Guide for Book Review Contributors

Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ) is an Istanbul-based quarterly journal dedicated to fostering original thinking and constructive policy debates on Turkey and its neighborhood. In our efforts to continue proving our global audiences with nuanced and cutting-edge analyses on topical developments in the region, TPQ is now inviting submissions for book reviews.

Content Requirements of a Book Review

LENGTH: 1,500-2,500 words

a) Briefly provide informative about the author/editor and some reference to the genre and field if appropriate.

b) Briefly summarize the main arguments/theses of the book in question.

c) The main body of the piece should be opinion-driven and comment on and evaluate (in the opinion of the reviewer) the author’s points, as well as provide evidence to support this evaluation.

d) A statement about the book’s place in a wider field – other books of the same genre or books taking up the same topic – is encouraged.

e) An analysis of the book’s strengths and weaknesses with example of each from the text.

f) A conclusion

Style Requirements

Book reviews must be original (no reprints) and in English. We strongly recommend non-native speakers have their articles edited by a native English speaker before submitting to TPQ – this will greatly increase the likelihood of the piece being published.

Please limit repetition of points in the review. Lively, policy-oriented language and style are favored.

Format

1st page: Should include:

• The article’s title: should appear as “Book Review: Title of the book” in Times New Roman 20; capital letters, bold and centered.
• The abstract: should be in Times New Roman 12; italic and justified
• The author’s name: should be in Times New Roman 18; bold and centered; the author’s identity should be explained in a footnote on the same page, which will be highlighted with the symbol “*”, not with numbers as the other footnotes; this footnote should be max 3 lines long, and preferably should describe the author’s current title. Educational background/info is only provided in current title when the author is either currently studying or has earned a PhD.

Example: John Smith* [then below the footnote *]

Headings: Should be in bold, italics, upper and lower case. Sub-headings should be in italics [not in bold], upper and lower case.

Please do not start your article with a subheading such as Introduction.

Margins and paragraphs: top and bottom→ 2cm, left margin→ 3cm, right margin→1,5cm; single spacing between the lines; the paper should be in Times New Roman 12, justified; leave an empty line between 2 paragraphs, 1 empty line between 1 sub-parts of the article; use a single space after full stops, not double space.

Spelling: American spelling and punctuation should be used throughout.

Numbers: Numbers from one to ten should be spelled out; other numbers should be given as numerals. Dates should be in the form 18 April 2004; 1994–98; the 1990s. Use “percent” rather than %.

Foreign words: put all foreign words in italic; for foreign language titles in the text or in the footnotes follow the rules in the FOOTNOTES section of this sheet.

Dates: 18 April 1976, not April 18, 1976. Use this system in references as well. Use 19th Century. “in his forties,” the mid-1960s (Be sure to use 1930s, not ‘30s or 30’s or thirties).

But for special dates, which are known and used in a special format, the format can change, such as “September 11.”

Shortening of years: always shorten to two digits: 1974–75 (not 1974–5) or 1974/75

(according to sense) – except 1907–8.

Capital letters: minimal use of capitals for titles and unique institutions, government,

state; but the West, Western thought; for geographical areas Western Europe, the North;

the Left but left-wing politics.

Footnotes

We do not include References or End Notes sections.

Footnotes should be numbered consecutively throughout the article, using a raised numeral in the text, to correspond to a list of notes placed at the bottom of the page.

Quoting from the book in question should appear as a footnote as opposed to in parenthesis in the text.

Use Times New Roman 10.

The only footnote which doesn’t have a number is in the first page, is indicated by a * and refers to the author.

A full stop is needed at the end of a footnote, but NOT in the footnotes ending with a link of a website.

Foreign titles in the footnotes should be either:

• put in their English version (if existing)
• translated (if we know the original language)
• asked to the author (if neither of the options above is feasible).

In either case the translation should be put in square brackets right after the original title.

Page numbering in references: contract as far as possible: pp. 22–3, 256–7, 256–84,

207–8. But be careful: use pp. 10–11, 16–17 and 210–11.

Books:

John Smith, The Book Title (New York: New York Publishing Co, 2003), p. 100.

John Smith (ed.), The Book Title (New York: New York Publishing Co, 2003), p. 100.

John Smith and Mary Jones (eds.), The Book Title (New York: New York Publishing

Co, 2003), p. 100.

Subsequent references should appear as: Smith (1999), p. 100.

Articles in a review or journal: note the sequence of volume, number, date of publication

and page reference.

John Smith, “Article Title,” Journal Name, Vol.#, No.# (Month Year), p.#.

Subsequent references should appear as: Smith (Year), p. #. If the article has more than three authors, use “Smith et al.”

John Smith, “Article Title,” in Mary Jones (ed.), Book Title (New York: New York

Publishing Co, 2003), p. 100.

Websites: John Smith, “Article Title,” Name of the Website, Date (if available),

www.sitename.com

Remember to check the correct working of the link!

Speeches: Samuel Huntington, “Culture, Power, and War: What Roles for Turkey in the

New Global Politics,” speech given on 24 May 2005, Istanbul.

Newspapers: “Loğoğlu calls for Iran-US talks,” Turkish Daily News, 21 December 2005.

If the note is referring to an unpublished work, conversation, and/or conference, provide (if available) information regarding the full name, session number and included parties.

Submission: All book review submissions should be e-mailed as Microsoft Word attachments to editor@turkishpolicy.com. Your e-mail should be clearly marked with the subject “TPQ Book Review Submission.” Please also attach a picture of yourself (larger than 1024x768 pixels) and include your current professional title along with your contribution.