Submissions

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Author Guidelines

The Journal of the Siam Society (JSS) is an open-access, international, peer-reviewed journal that publishes original research articles, notes, review articles, and book reviews—primarily in English, with occasional contributions in French—covering a broad spectrum of disciplines related to Thai and mainland Southeast Asian studies.

  • Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in JSS are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of The Siam Society.
  • Fees: There are no author fees for any type of contribution.

To submit a contribution, kindly contact the managing editor, Dr Nicolas Revire, at journal@thesiamsociety.org. Please adhere strictly to the following guidelines when preparing your submission.

ARTICLE LENGTH

  • JSS has a soft word limit of 8,000 for research articles.
  • Submissions exceeding this limit must receive prior approval from the managing editor.
  • Shorter submissions (below 5,000 words) may be considered for publication as research notes and will undergo a lighter editorial and peer-review process.

FIGURES

  • A minimum of 1 figure is required, and a maximum of 10 figures is generally permitted per article, though 5 is generally considered an ideal compromise. Submissions exceeding this limit should either include supplementary material in an online appendix, where space is not limited, or receive prior approval from the managing editor.
  • Insert figures where appropriate within the text. Illustrations should not be submitted separately from the main manuscript.
  • Provide comprehensive captions for each figure, including a short description, date, material, location, dimensions, accession or inventory number (if relevant), and proper credit indicated by ©.
  • Authors must obtain approval from copyright holders for any material not their own.

BOOK REVIEWS

  • Book reviews should not normally exceed 2,000 words; references and footnotes should be kept to a minimum.
  • Book reviews are commissioned by the editors; unsolicited reviews are generally not accepted.
  • Longer review articles may be commissioned by the editors and may be subject to external peer review depending on their length and scope.

GENERAL STYLE GUIDE

  • Follow the Chicago Manual of Style or a similar readily available online resource, maintaining consistency.
  • Use American English spelling and style:
    • “analyze” (not “analyse”), “color” (not “colour”), “program” (not “programme”), “archeology” and “artifact” (not “archaeology” or “artefact”), etc.
    • Use a single “l” in verbs, e.g., “traveling” (not “travelling”).
  • Use “this article” rather than “this essay” or “this paper”.

CITATION STYLE

  • Use in-text citations with the author/date system for standard secondary sources (e.g., Baker & Pasuk 2013: 218–220).
  • Footnotes should be used sparingly and are primarily intended for archival materials, unpublished sources, epigraphic references, transliteration notes, and supplementary discussions that would interrupt the flow of the text.
  • Use "&" instead of “and” when referring to authors as in Baker & Pasuk.
  • A person’s initials should be written without spaces (e.g., H.G. Quaritch Wales).
  • Thai-language and other vernacular terms, names, and original source titles should, where appropriate, be accompanied by their original script (Thai, Lao, Khmer, Chinese, etc.) upon their first occurrence in the text. If needed, transcribe Thai words using the Royal Thai General System of Transcription (RTGS) and follow official place names provided by the Royal Society of Thailand.
  • Maintain consistent spelling of Thai proper names and geographical names according to local or commonly accepted usage.
  • Thai authors should be cited only by their first name, which also determines alphabetical order in the bibliography, in accordance with Thai naming conventions and local scholarly practice. If a publication is in Thai, provide dates in the Buddhist Era (BE), e.g.:

The in-text citation (Piriya 2517) refers to a publication by Piriya Krairiksh, published in 2517 BE, corresponding to 1974 CE. The full bibliographic reference should appear in the reference list as follows:

  • Piriya Krairiksh (พิริยะ ไกรฤกษ์). 2517 BE (1974 CE). พุทธศาสนนิทานที่เจดีย์จุลปะโทน [Buddhist Folk Tales Depicted at Chula Pathon Cedi]. Bangkok: Private Publisher.
  • Ensure figures, maps, tables, references, and footnote numbers are systematically checked for accuracy, consistency, and omissions.

