The Criterion: An International Journal in English invites academic conference organisers working in English studies and allied humanities disciplines to explore a formal scholarly collaboration through the RCELL Conference Collaboration Programme. This initiative provides a structured pathway for research presented at qualifying academic conferences to be developed into peer-reviewed contributions to a curated special issue of the journal.

The programme is grounded in a straightforward academic principle: a conference is a beginning, not an endpoint. Scholarly dialogue initiated in a conference setting — arguments tested, perspectives challenged, ideas refined through engagement with peers — represents work in progress. The Conference Collaboration Programme exists to support the development of that work into fully realised, rigorously reviewed, and permanently archived scholarship.

A special issue produced through the Conference Collaboration Programme is a themed collection of peer-reviewed journal articles, originating in scholarly work presented at an approved conference. It is not a conference proceedings volume. Each article has been independently reviewed, has met the same scholarly standards applied to every paper published in the journal, and has been accepted solely on the basis of academic merit.

The Criterion publishes scholarship across the breadth of English studies and the broader humanities. Conferences proposing collaboration are expected to align substantively with the journal’s established areas of editorial interest:

Thematic alignment is assessed through the proposal process. Organisers are encouraged to review the journal’s published scope and recent issues before submitting, and to articulate specifically how their conference theme intersects with the journal’s editorial interests. A compelling scholarly rationale — one that identifies a genuine research question, a field-level gap, or a productive critical debate — is the foundation of a strong proposal.

Special issues arising from conference collaborations are ordinarily composed of peer-reviewed research articles. Organisers who wish to propose the inclusion of other content types should discuss this with the editorial office at the proposal stage.

This is not a formality. It is the structural condition that allows a special issue to constitute genuine scholarship rather than a conference publication rebranded as journal content. Peer reviewers are independent of the conference and are selected by the editorial office without input from the organising body. Review criteria are identical to those applied to any paper submitted to a regular issue. The threshold for acceptance is not adjusted to achieve a target number of publications.

Conference organisers entering this collaboration accept these terms fully and without qualification. The editorial office will not enter into arrangements that require, imply, or structurally create an expectation of guaranteed publication. Any communication to conference participants about the journal collaboration must make clear that submitted papers are subject to full independent peer review and that acceptance is not guaranteed. Draft communications must be submitted to the editorial office for review before dissemination.

The editorial office applies a structured evaluation process to every proposal received. Proposals that do not meet the programme’s academic and ethical standards are declined.

Each approved collaboration is supported by a Guest Editor — nominated by the conference organiser and appointed by the journal following the Editor-in-Chief’s assessment. The Guest Editor is a specialist in the relevant field who brings thematic expertise to the special issue process: advising on scholarly coherence, recommending potential reviewers, and drafting an editorial introduction to the published issue upon completion of the review process.

Full details of the Guest Editor role, eligibility criteria, and responsibilities are set out in the Guest Editor Guidelines, available as part of the Programme Documents accessible through this page.

The Conference Collaboration Programme is governed by a suite of institutional documents that establish the responsibilities of all parties, the standards applied to submissions and review, and the ethical framework within which the collaboration operates. Organisers are expected to read the Programme Documents in full before submitting a proposal.

Organisers who consider their conference a suitable candidate for collaboration are invited to review the Proposal and Application Guidelines, which provide a comprehensive account of the required information, the evaluation criteria applied, and the documentation that must accompany a formal submission. Queries that cannot be resolved by consulting the Programme Documents may be directed to the Editor-in-Chief through rcell.co.in.

Collaboration with The Criterion is an academic opportunity, not a transactional arrangement. The journal is committed to partnerships that generate genuine scholarly value — for the research community, for the field, and for the authors whose work is developed and published through this process.

The following pages provide full details of the application process, submission requirements, and editorial workflow governing special issues produced through the Conference Collaboration Programme.