Friday, December 6, 2013

The New England Quarterly Seeks an Editor

The New England Quarterly Inc., the administrative governing board of The New England Quarterly, invites inquiries from individuals interested in editing and colleges, universities, or cultural organizations interested in hosting the journal as of 1 July 2015, when the current editor steps down. The directors of NEQ Inc. will consider any viable arrangement (multiple editors, a partnership among multiple institutions, the participation of independent scholars, etc.) that advances the mission of the journal to publish the best that is being written about New England literature, history, and culture and their relation to the United States and the world. Our search is nationwide.

A storied journal with nearly a century of uninterrupted publication, The New England Quarterly was founded at Harvard University in 1928 as a multidisciplinary contribution to the emerging American studies movement. It resided at Bowdoin College from 1945 until 1981, when it moved to Northeastern University. As its subtitle announces, NEQ is A Historical Review of New England Life and Letters. Although it publishes most widely in the fields of American history (political, social, intellectual, religious, economic) and literature, NEQ also includes art and architectural history. Embracing and eclectic in its approach to the study of New England, the journal is not restricted to any particular time period. Recent issues have featured essays rooted in African American and Native American studies; women’s, gender, and sexuality studies; disability studies; environmental studies; book history and print culture; politics; law; and religion.

“Each new generation must rewrite history from its own point of view,” the journal’s founding editors wrote in the NEQ’s first issue. After its long-lived and successful runs at Bowdoin and Northeastern, the NEQ is well poised to accept the stamp of a new generation and to broadcast new points of view. NEQ has a loyal subscriber base and readership, and its electronic usage statistics are robust. With a stable corporate structure and a healthy stream of revenues and donations, the NEQ is financially secure; the next editor will have a generous and creative partner in NEQ Inc.

Individuals interested in serving as editor or coeditor of NEQ should address their preliminary inquiries to the NEQ Transition Team, c/o Sarah Hudson, The New England Quarterly, 249 Meserve Hall, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, or at neq@neu.edu, no later than 1 February. A comprehensive packet of information is available for those seriously considering this exceptional opportunity. The deadline for receipt of final proposals (one electronic file and two hardcopies, addressed as above), including an institution’s initial, nonbinding offer of support, is 15 March 2014. The transition team will vet applications and send the most promising to NEQ Inc.’s Directors, who will negotiate final terms.

For more information, visit NEQ’s website at http://www.northeastern.edu/neq/ and our current content hosted by our publisher, MIT Press Journals, at http://www.mitpressjournals.org/loi/tneq. NEQ is also available via JSTOR.