Special Issues

New Agenda policy on how special issues are handled by the editorial collective

What is a “special issue” of New Agenda?

Basic requirements

  1. A Special Issue assembles academic articles – as well as book reviews, commentaries and other material [photos, art, poetry] – around a clear theme, for publication in New Agenda.
  2. A Special Issue must be planned at least 6 to 9 months (two issues) in advance
  3. It involves the appointment of a suitable guest editor (without remuneration) by IFAA, as the publisher of New Agenda
  4. A general call for papers must be issued and published on the journal website, at least 8 months before the planned publication date
  5. The guest editor decides which papers/proposals for papers to approve for submission to the New Agenda special edition
  6. The guest editor decides which submissions should be peer reviewed (a minimum of two reviewers per paper) and which should be declined.
  7. The peer review process is managed by New Agenda, through the OJS management system, with the guest editor recommending which papers should be accepted (after peer review) for publication.
  8. The guest editor recommends whether additional peer review rounds are needed. In all cases decisions must be informed by the peer reviewers’ reports.
  9. Articles and other material selected by the guest editor will be subject to normal copy-editing and fact-checking by New Agenda and each article must comply with the normal editorial policy. This may involve further interaction with the author(s), either through the guest editor or directly.
  10. All final editorial/publication decisions must be approved by the editor of New Agenda.

 

Guidelines

  1. The guest editor may assemble a panel/team of other guest editors who have expertise in the field of the special issue.
  2. If guest editors contribute articles of their own to the Special Issue, particular arrangements must be made to ensure that the article in question is independently peer reviewed and independently recommended for publication.
  3. The guest editor(s) write the editorial/editorial review article for the special issue. (This is not peer reviewed but should be accepted by the Editor of New Agenda.)
  4. Advertorials may be sought, but they must be approved by the editor of New Agenda and clearly marked as advertorials by layout and labelling.

 

The note above is informed by:

The presentations and discussion at the “ASSAf Scholarly Publishing Unit (SPU) informal meeting about special issues and guest editorships”, 6-Oct-2025

Sage (2025, August 26) Sage Journals on Special issue guidelines for editors: https://www.sagepub.com/journals/information-for-editors/publishing-special-issues

 

Policy endorsed by the IFAA editorial collective on 30 September 2025.