Frequently Asked Questions

About the Programme

What is the Conference Collaboration Programme?

The Conference Collaboration Programme is a formal scholarly initiative through which academic conferences may collaborate with The Criterion: An International Journal in English or Galaxy: International Multidisciplinary Research Journal to produce curated special issues. Selected conference presenters are invited to develop their work into full journal articles, which are then subject to independent double-blind peer review. Those that meet the journal’s publication standards are published as a themed special issue.

Is this a conference proceedings publishing service?

No. The programme is explicitly not a proceedings publishing service. Conference papers are not published as submitted. Every manuscript submitted through the programme undergoes the same independent peer review process applied to all papers published in the journal, and is accepted or rejected solely on the basis of scholarly merit. The journal acts as an independent scholarly curator of research arising from the conference, not as a publisher of conference output.

Which journals are part of the programme?

The Criterion: An International Journal in English and Galaxy: International Multidisciplinary Research Journal, both published by the Research Centre for English Language and Literature (RCELL), India. Organisers may apply to collaborate with one or both journals, provided the conference scope is appropriate to each. Separate editorial evaluations are conducted for each journal.

Can we collaborate with both journals simultaneously?

Yes, if the conference theme is relevant to the scope of both journals. The same collaboration proposal form is used for both. Organisers should indicate both journals in Section 1 of the application form and ensure the academic rationale addresses the relevance to each journal specifically. Separate editorial evaluations will be conducted, and outcomes may differ.

Eligibility and Applications

What kinds of conferences are eligible to apply?

Conferences that are organised by or formally affiliated with a recognised academic institution, department, research centre, or scholarly society; that have a clearly stated scholarly purpose and a thematic focus aligned with the scope of the relevant journal; and that operate a credible academic review or screening process for presentations. Commercially organised events, conferences with no identifiable institutional affiliation, and conferences that accept all submissions without academic assessment are generally not suitable candidates.

Can an inaugural conference apply?

Yes. There is no requirement for a prior track record. However, where a conference has no prior editions, the proposal itself must demonstrate academic credibility, methodological rigour, and operational readiness in full — since there is no track record to draw on. Particular attention should be given to the scholarly qualifications of the organising committee, the quality of the conference review process, and the specificity of the proposed special issue theme.

Do we need to complete the PDF Proposal Template and submit it separately?

No. The online application form is the submission instrument. The PDF Conference Proposal Template, available on the Programme Documents page, is a preparation guide — it mirrors the form’s structure exactly so that organisers can read through all questions, draft responses offline, and gather required documents before opening the form. It is not submitted separately. The editorial office strongly recommends working through the template before opening the form, as partially completed forms cannot always be saved for later return.

What documents do we need to upload with the application?

The form includes upload fields for: a formal call for papers or conference programme; academic profiles or curricula vitae for the Primary Convenor and all nominated Guest Editors; and an official letter of authorisation or endorsement from the lead institution on institutional letterhead. Supplementary documents — such as evidence of programme committee membership or prior conference outcomes — may also be uploaded where relevant. All documents should be in PDF format where possible.

How long does the evaluation take?

Acknowledgement of receipt is issued within ten working days of a complete submission. An editorial decision is communicated within sixty days of receipt. The editorial office evaluates proposals on a rolling basis; there are no fixed application rounds or annual deadlines.

Can a declined proposal be resubmitted?

Yes, following material revision that addresses the grounds for the original decision. Resubmissions that do not address the identified concerns will not be re-evaluated. The editorial office does not disclose specific evaluation scores but will communicate the basis for a decline in sufficient terms to allow a substantive resubmission where appropriate.

Publication and Peer Review

Does conference acceptance guarantee publication in the journal?

No, and this is the most important principle of the programme. Conference participation — whether as a presenter, invited author, or organising committee member — does not create any entitlement to publication in the journal. Every manuscript submitted through the programme is subject to full independent double-blind peer review, and acceptance is determined solely by scholarly merit. Organisers must not communicate or imply a publication guarantee to conference participants at any stage or in any medium. Doing so constitutes a breach of the Collaboration Agreement and may result in termination of the collaboration.

What is the difference between a conference paper and an extended paper?

A conference paper is a work in progress — a research question presented for scholarly dialogue, an argument at outline level, findings offered as preliminary. A journal article is a completed scholarly contribution: a fully developed, rigorously evidenced argument added to the permanent scholarly record. Authors invited to submit are expected to develop their conference paper into a substantially new and more rigorous piece of scholarship — not simply extend it in length. The Extended Paper Requirements document defines this standard in detail and includes a self-assessment checklist authors should complete before submitting.

