Collections Online, European Reference Index for the Humanities (ERIH) PLUS, Expanded Academic ASAP, Gender Studies Database, General OneFile, General Reference Center Gold, Historical Abstracts (Online), Humanities & Social Sciences Index Retrospective: 1907-1984 (H.W. Wilson), Humanities Abstracts (H.W. Wilson), Humanities Index Retrospective: 1907-1984 (H.W. Wilson), Humanities International Complete, Humanities International Index, Humanities Source Ultimate, Humanities Source, IBZ - Internationale Bibliographie der Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaftlichen Zeitschriftenliteratur, InfoTrac Custom, InfoTrac Student Edition, Internationale Bibliographie der Rezensionen Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaftlicher Literatur, IT Source, Library & Information Science Source, Literary Reference Center Plus, Literary Reference Center, Literary Reference Center: Main Edition, MasterFILE Complete, MasterFILE Elite, MasterFILE Premier, MLA International Bibliography (Modern Language Association), OmniFile Full Text Mega (H.W. Wilson), Poetry & Short Story Reference Center, PubMed, Russian Academy of Sciences Bibliographies, Scopus, Social Sciences Index Retrospective: 1907-1983 (H.W. Wilson), SocINDEX with Full Text, SocINDEX, TOC Premier (Table of Contents), Ulrichsweb, Web of Science.

Online Access

Individual Access Instructions

To activate online access to your subscription, please follow these instructions:

Go to read.dukeupress.edu/my-account/register. (Please ignore the message "Already have a Duke University Press account?" if your previous account was created before November 20, 2017.)
Complete the form to activate your access. Enter your customer number. You can find your customer number on the mailing label of the journal or on the renewal notice. If you are unable to find your customer number, please contact Customer Service.
Click “Register.” You should now have access to your journal.

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Issue 99:1 (March) – November 4, 2026
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Additional Information

ISSN: 0002-9831

e-ISSN: 1527-2117