About the Journal

American Periodicals, the official publication of the Research Society for American Periodicals, is devoted exclusively to scholarship and criticism relating to American magazines and newspapers of all periods. It includes essays, notes, reviews, bibliographies, and histories on all aspects of American periodicals, from the earliest 18th-century magazines to 21st-century ‘zines and e-journals. Given that America extends far beyond the borders of the US, we welcome submissions or books for review that share this elastic conception of “America” in American Periodicals. We encourage work that engages with multilingual, international, comparative, hemispheric, Global South, or other communities, publications, and traditions.

Submissions that treat topics such as editorial policy, financing, production, readership, design, illustration, and circulation of specific periodicals are welcome, as are those that explore the position of periodicals within the broader culture. In particular, we welcome articles that, like periodicals themselves, cross the boundaries of several disciplines and explore the complex ways that periodicals have shaped, and have been shaped by, American culture. Essays should be limited to 7500 words, inclusive of notes.

American Periodicals also welcomes submissions for the following regular features:

In the Archive

Essays included in In the Archive demonstrate the pleasures of studying periodicals, raise methodological concerns regarding the use of archives in periodical research, and interrogate the idea of the archive itself. We encourage the inclusion of artifacts (illustrations, facsimile reproduction of periodicals) as well as analysis that encompasses the entirety of the periodical form: illustrations, advertisements, typography, and paratextual elements, for example. Length of submissions may vary considerably, depending on the subject matter and the methodological approach chosen by the author; they should generally run between 1500-5000 words, exclusive of transcriptions.

Pedagogy & Practice

As objects embedded in cultural history, periodicals offer rich opportunities for study. Teachers at all educational levels, archivists, librarians, & catalogers, professional editors & journalists, museum curators & local historians regularly use them to teach, learn, and explore social histories. In Pedagogy & Practice, American Periodicals celebrates the joys and rewards of working with periodicals. In this regular feature, we publish essays highlighting the activities, technologies, negotiations, and collaborative processes that scholars and teachers use to explore and enjoy printed matter.

Essays in this feature might: — consider periodicals as distinctive mediums for discipline-specific educational theories and practice — detail an assignment or course that foregrounds periodicals; — describe a practitioner challenge and strategies for addressing it; — introduce readers to a lost or forgotten history or collection and describe the processes of assembling and making it available; — show readers a “behind the curtain” look at editorial or curatorial practices. In short, Pedagogy & Practice” is envisioned as a place to celebrate our collective and ongoing activities with periodicals and periodical history.

Submissions can be anywhere between 2500–5500 words long. We encourage the use of images or supplementary materials, such as syllabi, assignment sheets, publicity or exhibit information. Please indicate in your submission that the manuscript is intended for this feature.

Forum

The Forum feature presents a range of responses or a dialogue on a key question, innovation, or future direction in periodicals research. Forum organizers should submit a proposal to the editors at americanperiodicals@gmail.com prior to submission of manuscript. Proposals should: 

  1. Present an overview of the question or focus of the Forum; 
  2. Include brief (150-200 words) abstracts of proposed contributions, including names and affiliations of contributors; and
  3. Designate an organizer for the feature who will organize and collect contributions and be the primary point of communication between the editors and Forum participants. Note that racial and gender balance of the contributors should be considered for all Forum submissions.

Upon approval of the proposal, the Forum organizer may submit the complete manuscript of all contributions, comprising up to 10,000 words, for peer review.


Reviews

We publish reviews of books, editions, and digital projects. Book review guidelines

General submission requirements

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