Paper Shell Review

The Paper Shell Review is the University of Maryland's annual journal of critical essays on literary topics.

Each edition of The Paper Shell Review consists of five essays by undergraduate students, selected from a pool of submissions from colleges and universities all around the world. The journal is published by and for undergraduate students at the University of Maryland.

Explore Past Editions Online

• Spring 2024
• Spring 2023
• Spring 2022
• Spring 2021
• Spring 2020
• Spring 2019
• Spring 2018
• Spring 2017
• Spring 2016
• Spring 2015
• Spring 2014
• Spring 2013
• Spring 2012
• Spring 2011

Submission Guidelines

Undergraduate students from any accredited institution of higher education may submit papers to The Paper Shell Review. Submissions are generally accepted from October to mid-February.

All papers must be double-spaced, in Times New Roman font, numbered, and formatted with one-inch margins. Submissions should be at least five pages and should not exceed 20 pages, though exceptions may be made for essays of superb quality. The Paper Shell Review is unable to publish any accompanying images included with submitted essays. Essays must follow the latest Modern Language Association style guidelines.

Submissions by a single author should not exceed three essays, and should not contain any identifiers. Manuscripts may be submitted through the Paper Shell Submissions form as a Microsoft Word attachment. The application will ask for the author's full legal name, undergraduate institution, current year (freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior), paper title, and contact information.

The journal is published in print and online on this website in May.

Membership

Membership is open to all undergraduates at the University of Maryland, College Park. To gain membership one must attend meetings and/or events regularly, with a minimum of 75% attendance. No members will be required to pay dues of any sort. PSR does not restrict membership or discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, personal appearance, age, national origin, political affiliation, physical or mental disability, or on the basis of rights secured by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.

If you are interested in being an editor for The Paper Shell Review, please send an email expressing your interest to papershellreview@gmail.com.