McIlvainea Instructions to Authors

McIlvainea, the Journal of American Mycology, is published by the North American Mycological Association (NAMA). Beginning with Volume 18 in 2009, publication will be as an online journal. McIlvainea accepts original and review articles on all aspects of fungi. Articles with color photographs, illustrations, keys to genera and species, and notes of interest on rare and unusual fungi are especially welcome.

The editors welcome material for publication from members of NAMA as well as nonmembers. Articles should be knowledgeable, well illustrated, and aimed at an informed but not necessarily specialist readership. There are no length requirements. There are no page charges to publish in McIlvainea. Articles will be published in the approximate order of acceptance and will be posted as soon as practical after acceptance. There is one volume per year, generally announced in the spring, and articles are added throughout the year.

Published content of McIlvainea is under copyright, and permission for reproduction must be obtained by application in writing to the editors. The editors reserve the right to edit manuscripts for clarity of expression and to conform to journal style and the limits of the space available.

Submission of Manuscripts

Submit manuscripts to the editor as Microsoft Word documents (some other word processing formats may be acceptable; consult editor first) as an email attachment.

Manuscripts will be reviewed by at least one reviewer. The editor will make the final decision on acceptance.

Send manuscripts to Laura Juszczak, [email protected].

Style and Formatting

• Text should be submitted in a readable size and font with minimal formatting for easy online posting. Submitted format (often static) may not always correspond to final online format that varies with browser size. (Consulting the editor may help you avoid unnecessary formatting headaches.)
• Use paragraph breaks in lieu of tabs or multiple spaces and only one space after end-sentence punctuation. (See exception for keys.)
• Authors are urged to have at least one or more colleagues read and criticize the manuscript prior to submitting it.
• Manuscripts requiring extensive alterations by the editor will be returned to the author for correction.
• Authors should consult the most current editions of Merriam-Webster, Scientific Style and Format, and the Chicago Manual of Style, in addition to the McIlvainea style suggestions below.

Title page. The first page should include a reasonably short title, the author or authors’ names, and email addresses.

Abstract. Major articles should start with a brief abstract of up to 200 words as a single paragraph, followed by key words so the gist of the report can appear in the several abstracting periodicals that list McIlvainea. The abstract must stand alone and be informative without the need for reference to the text.

Scientific names of genera and species must be in italics. Vernacular names (e.g., an ascomycete, both gasteromycetes, the agarics, several tremellas, etc.) should not start with a capital letter.

Numerals under 10 should be spelled out in descriptive text; numbers above 10 appear as arabic numerals. Numbers indicating count or measurement (including those below 10) are displayed as numerals. Consult Scientific Style and Format for other specific number-related questions.

Typography. Use smart quotes. Pay attention to dashes, en-dashes, and em-dashes—and use them correctly to maintain readability and consistency.

Keys must be dichotomous, the couplets numbered, and block-indented. Leads of first couplet begin at the left margin, as do those of third, fifth, etc. Leads of second (fourth, sixth, etc.) are tab-indented equal to five spaces.

Tables should have a caption and be clearly labeled. Tables should be numbered consecutively and referred to in the text in the order presented.

Figures may be line illustrations (figures, charts, graphs, and drawings), or photographs (black-and-white or color) and should be referred to in the text in the order presented. Illustrations and photographs copied via scan should be reproduced at 1,000 dpi and 300 dpi, respectively. Figure legends must be self-explanatory. For microscopic features, scale should be provided.

Literature Cited. Authors are to format all references and citations according to the style given in 'The Chicago Manual of Style Online’ freely available at https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide/citation-guide-2.html. Citations in the text should use the author-date style. References should be listed at the end of the paper in alphabetical order according to the lead author’s last name. For multiple authors, please use ampersand instead of “and,” and reverse initials for first author only. The citation must include the full title of the paper and its source (journal title unabbreviated, volume number, publication year, pages; book including author(s)/editor(s), publisher; etc). All references must be cited in the text. The principal author is responsible for accuracy of the references.

Accuracy. The editors cannot perform substantial fact checks and may reject manuscripts where spot-checking reveals accuracy concerns. Exercise caution when writing from memory; look up the correct (or preferred) names and spellings of all proper nouns. (Ex: Is what everyone calls “Asheville medical hospital” actually Mountain Area Family Health Center? Get it right.)