Theme issues

Geographica Helvetica (GH) publishes theme issues in all fields of interest of the journal. Theme issues are commonly the result of a session or multiple sessions at conferences, but they can also be from a small group of people who decided that a special issue on a given subject or theme would be appropriate. A theme issue will comprise 5–8 articles with a comprehensive editorial introduction by the theme issue coordinators, pulling together the articles. We encourage the theme issue coordinators to work with the authors so that authors are aware of what others are submitting, thus enabling them to "cross-reference" other papers in the special issue where appropriate. Papers in theme issues can be written in any of the four languages that are accepted in the journal (German, French, Italian, English).

Submission & review of a proposal

Please submit a proposal for the theme issue to the editorial board, including the following information:

• title of the theme issue;
• names, affiliations, and short CVs of the proposed theme issue coordinators;
• a statement of the purpose of the theme issue (800–1500 words), including its contextualization and expected contribution in the relevant subfields;
• abstracts (150–200 words, each), including author names and affiliations, of all papers to be included in the theme issue;
• tentative schedule for submission of the articles;
• any other useful information that will help with the evaluation of the theme issue proposal.

The proposal will be reviewed by the editors, who will render a decision about whether or not the theme issue will be pursued.

There are two deadlines for submitting proposals in a calendar year: 31 March and 31 September. However, ideas for theme issues can be informally discussed with the editors at any time.

Responsibilities of theme issue coordinators

The editors will assign a responsible editor for the theme issue as a contact person for the theme issue coordinators. The responsible editor will be in charge of handling the peer-review process and will decide about rejections, revisions, and acceptance of any individual paper. The responsible editor will make decisions about individual papers directly with the individual authors (in copy to the theme issue coordinators) and discuss issues relating to the theme issue as a whole with the theme issue coordinators.

The theme issue coordinators assume the following responsibilities:

• work with the authors to obtain manuscripts of high quality;
• ensure that authors are aware of the manuscript submission process;
• coordinate a rigorous internal review process prior to submission to ensure a high quality of the submitted papers;
• discuss with the responsible editor any changes that constitute a significant deviation from the original proposal;
• coordinate the timely submission of all papers through the manuscript submission process;
• provide a list with potential reviewers for the peer-review process for (a) the theme issue as a whole and (b) for each individual paper of the theme issue;
• communicate to the authors that the editors are responsible for the peer-review process and reserve the right to accept or reject publication of any of the individual papers in the theme issue.

Thank you for considering publishing in "Special Edition Social Geography". We have drawn up some brief guidelines to help you with the process of submitting a proposal so that you can better understand your responsibilities as a special edition editor.

Submission & review of a proposal

To make arrangements for a special edition, please contact Antje Schlottmann or Mathew Hannah, the guest chief editors for the annual "Special Edition Social Geography". Please provide them with the following information:

• title for the special edition;
• names, affiliations, and short CVs of the proposed special edition editors;
• start date & end date of submission;
• a statement of the purpose of the special edition (including information on whether the special edition will include only invited papers or whether it is open for all submissions within the scope of the special edition);
• a draft of the call for papers that will solicit submissions for the special edition; and
• any other useful information that will help to evaluate the special edition proposal (Is this special edition the result of one or several conference special sessions? Are there specific people that you already have in mind that might contribute? Do you have a rough idea of how many papers might be published and their average length?).

Responsibilities of special edition editors

• work with the authors to obtain manuscripts of high quality;
• ensure that authors are aware of the manuscript submission process;
• coordinate a rigorous peer-review process (at least two independent referees);
• ensure that the English is at a high level;
• discuss with the guest chief editors any changes that constitute a significant deviation from the prospectus; and
• work to keep the special editions on schedule and periodically update the guest chief editors on the progress of the special edition.