Author Guidelines

Manuscripts should be submitted via the Free & Equal website and must be the author’s original work. Submission is taken to imply that the manuscript has not been previously published and is not under review elsewhere. We do not accept revisions of articles that have been previously submitted to the journal and rejected without an invitation to resubmit.

We welcome submissions of the following types:

Full-Length Articles: Full-length articles should ordinarily be less than 12,000 words, including all text, notes, and references. Longer submissions may be returned to the author. The journal will occasionally publish replies to pieces published elsewhere, with strong preference given to replies to pieces previously published in this journal. Submissions of this kind should include a subtitle containing the word “reply,” and should clearly identify the previously published work with which the piece is in conversation.

Short Articles: Short articles can develop their own argument, or they can reply to a previously published article. Short articles should ordinarily be no more than 4,000 words, including all text, notes, and references. Short articles need not contain the comprehensive set of references and bibliography one would expect in a full-length article.

Critical Exchanges: We welcome the submission of dual articles from pairs of scholars whose papers are in conversation or debate with one another on a common topic. The articles should normally be submitted together and will be reviewed by the same Associate Editor(s). For purposes of anonymity, any cross-references between the articles may refer to “Redacted 1” in place of the first author’s name and “Redacted 2” in place of the second author’s name. Critical Exchange articles should normally be under 12,000 words.

Review Essays: We welcome the submission of long-form review essays about recent books, essays about multiple articles or books on a common philosophical theme, or essays that highlight developments in other disciplines that warrant philosophical attention. Review essays should articulate an original thesis, developing a critical or constructive position, or highlighting philosophical implications of the work discussed, rather than merely providing an overview of existing literature as a conventional book review would do. We anticipate that review essays will be no longer than 12,000 words and usually considerably shorter: in general, 7000–9000 words is a good rule of thumb.

Free & Equal uses triple-anonymous review, meaning that authors and reviewers remain anonymous, and the Editor-in-Chief also does not know the author’s identity. To facilitate triple-anonymous review, please remove identifying information from the manuscript, including acknowledgements. To avoid compromising anonymous review, please send all communication to Ophelia Vedder, our Editorial Assistant, who will forward queries in anonymized form to the Editor and Managing Editor and handle all journal correspondence.

Manuscript Preparation

All submissions to the journal must be in English. Submissions for review should be fully anonymized and double-spaced. Any acknowledgements should be removed and self-citations redacted. Please provide an abstract of no more than 200 words with your submission. You may submit your manuscript using any standard format. However, accepted articles must be formatted with footnotes that comply with Chicago Manual of Style guidelines. A link to these guidelines can be found here. The journal uses US spelling.