How many reviewers assess each manuscript?

Manuscripts submitted to special issues of The Criterion are assessed by three independent peer reviewers, consistent with the journal’s standard review policy. Manuscripts submitted to special issues of Galaxy are assessed by two independent peer reviewers. In both cases, the double-blind model applies without exception — reviewer identities are not disclosed to authors, and author identities are not disclosed to reviewers.

Can the Guest Editor influence which papers are accepted?

No. The Guest Editor’s role is advisory. Guest Editors may recommend reviewers and provide thematic context when requested by the editorial office, but they do not hold decision-making authority over any manuscript. The final decision on every submission — accept, revise, or reject — rests exclusively with the Editor-in-Chief. Guest Editors must not communicate or imply acceptance outcomes to authors at any stage.

What happens if not enough papers are accepted to fill a special issue?

If the number of accepted manuscripts is insufficient for a standalone special issue, the editorial office will consult with the Guest Editor and conference organiser on the available options. These may include publishing the accepted papers as a themed cluster within a regular issue, extending the submission invitation to additional conference presenters, or postponing the issue pending further submissions. The acceptance threshold is never lowered to achieve a target volume — this is a non-negotiable principle of the programme.

Are articles published on an open-access basis?

Yes. All articles published in The Criterion and Galaxy are published on an open-access basis under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence. Authors retain copyright in their work and grant the journal a licence to publish, distribute, and archive the article. Each published article is assigned a DOI.

Fees and Financial Arrangements

Are there any publication fees or article processing charges for authors?

Yes. RCELL journals are open-access publications, and an article processing charge (APC) applies to accepted manuscripts to support DOI registration, secure hosting, editorial and peer review operations, plagiarism screening, and long-term open access. For manuscripts accepted through the Conference Collaboration Programme, a reduced flat-rate APC applies: ₹1,000 for Indian authors or $50 USD for foreign authors, per paper regardless of the number of authors. There is no submission fee at any stage. The APC is invoiced only after the Editor-in-Chief has issued a formal written acceptance decision — authors should not make any payment until official payment instructions have been received directly from the journal’s editorial office.

Can conference organisers charge a registration fee for the conference itself?

Yes. Conference registration fees are the organising body’s own business arrangement and are entirely separate from journal publication. RCELL has no involvement in, or authority over, conference registration fee structures. However, the Collaboration Agreement requires that conference registration fees be clearly independent of journal publication decisions — they must not include, bundle, or be represented as including any publication fee component. Organisers should ensure that all communications to participants make this distinction explicit. A registration fee that covers conference participation is legitimate; a fee framed as purchasing or securing journal publication is not.

Does RCELL receive payment from conference organisers for producing a special issue?

No. RCELL does not receive payment from conference organisers, and conference organisers do not receive payment from RCELL. Guest Editors are not remunerated for their advisory role. The only payments involved in the programme are the article processing charges paid directly by accepted authors to the journal. The collaboration itself — between the journal and the organising institution — is established on the basis of shared scholarly purpose and carries no financial arrangement between those parties.

After Approval

What happens after a collaboration proposal is approved?

The editorial office initiates the process of executing a Collaboration Agreement — the formal academic memorandum of understanding that sets out the responsibilities of both parties, the ethical framework, the approved communication arrangements, and the agreed timeline. The Collaboration Agreement must be signed before any public announcement of the journal collaboration is made. Following execution of the agreement, the Guest Editor appointment is confirmed, the submission portal is established, and approved template language for communications with conference participants is provided.

What can we say publicly about the collaboration before it is approved?

Nothing. No public announcement of a journal collaboration — including mentions in the conference call for papers, on the conference website, or on social media — may be made before the Collaboration Agreement is signed. Premature announcements that imply a publication arrangement or use the journal’s name without authorisation are a breach of the programme’s ethical requirements and may result in the collaboration being withdrawn.

What language are we permitted to use when informing conference participants about the collaboration?

The approved formulation, or its equivalent, is: “Selected papers from this conference may be invited for submission to [Journal Name], subject to full independent peer review.” Any communication to participants regarding the journal collaboration must make clear that submission is not automatic, that acceptance is not guaranteed, and that all papers will be assessed through the journal’s standard peer review process. Draft communications should be submitted to the editorial office for review before dissemination.