Limn works through curation and collaboration to produce topic-based collections where meaning emerges through dialogue, juxtaposition, and contrast. Our editorial activity organizes around issues, each of which is a project unto itself. In each issue, we cooperate with guest editors to bring together a group of contributors (scholars, artists, activists, and more) who illuminate the problem at hand from different angles. Limn is always looking for exciting pitches for issues, but we do not accept unsolicited article submissions. 

Every issue moves through a multi-step process: Pitch, Prompt, Create, Collaborate, Design, and Publish. This process takes less than a year. It is collaborative, rigorous, and quick—slightly different from your standard scholarly fare.

1. Pitch

We invite potential guest editors to pitch ideas for issues to the Limn editorial collective. This short pitch should clearly engage with our mission: curating conversations that illuminate – or limn – a contemporary problem differently. Pitches should introduce the central problem, explain your angle or intervention, and list potential contributors (ideally from a variety of fields and career stages). The editorial collective meets twice a year (January and May) to evaluate pitches for our next publication cycle. We aim to send out decisions within three weeks of the meeting.

2. Prompt

Successful pitches will be assigned an internal editor from the Limn collective, who will work with guest editors to transform their pitch into a prompt that will ultimately be sent out to prospective contributors. Serving as a catalyst of Limn’s unique mode of collaboration, the prompt is an invitation to reconceptualize or reframe the problem at hand. At this stage, the internal and guest editors will work to expand and diversify the list of contributors (typically 10–15). We expect the crafting of the prompt and list to be an iterative process spanning roughly a month of collaboration between the Limn editors and guest editors.

3. Create

Once the prompt is sent to potential contributors and invitations are accepted, the creative phase begins. To reduce turnaround time and be responsive to a world in flux, contributors have three months to draft their contributions—punchy short essays (up to 2000 words), photo projects, graphic essays, etc. Guest editors are responsible for coordinating the submissions and ushering the issue through our collaborative review process.

4. Collaborative Peer Review

Limn’s peer-review process fosters intellectual and creative exchange among editors, contributors, and reviewers. Every submission will be reviewed by (a) an outside reader who will review several contributions to the issue and (b) a member of the Limn editorial collective, using a concise reviewer form meant to generate focused, helpful feedback. Authors whose contributions are accepted for publication will then be invited to a virtual workshop, where their pieces will be read by two other contributors to the issue.  These collaborative workshops allow participants to help shape the issue as a whole and to break out into smaller clusters, consisting of an editor and several authors, to discuss the reviews and develop revision plans. To foster mentorship and accessibility, editors work with junior scholars and others individually, as needed, throughout the process. Following the workshop, authors have one month to revise their contributions. Once resubmitted, the issue editors and Limn’s copy editor engage directly to bring the pieces and collection to their final written form.

5. Design/Publish

When all contributions have been finalized, Limn’s editors and guest editors will work with our art directors and web developers to curate and lay out the print and online editions of the issue. Proofs and draft layouts will be shared with authors for input and approval before publication.