Middle East Research and Information Project: Critical Coverage of the Middle East Since 1971

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Middle East Report is a digital quarterly publication. Each issue addresses themes, topics and events, focusing on the contemporary Middle East and North Africa. Members of our editorial committee decide on the themes and solicit articles in advance for the issue. We will occasionally run a call for pitches, where authors can submit ideas for a coming issue. An issue may also include short pieces, interviews, translations, reviews and dispatches. 

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Format

 Middle East Report (MER) Articles

  • Articles that appear in Middle East Report are solicited in advance by an issue’s editorial team to address a particular theme or topic. Occasionally, editors will choose to run an article submitted independently.
  • Articles generally range from 1,000-3,000 words depending on the theme and available word count of the issue. Editors will provide authors with a timeline for submission and guide them through the editorial process.
  • Articles should be original, deeply informed and researched and concise but without using formulaic or highly academic scaffolding such as extensive theoretical or methodological references. Moreover, they should be written in a narrative style that is accessible to general readers.
  • All submissions will go through a thorough and rigorous review process to ensure accuracy, quality analysis and broad readability. Articles are also carefully reviewed and edited by MERIP staff editors. We rarely publish articles in their first iteration; rather, revisions based on reviews are standard, as are edits for MER style.

Interviews

  • MERIP publishes interviews with well-known persons or with those who can give expression to popular sentiment on matters of importance in the region.
  • Interview authors must transcribe, edit, condense and even rearrange the interview to bring out the most important elements.
  • Interview authors should provide a paragraph (deck) to go before the interview, which briefly describes the interviewee and the subject of the interview and where, when and how the interview took place.
  • 1,000-3,000 words
  • Interviews are typically edited and condensed for publication through a two-part editorial process.

Reviews & Review Essays

  • MERIP offers critical assessments and reflections on books, films, exhibits, teaching materials and other pieces of cultural production that address MERIP’s areas of focus. Topics of interest include popular struggles, political economy, state power, social hierarchies, history and foreign policy in the Middle East and North Africa.
  • Reviews and Review Essays are written and edited for a general audience (rather than specialists). We will occasionally publish “Editor’s Bookshelf” review essays offering brief reviews of recent books and other items.
  • Reviews: 500-2000 words. Review Essays: 2000-4000 words. Editor’s Bookshelf: approximately 1000 words.
  • Publishers wishing to contact us about upcoming works should email us at reviews [at] merip [dot] org

Dispatches

  • MERIP dispatches report recent news that has not already been widely covered and result from ongoing or recent experience. They should present a story in a detailed way, with first-hand material and a feel for the place in question. They can also provide a compelling update regarding a development or location.
  • Pitches for unsolicited dispatches will be considered if the material suggested for review is of interest to our editors and a non-specialist audience.
  • 1,000 to 2,000 words

Illustrations

  • MERIP is interested in building partnerships with artists and independent media initiatives to promote creative visual work from around the world. We also publish photos, cartoons, maps or line drawings. Submissions should be high-resolution. Illustrations supplied by authors must come with permission granted from the photographer or artist for one-time use in the magazine or on the website. The editors reserve the right to illustrate all MER features as they choose. If you are interested in visual collaborations with us email editor [at] merip [dot] org.
Style
  • We seek clear, direct, engaging writing that fits our public-facing style. We will edit out formulaic academic writing.

    MERIP articles are geared for a wide readership, including academics, professionals, activists, journalists and the informed general public.  All submissions undergo a rigorous review process to ensure accuracy, quality analysis and broad readability. We do not typically publish articles in their first iteration.

  • Capture readers’ attention in the lead paragraphs rather than through a lengthy buildup; make sure to make clear the point of the writing early in the piece.
  • Keep sentences short, crisp and in the active voice–we will edit out passive voice in most situations.
  • Avoid jargon and unfamiliar acronyms.
  • Identify all acronyms and people.
  • Avoid signposting (e.g., “This article argues that,” “as I show below”) and other conventions of academic prose. Resist the temptation to mention the concepts of theoreticians unless they are central to the argument of the article. In such cases, the concepts should be explained with concrete illustration.
  • The first person should be avoided unless necessary to a particular point. Expect the editors to rewrite aggressively to eliminate it.
  • Heads and subheads should be succinct and jargon-free; if they are not, expect the editors to make them so. Heads and subheads are the editors’ prerogative.
  • End-notes should be used very sparingly to identify the source of a fact or interpretation that is not commonly known. Do not use end-notes to convey extra information; if the information is important, it should be in the main text. Do not use end-notes to direct the reader to additional reading or alternatives to the interpretations advanced in the article. If such alternative interpretations are worth mentioning, they should be in the main text.
  • MER does not print bibliographies or in-text references.
  • MER generally uses the International Journal of Middle East Studies system for transliteration of Arabic, Hebrew, Persian and Turkish.
  • Please include a one-sentence description of how you would like to be identified in the biographical note that will appear with your article.
  • In general, refer to the Chicago Manual of Style on questions of mechanics and usage. 
Copyright & Compensation
  • Middle East Report holds the copyright for all articles published in our pages, unless special arrangement is made prior to publication.
  • Requests for reprint permission should be sent to editor [at] merip [dot] org.
  • Middle East Report does not republish material that has appeared elsewhere in English.
  • Everything published on MERIP’s website is available open access. We pay a modest discretionary fee for contributions from freelance writers.
Editorial Policy
  • EDITORIAL POLICY:  MERIP article submissions undergo a rigorous review process to ensure accuracy, quality analysis and broad readability. As an independent and critical publication, we seek submissions of any kind that address contemporary political, economic, social and cultural
    power relations in the contemporary Middle East, the role of the United States and other outside powers and popular struggles in the region.
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