The Journal of Appalachian Studies announces a special two-year forum on sustainable economic development in Appalachia, starting with the journal’s Spring 2016 (Vol 22, No 1) issue and ending with the Fall 2017 (Vol 23, No 2) issue.

We invite the submission of manuscripts dealing with practices relevant to sustainable economic development in Appalachian communities. We will consider a wide-range of scholarship from a variety of disciplines and applied fields. Manuscripts focusing on economic development theory, empirical and/or applied research, or narrative essays on development issues will be welcome. We also seek research, which compares Appalachia to other regions in the world.

Scholars are encouraged to submit papers addressing, but not limited to, the following topics:

Tourism and development
Social capital, trust, politics, and development
Infrastructure Broadband and technology
Education, labor, capital, and development
Funding community and economic development
Entrepreneurship
Place-based development
Local food movements
Downtown development
Local currency
Land ownership
Environmental capital and sustainable development
Gender and development
Taxes and development
The creative class in Appalachia
Vision-building
Public participation methods
Health care and its effects on development
Globalization
The Commons
Privatization and neoliberalism
Cooperatives, non-profits, employee-owned business
Credit, access to capital
Out- and in-migration and development
Social change, policy and movements

The deadline for manuscripts to be considered for publication for the Spring 2016 issue is July 1, 2015. The deadline for the Fall 2016 issue is February 1, 2016; the Spring 2017 deadline is July 1, 2016; and the Fall 2017 issue deadline is February 1, 2017.

Articles should be submitted electronically to the JAS online manuscript submission portal. This secure, personalized resource will allow you to track your manuscript through each step of the review and acceptance process. To begin, visit the Journal’s submission site below:

http://appalachianstudies.org/journal/submissions.php

Submissions should be double-spaced and numbered in Times New Roman, 12 point font.
Please follow the word count limits below:

• Articles: should be between 5,000 – 7,000 words including notes, citations, and references.
Submitted manuscripts need not follow the Journal’s format for references, notes, etc.; however, once accepted for publication, manuscripts must be reformatted according to the Journal’s specifications.

Questions about the forum and/or the review process should be directed to the Journal’s Editor Dr. Shaunna Scott at shaunna.scott@uky.edu or to the Forum’s Special Editor Dr. Will Hatcher at william.hatcher@eku.edu.