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Creating your Pitch
Please first read the guidelines which you can access at this link (opens in new window): Pitch Guidelines.
How Many Pitches Should I Submit?
We would like you to submit two pitches. We will help you select the better one.
Pitch Format
Please submit your pitches in the following format (there are two sample pitches at the bottom of the page):
Working Title. Select a suitable working title. The final title will be chosen by the editorial staff.
Big Idea.
Reveal Statement. What is your scholarly, critical insight? This is normally one sentence.
Wider Implications. What is the broader significance of this insight? Please use around 100 words.
Evidence. List using bullet points the evidence for your Big Idea in your own words (rather than references to academic sources).
Ready to Submit?
Check that you are able to answer ‘yes’ to all the following questions before submitting.
✅ I have read and understood the Pitch Guidelines.
✅ My pitches are in the three-section format outlined above.
✅ I am submitting two pitches.
👉 Submit your pitches here:
Visit the Pitch Submission Page to upload your pitches.
Sample Pitches (click to expand)
Sample One
Working Title : Going in Circles: The Bicycle in The Third Policeman
Big Idea :
Reveal Statement : Flann O’Brien’s metaphor of the bicycle in ‘The Third Policeman’ serves as a satirical commentary on Ireland’s colonial legacy.
Wider Implications : O’Brien’s satire exposes a broader critique of post-independence Ireland, highlighting a nation hampered by bureaucratic stagnation and resistance to societal change.
Evidence: I will present the following evidence:
The cyclical structure of the plot, mirroring the repetitive motion of a bicycle wheel, symbolises the stagnation of post-independence Ireland.
The policemen’s anxiety when bicycle-related crimes disrupt their routines highlights their discomfort with breaking away from inherited colonial practices.
The exaggerated police focus on bicycles critiques minimal colonial investment in infrastructure.
Sample Two
Working Title : Place-names and the ‘twilight of half-knowledge’ of Anglo-Saxon paganism.
Big Idea
Reveal Statement : Analysis of the Old English terms hearg and weoh reveals their strong associations with Anglo-Saxon pagan shrines.
Wider Implications : In the absence of archaeological or written evidence the study of place-names can provide an insight into lost cultures.
Evidence: I will present the following evidence:
I will show how the Old English hearg became harewe in Middle English, before subsequently becoming harrow in Modern English.
I will also show how the Old English wīg became wye in Modern English.
I will then show that hearg is often used in conjunction with a second place-name element meaning ‘hill’ or ‘high place’, and this helps us to hypothesise that hearg places were probably locations where the Anglo-Saxons worshipped their pagan gods.
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