Writing a book review for Law & Society Review

There are book reviews, and there are book reviews. Have you ever read a book review that really sparkles? That illuminates a book by placing it in a wider literature? That sheds light on its real value and intellectual contribution? That pushes beyond the book into new directions for future research?

Books are an incredibly important part of fostering intellectual engagement in the field of law and society. Scholars write book reviews for several reasons. Substantively, book reviews are a marker of generous intellectual engagement, a sign that we build on each other’s work, that we enjoy celebrating publishing achievements, and that we like to critically engage with the work of others by probing its strengths and its limits.

Have you ever wondered, though, how book reviews get through to publication? Below we demystify the process of having your book reviewed or of being a reviewer.

In terms of format, we receive short form reviews (1,000-2,000 words) or long form review essays (4,000-5,000 words). The latter would be expected to place the book in the wider context of a scholarly literature, debate or area of research.

We are particularly keen to hear about books published by publishers beyond Global North publishers, and written by scholars from the Global South. We not only seek to feature the best of international research in the field, but also the latest outstanding work on American law and society.

Here are some FAQ that you may find useful, depending on whether you are an author, publisher or potential reviewer.

I am an author of a book. What details should I send you about my book to be considered for review in LSR?

Please send us an email at lsr@lawandsociety.org with the relevant details – title, abstract, link to the website, and most importantly, a name and email address of the publisher who we can contact to obtain a copy of the book. We encourage you to recommend three possible reviewers, but please note these need to be people who can independently and fairly assess the merits of the book. Conflicts of interest should be avoided or made explicit.

I am a publisher. How do I inform you know about a book we are publishing?

Please send us an email with the relevant details – title, abstract, link to the website, and whether you are able to provide the reviewer with an e-version and/or hardcopy. Again, we encourage you to recommend three possible reviewers.

I am a scholar who would like to review a book. What should I do?

There are two options. The easiest is if you identify a book in your field that you would be well-placed to review. Send us an email with a brief overview of your expertise, and about the book, and why the book is a good fit for LSR. The other option is to send us an email expressing your interest in reviewing books in your field. Please keep in mind we are limited in time and resources, and so may not be able to match you with a forthcoming book.

What kind of books does LSR aim to review?

A guide to whether a book is a good fit to be reviewed by LSR is to ask whether the methods, approach, theory or debates that the book addresses are reflected in articles previously published by LSR. LSR aims to feature books that make a contribution to the field of law and society and therefore are of interest to an LSR readership.

Do you accept reviews of edited volumes or only monographs?

LSR values the work and labor that goes into sole-authored monographs. For this reason, LSR only publishes reviews of sole-authored monographs, or monographs with a small number of authors where all authors have clearly made a substantial contribution to the book. We are unable to accept proposals for reviews of edited books, or of books with large numbers of authors.

How long will it take for you to get back to me if I contact you?

We will plan to review proposals for book reviews every month (with a break over December).

What if I have a conflict of interest with the author/reviewer/publisher?

We ask that authors/reviewers either confirm that they have no conflict of interest with the author/reviewer, or that they declare any potential conflict of interest and clarify how it has been managed or why they are still able to write the review. For example, book editors of a series would not be asked to write a book review of a book they have selected for their series

We seek to do our best to manage conflicts of interest in the reviews we solicit. If one of the book review editors has a conflict of interest with an author/reviewer, and the other book review editor, or an editor of LSR, will be responsible for that review.

In need of tips for how to write a book review?

We encourage you to read book reviews already published in LSR as a good example of the style and format. You may also want to see this advice on tips for academic book reviews.

How do I submit my book review to the journal?

LSR does not accept unsolicited book reviews. If you have been invited to write a book review by the journal's Book Review Editors please follow LSR's general instructions for Preparing your materials and only submit your book review following the Submitting your materials instructions when instructed to by a member of the team.

Disclaimer: please note that the number of book reviews we publish is limited by space, but also by the willingness, generosity and availability of scholars to review books. Our decisions to commission and, upon review, accept for publication a draft book review is shaped by the mission and vision of the LSR and the types of scholarship it values and seeks to promote. Occasionally, we may need to decline to publish a draft book review, or to decline a request to have a book reviewed such as where the book does not fit within the parameters of LSR, or where suitable reviewers are not available.