REFERENCE LIST

All references cited must be listed at the end of the article. Examples of reference citations:

  • Journal article:
    • Baker, Chris & Pasuk Phongpaichit. 2013. Protection and Power in Siam: From Khun Chang Khun Phaen to the Buddha Amulet. Southeast Asian Studies 2(2): 215–242.
  • Books or monographs:
    • Hill, Robert D. 2012. Rice in Malaya. Singapore: NUS Press.

                  ———. 2013. Agriculture in the Malaysian Region. Singapore: NUS Press.

  • Edited volume:
    • Revire, Nicolas & Stephen A. Murphy, eds. 2014. Before Siam: Essays in Art and Archaeology. Bangkok: River Books & The Siam Society.
  • Essay in an edited volume:
    • Pattaratorn Chirapravati, ML. 2022. Phra Mae Thorani: The Earth Goddess in Modern Thai Buddhism. In Decoding Southeast Asian Art: Studies in Honor of Piriya Krairiksh, ed. by Nicolas Revire & Pitchaya Soomjinda, 370–383. Bangkok: River Books & The Piriya Krairiksh Foundation.

FORMATTING AND LAYOUT

  • Submit articles in MS Word (*.doc, .docx).
  • Left and right justified text.
  • Font:
    • Gentium Plus (size 12) for English, French, German, etc. (including headings and sub-headings).
    • K2D Light (size 11) for Thai or Lao script.
  • Include a short title (preferably no more than 30 characters).
  • Author’s affiliation and email address (preferably institutional) should appear as footnote 1 on the first page.
  • Footnotes: Size 10, justified.
  • Articles and notes must include:
    • An English abstract (approximately 100 words), placed after the title and before the main text.
    • 5–6 keywords.
  • Headings and subheadings should be used to improve readability:
    • Level A headings: 12 pt, bold, flush left, with a line space above and below
    • Level B headings: 12 pt, bold and italic, flush left, with a line space above and below.
    • Level C headings: 12 pt, italic, flush left, with a line space above and below.
  • Formatting conventions:
    • Dates: Use day month year format, e.g., 14 July 2024.
    • Centuries: Use “19th century” (not “nineteenth century”).
    • Ordinal numbers: Use “-th” (not superscript), e.g., 10th century.
    • Numbers:
      • Spell out one to ten.
      • Use numerals for 11 and above.
    • Dashes:
      • Em-dashes (—) for punctuation.
      • En-dashes (‒) (not hyphens) for date, page, and cultural ranges:
        • Examples: 18th‒19th century, pp. 125‒144, Sino‒Thai people, Mon‒Khmer period, etc.
    • Abbreviations: Use “ca.” for “circa” and “c.” for “centuries” if needed.
    • Diacritical marks must be used for Sanskrit, Pali, and other foreign terms, except where such words have entered common English usage and appear in standard English dictionaries without diacritics.
    • Quotations:
      • Block quotations: Left and right justified, separate from the main text, no quotation marks, with a line space above and below.
      • Short quotations: Use double inverted commas (“...”) within the text.
      • Quotes-within-quotes: Use single quotation marks (‘...’).
      • Punctuation is always placed outside quotation marks.
    • Paragraphs: Indent except for those immediately following a heading.

AI & LANGUAGE-EDITING TOOLS

  • The use of AI-assisted tools for language editing and proofreading is acceptable, particularly for authors who are not native English speakers. However, authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy of the content, references, translations, transliterations, and factual claims presented in their work.
  • AI tools should not be used to generate substantive content, argumentation, analysis, or references of scholarly articles. Any submission found, or reasonably suspected during the review or editorial process, to rely substantially on AI-generated content without proper disclosure and scholarly oversight may be rejected.

SUBMISSION PROCESS

  • Articles undergo an initial screening by the managing editor for language, content, and scope. If they meet minimum standards, they proceed to a double-blind peer review by two external readers.
  • The editorial team makes the final decision on acceptance or rejection.
  • For any unclear matters, refer to the latest edition of JSS or consult the managing editor.

Thank you for your attention to these guidelines. We look forward to your contributions to the Journal of the Siam Society.