Studies in the Novel: Special Issue on Joyce Carol Oates

Location: Studies in the Novel, Volume 38(4), ISSN 0039-3827
Special edition of the journal 'Studies in the Novel', edited by Cologne-Brookes.

I was approached to guest edit a volume of SITN on Joyce Carol Oates, so researched the works of all Oates scholars, past and present, and contacted not only all the major Oates scholars — all those who've written books on Oates — but other academics and writers I felt might have interesting contributions to offer, as well as promising younger scholars, including a PhD candidate, and high profile intellectuals, including two who contribute to the volume, Princeton novelist Edmund White and Harvard historian Henry Louis Gates Jr.

I then advised on appropriate angles and the need to ensure a collection that spread across her (vast) oeuvre; set deadlines for entries; kept in touch about progress; collected, edited and at times advised on reshaping contributions, and generally conducted correspondence with each contributor to ensure a smooth publication. Contributors came from a variety of international backgrounds, but were mostly American.