In the Now

In the Now is an Africa Today feature introduced in issue 67.1. It provides a forum for short, timely commentaries on contemporary critical issues. Contributors are invited to share their perspectives on issues of local, national, or international scope. Essays should be written in the style of public scholarship that draws the reader in rather than in the style and tone of a research article. Authors should keep in mind that contributions should reach a broad, interdisciplinary audience (beyond the author’s scholarly field) who may not be familiar with the issue and context. As with all submissions to Africa Today, the editors will only consider pieces that have not been published or submitted elsewhere.

Contributions to In the Now are not sent for external peer review, but are reviewed internally by our editors, thereby bypassing the lengthy peer-review process.

Contributions should be 1,500–2,500 words in length. They do not require cover pages or abstracts, and references to the author do not need to be removed from the manuscript. In all other respects, please ensure they are formatted in accordance with our author guidelines.

 

In Dialogue

In Dialogue is a feature also introduced in issue 67.1. It is a space for a conversation on and engagement with recent articles (preferably those published within the last five years). Contributions should be in the form of short critical reflections or perspectives (750–1,500 words) on one of the peer-reviewed scholarly articles.

These commentaries are also reviewed internally by our editors rather than being sent for external peer review.

Just as with contributions to In the Now, they do not need cover pages, abstracts, or the removal of references to the author from the manuscript in the submission phase. Otherwise, they should be formatted according to our author guidelines.

 

For both features, the editors accept submissions in English or French. Submissions in French must be translated prior to publication. It is the author’s responsibility to arrange for translation and assume associated expenses. Authors may be granted rights to publish the French version of their contribution elsewhere as long as it references the published English version in Africa Today.