Contribute to the blog

This blog aims to showcase research and first-hand experiences of border control from those directly and indirectly subject to it, as well as from academics, students, practitioners, and policy makers. We strongly encourage you to participate!

Border Criminologies has an open call for blog contributions such as (but not limited to):

Themed posts: On issues related to border control drawn from research, practice or first-hand experience.
From the Field series: These are ‘mini-posts’ featuring news/updates/notes from those currently in the field. A good way to keep updated on current research.
Audio and images: Visuals (e.g., photographs, art, video) and soundscapes (or other audio files) you have created about border control.
News and updates: Upcoming events, new resources, recent policy developments, etc.
Article or report reviews: Brief summaries of new publications that may have wide appeal.
Opinion pieces: Express your views on recent developments or media coverage.
Book reviews: If you’re interested in reviewing books on the subject of border control, please email us with your name, position, institution, and five keywords that detail your areas of expertise. If you’d like your book reviewed at Border Criminologies, please have your publisher send a review copy to us at the address below. We’ll take it into consideration and commission a review if we find it of interest to our readers.

Interested? Here’s how: Email us with a draft title and a short summary of what you’d like to write about, as well as a short author bio (50 words max). You can also submit a draft post if you’ve developed it already. One of us will then contact you and discuss further steps and timeframe. Please keep these guidelines in mind:

Posts should be between 750 to 1000 words in length (we will accept longer posts only in special cases).
Relevant sources and background should be hyperlinked, where possible. Hyperlink references and include them conversationally not academically; for example, ‘see work by Mary Bosworth’ rather than ‘(Bosworth, 2014)’.
Please don’t use footnotes.
Posts should be written in a clear and concise manner, avoiding jargon and wordiness.
Remember that as a blog post, it’s important to appeal to a broad audience (such as readers from outside your country) so wherever possible, connect local issues to global concerns.
Visuals and audio are strongly encouraged, especially those of your own creation (and copyright).
Cross-posting or publication on other platforms is permissible only with the permission of the Editors of the blog and with a link back to the original article.
An accompanying picture should be attached to illustrate the post. Please consult our policy on image use.

Editorial Policies

While the editorial board of Border Criminologies is committed to working with authors to facilitate publication where possible, we cannot guarantee that all blogs submitted will be published. We will only publish work that our editors deem to be of high quality and that comply with the guidelines set out on this page. The editorial team reserves the right to edit content, spelling, grammar, etc. upon approval from the author and the right to reject a blog post after two rounds of edits. After final edits are made and the post is approved, we will put your post in the guest blog post queue. We publish 2-3 blog posts a week and the blog post queue is anywhere from 2-3 weeks at any point in time. The calendar is subject to change, so guest posts will sometimes need to be rescheduled.

Once the post is published, remember to get involved and share with others: Border Criminologies aims to promote dialogue and debate. We encourage you to watch for comments and enter into the discussion. Expand your readership by sharing your post with friends and colleagues. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions relating to the webpage and your possible involvement in it.

Thank you for your interest in the Border Criminologies blog. We look forward to your contribution!

P.S. You can also contact us through the mail at: Border Criminologies, University of Oxford, Centre for Criminology, St Cross Building, St Cross Road, Oxford OX1 3UL. Or call us on +441865 274455 and leave a message. Someone will get back to you.