Thematic special sections (guest editors)

Special Sections are thematic clusters of articles published within a regular issue, devoted to a well-defined topic that falls within the journal’s scope. They typically comprise 4–7 articles, preceded by an introduction (approx. 3,000 words).

Guest Editors. A Special Section is coordinated by one or two Guest Editors. All Guest Editors must be current members of SEL. Their role is to coordinate the process with the editorial office (deadlines, review follow-up, version control). They must also submit an introduction (typically 1,500–3,000 words) that presents the theme, key questions, and the collection's contribution.

Proposal. Proposals must include:
• A title and thematic rationale (aims, relevance, originality; approx. 500–800 words).
• A provisional table of contents, including:

• Titles, authors, and affiliations.
• Abstracts for each contribution (350 words)

• A proposed timeline (submission, review, revisions, final delivery).

Editorial evaluation. All contributions undergo the journal’s standard double-blind peer review process. Guest Editors may suggest reviewers, but the journal reserves the right to appoint reviewers to ensure independence and to avoid conflicts of interest. The final acceptance decision rests with the Editorial Board.

Ethics and conflicts of interest. A conflict-of-interest statement is mandatory. If a Guest Editor submits an article to the Special Section, that manuscript will be handled exclusively by the Editor(s) and reviewed independently under double-blind conditions.

Submission and formatting. Manuscripts must comply with the journal’s author guidelines (style, anonymization, and, where applicable, data and ethics statements).