Would you like to write for The Thinker?
To submit to The Thinker please download the PDF form below and submit a completed form along with your submission to thethinker@uj.ac.za
All submissions should be between 2000 and 6000 words, use Harvard Style referencing and be submitted as an MS word file.
Editorial Process
To merit consideration for publication, a paper should conform to the high standards that have been established over many years in this publication. Articles should reflect the qualitative findings of the research on Africa in interesting ways. Articles submitted for peer review in The Thinker cannot be submitted for peer review elsewhere at the same time.
Peer Review Process
All articles will firstly be checked for plagiarism prior to a field specific review. The initial manuscript will be reviewed by a minimum of two referees (double blind review) who will recommend acceptance, provisional acceptance with revision, or rejection. Where appropriate and applicable, the referees’ comments and suggestions will be sent to the corresponding author so that the paper can be revised. After revision, papers must be returned to the Editor to ensure that all recommended changes have been carried out to the satisfaction of the referees and the Publications Committee. In some cases, further or field-specific review would be required.
The Thinker charges author page fees for publication to ensure that Open Access is available to all readers.
Manuscripts submitted for consideration for publication will be scanned for potential plagiarism before publication using iThenticate software. Similarity reports will be reviewed on an individual basis.
Our Growing Audience
The Thinker fills a gap which we identified, between academic publications and very superficial newspaper journalism, where people can be given a chance to discuss issues in greater depth but perhaps in simpler language. Our target market includes the following categories:
• Intellectuals, students and staff, in the world of academia
• Political party leaders and activists
• Trade union leaders and activists
• Business leaders
• Senior and middle management in the public and private sector
• Communicators in arts, culture and other media.
Since we published our first issue in March 2009, with a ground breaking interview with President Zuma and former President Thabo Mbeki, we have established a firm niche market. The Thinker is recognised and accepted as a journal promoting critical socio-political, socio-economic and international analysis and information. From the beginning it has had some well-known analysts and intellectuals contributing. No contributor gets paid.
From the outset we have sought to encourage young Africans to write and be active participants in public discourse, debate and exchange of ideas. We believe that we provide a vital space for people to express their views. Over the first four years we included contributions from about 60 young black writers, some of whom had never previously had their work published. This excludes the contributions to our ‘Readers’ Forum’, as well as the ‘Creative Lens’, which are also receiving increasing support. Poetry from forty different writers was published in the first four years.