The Association of Women Surgeons is delighted to announce that our next annual issue of The American Journal of Surgery (AJS) highlighting work by AWS members will begin publishing articles online in January 2027.

*The AWS AJS abstract submission is separate from the Starr Research Forum Abstract submission for the 2026 Annual Conference.*

Authors will be notified of their selection or rejection by the AWS by June 2026. Those invited to submit a manuscript will receive an automated invitation from the AJS for submission through the Editorial Manager ® (EM) online system. All further engagement in the process will be through the EM system only. Final manuscripts with all supplemental materials must be submitted by the date provided (TBD). Late submissions will not be accepted. Manuscripts not adhering to the journal guidelines for authors will be rejected without review so please follow those instructions carefully.

The manuscripts will then go through a formal peer-review process with the majority of reviewers also being AWS members. Manuscripts with high potential for publication will be offered a chance for revisions by a specific date. Corresponding authors as indicated in the EM submission system will be notified on final decisions for the AWS issue of the AJS. Please note that the AJS may offer rejected manuscripts for this special issue an opportunity for publication in a different issue of the AJS or a sister journal.

The abstract submission period for the 2027 edition is now closed.

Read below for information about the process for future submissions.

AJS Abstract Submission Guidelines

We encourage you to submit your best scientific work for peer review and possible publication in our annual issue. Please note that we generally do not accept review articles or commentaries given the high volume of competitive original scientific works we receive every year. We would like to outline the process to make it as user-friendly as possible. Please carefully review this announcement before proceeding.

In order to be considered for the annual issue, you must 

• Submit an abstract that will be reviewed by the Editorial Team consisting of experienced AWS members.
• Selected abstracts will be offered the opportunity to submit a full manuscript.
• Abstract should consist of four paragraphs labeled:

1. Background,
2. Methods,
3. Results, and
4. Conclusions

• Word limit is absolute and abstracts should NOT exceed 150 words.
• Abstracts that do not adhere to this format or word count will not be reviewed.
• Case reports are not eligible for submission and will not be considered.
• Please submit only one abstract per first author / senior author pair. Additional abstracts by the same pair will not be considered.
• Tables and figures may not be included in your abstract submission.
• At least one author must be a current member of AWS in good standing.
• Abstracts should be uploaded along as a PDF at this link below no later than 11:59 PM Eastern on April 30, 2026. The pdf should include the full abstract including author names and affiliations along with the abstract text

The abstract submission period for the 2027 edition is now closed.

Additional details and the Call for Abstracts will be available in Spring 2027.