Manuscript Submission Portal for Fall 2026 Edition Opens: February 1, 2026

Research and Pedagogical Articles Submission Deadline for Fall 2026 Edition: June 1, 2026

Creative Works and All Other Submissions Deadline: July 31, 2026

Submission Types OJELA Welcomes

Please see below for the different types of submissions OJELA welcomes.

Manuscript Evaluation Criteria: Regardless of submission type, each submission will be evaluated for the following criteria by peer reviewers and/or the editorial team when making manuscript acceptance decisions: (1) Relevance and interest to OJELA's audience; (2) Alignment with OCTELA's mission to promote best practices, support teacher leaders, and provide resources that support diverse literacies, classrooms, and students; (3) As applicable to the submission type, well-supported by cited connections to relevant contemporary and/or seminal scholarship; and (4) As applicable to the submission type, high quality writing (including APA-formatting, strong structure and organization, and overall clear communication of purpose, argument, and ideas).  

Pedagogical Articles

These articles share practical teaching, lesson, and/or curriculum ideas. This article type offers opportunities to share teaching ideas and strategies that have worked for students in their PK-college classrooms. These articles may focus on implementing or adapting strategies learned through attendance at conferences such as OCTELA or NCTE. Be sure to cite the origins of ideas if you are adapting or building on someone else’s work. If you wish to publish student work as part of this article, please ensure you have student and parent (if student is younger than 18 years old) written permission to do so. Word Limit: 4000 words (excluding references). Please use the 7th Edition APA Style Manual when formatting your manuscript.

Research Articles 

Research articles disseminate original research findings relevant to English education. We recommend that research articles include the following: research questions, a brief theoretical framework, a brief literature review, methods (including data collection and analysis), findings, and implications for the English Language Arts community.  If you wish to publish student work as part of this article, please ensure you have student and parent (if student is younger than 18 years old) written permission to do so. Word Limit: 4000 words (excluding references). Please use the 7th Edition APA Style Manual when formatting your manuscript. 

AP Research Student-Authored Research Articles

OJELA invites AP Research students to submit revised versions of their Academic Papers from the course, prepared as an article for OJELA readers. These articles must (1) have received a score of 4 or 5 on their submission to College Board, and (2)  meet the focus and audience of OJELA by disseminating original research findings relevant to English education. Students with accepted papers should expect to make revisions to adhere to the section requirements. If accepted, they will be paired with a member of the OJELA editorial board to help them revise their papers accordingly. Word Limit: 4000 words (excluding references). Please use the 7th Edition APA Style Manual when formatting your manuscript. Note: Students under the age of 17 will need caregiver permission to publish in OJELA

Banned and/or Challenged Children's & YA Book Responses: We Read Banned Books!

In alignment with NCTEs work on intellectual freedom and their curation of book rationales to support teachers and students facing censorship and book challenges, OJELA focuses children's and young adult book response submissions for the Fall 2026 edition exclusively on challenged or banned books. When a book that we love has been challenged, we might feel sad, angry, confused, or frustrated. It can be easy to focus on what books are being accused of and to turn our attention to this censorship. While it is important that teachers understand the censorship context of books they include in their curricula and libraries, please help us shift away from this manufactured crisis perpetuated by bad actors by placing an emphasis on the books’ significance, literary value, and educational potential in your review. For this 2026 year, only response submissions responding to book challenges or book bans will be accepted for publication consideration. Submissions should include the following components:

1. A title for your Banned/Challenged Book Review
2. An APA citation for the book should be listed at the top of the page
3. Brief overview of the book being reviewed (plot, characters, themes, format)
4. Brief explanation of the book's history of being challenged/banned (feel free to reference sources) 
5. Explain the book's literary value, educational potential, and/or cultural significance value (see guiding questions below)
6. A reference page for any sources cited

Below are some questions you can consider as you write:

• Literary Value: What challenges do the characters in this book face? How do they navigate these challenges? What do the characters learn in this book? How does this book use literary devices to make the story more interesting or meaningful?

• Educational Potential: What important conversations are readers more prepared for after reading this book? How does this book help readers imagine and understand the experiences of people who are different from them? What readers may see themselves in this book? What can readers learn about themselves and the world from reading this book?

• Cultural Significance: What does this book accomplish when taken as a whole? What does this book mean to me, students, or my friends personally?

We welcome response submissions from across OJELAs readership: students, teachers, parents, pre-service educators, teacher educators, librarians, and all other investors in students' rights to read and intellectual freedom are encouraged to submit.

Word Limit: 500-1000 words. Note: Students under the age of 18 will need caregiver permission to publish in OJELA.

Important Note: If you are interested in learning more about defending young people's access to diverse literature, please check out additional advocacy opportunities through the Unite to Read Project!

Education and Literacy Book Reviews

Please do feel free to submit reviews of pedagogical books, research books, and educational theory books relevant to the field of English Language Arts education. Books reviewed and submitted for consideration of publication should be published in the last five years (2021-2026). Word Limit: 2000 words.

Interviews Featuring Voices From the Field

Interviews could feature the voices and thoughts of people who offer important perspectives on ELA education. Those interviewed could be anyone invested in ELA education. These articles could be presented in partial Question and Answer format. If this kind of article interests you, but you would like support in identifying and contacting a particular person, please contact the editor (ojela@myoctela.org). Word Limit: 2000 words.

Creative Works (Art, Photography, Creative Nonfiction...)

The OJELA editorial team also invites you to share your perspectives on English Language Arts education by submitting original prose, poetry, art, and photography. Your writing could be personal narrative, opinion, or fiction. Your artwork and photography may also be selected to be featured on the cover of the journal edition. If this kind of submission interests you, but you would like support in developing your ideas, please contact the editor (ojela@myoctela.org) for additional support.   

General Formatting Guidelines

When preparing your manuscript for submission, please:

• Ensure that the manuscript is anonymous. Replace any author names (you could use Author1, Author2 etc.) and remove any identifiable information (e.g., school name and district). 

• Use an easily readable, size 12 font (e.g. Times New Roman, Arial, Calibri, Georgia)

• Keep paragraphs fairly short to help readers easily navigate your writing

• Double-space your manuscript

• Include images, figures, and tables in manuscript with captions. 

• Format any in-text citations and references according to APA guidelines

• Save submission as a PDF for submission

Reach out to Stephanie Reid, the OJELA editor with questions at any time! (ojela@myoctela.org).