Mapping the Impossible
Mapping the Impossible is an open-access student journal publishing peer-reviewed research on fantasy and the fantastic.
We welcome submissions from undergraduate and postgraduate students (and from those who have graduated within the last year) from any higher education institution. We publish articles on any aspect of fantasy and the fantastic and any work within this transmedial genre. Increasingly, students from more established disciplines (including literature studies, game studies, film and television studies, media studies, philosophy and theology, etc.) elect to write essays on a fantasy-related topic that intersects with their primary discipline.
Mapping the Impossible accepts academic papers between 3,000 and 5,000 words in length, including references but excluding bibliographies. Along with your paper, we ask you to submit a 300–500-word abstract, and a 100-word biography. Please attach these to an e-mail as separate Word documents, each clearly labelled with your name. For instance, TerryPratchettSubmission.docx, TerryPratchettAbstract.docx, TerryPratchettBiography.docx.
Please note that we ask for your paper to conform to the Mapping the Impossible style guide when you submit (https://fantasy-research.gla.ac.uk/index.php/style-guide/). Your paper should also be anonymized as far as possible when you submit it (except for the file name!), as per our double-anonymous review policy.
When you’re ready to submit, send your e-mail to journal.for.fantasy@gmail.com with the subject line “Submission – [your name][date of submission].” You will receive a confirmation e-mail within seven days, confirming we have received your submission.
Mapping the Impossible operates with a rolling submissions window, meaning that we are always open to submissions for our general issues.
While we do not offer full payment for papers at Mapping the Impossible, we are pleased to be able to provide a small, token reward for each paper we publish. For more details, visit https://fantasy-research.gla.ac.uk/index.php/rewarding_research/.