Everything authors need to prepare, format, and submit a manuscript to PublicPast.
PublicPast publishes original scholarly work at the intersection of history and public life. The journal's scope covers how history is produced, communicated, and consumed outside traditional academic settings, including but not limited to:
Manuscripts that are purely discipline-internal (addressing only academic debates without public history relevance) fall outside our scope and will be declined at initial screening. If in doubt about scope, contact the editorial office before submitting.
PublicPast accepts six types of submission. Each has specific word count limits and structural expectations. Word counts refer to the main body text and include footnotes but exclude the title, abstract, keywords, author bio, and reference list.
| Type | Word count | Description | Peer reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Research Article | 2,000 – 7,000 | Original scholarly research making a substantive argument grounded in primary and secondary sources. | Yes |
| Narrative History | 1,500 – 4,000 | Evidence-based historical narrative written for a broad readership. Must be grounded in sources and engage with the public history context of the subject. | Yes |
| Essay | 1,500 – 4,000 | Critical or reflective essay engaging with a question in public history theory, practice, or ethics. May be more exploratory in form than a research article. | Yes |
| Book Review | 600 – 1,500 | Critical review of a recently published book relevant to public history. Must include full bibliographic details of the reviewed work. | Yes |
| Photo Essay | 500 – 1,200 | A curated sequence of images with scholarly annotation. Images must be original or in the public domain. Written text provides historical and contextual framing. | Yes |
Your manuscript file must be a self-contained document including all required components listed below. Author-identifying information must be removed from the file (see Section 5) (Blind Review Compliance). Manuscripts that are missing required components will be declined at initial screening without proceeding to review.
The following must appear in the manuscript file in the order listed:
Prose quotations of 40 words or more should be set as an indented block quotation, without quotation marks, followed by the in-text citation. Shorter quotations are run into the text with double quotation marks.
PublicPast uses the Chicago Author-Date citation system exclusively. Submissions using any other citation style, including Chicago Notes-Bibliography, APA, MLA, or Harvard, will be flagged at initial screening and may be returned for reformatting before proceeding to review.
In-text citations appear in parentheses within the body text, giving the author's surname, year of publication, and page number(s) where relevant:
The reference list appears at the end of the manuscript, alphabetically ordered by author surname. All reference list entries must be cited at least once in the text. Do not include works not cited in the text.
The Chicago Author-Date system does not use ibid. or shortened repeat citations. Each in-text citation gives the full author-year reference regardless of how recently the source was last cited. Op. cit. is not used.
Archival sources, manuscripts, and unpublished documents should be cited in full at first reference, with sufficient detail for the reader to locate the source. Include the repository name, collection name, item description, and date where known. A separate primary sources section at the beginning of the reference list is encouraged for submissions that draw heavily on archival material.
PublicPast operates a strict double-blind peer review process. Neither the author's identity nor the reviewer's identity is disclosed to the other at any stage of review. It is the author's responsibility to ensure the manuscript file contains no identifying information before submission.
In Microsoft Word: go to File → Info → Check for Issues → Inspect Document. Remove personal information from document properties before saving and submitting.
PublicPast publishes in English. Both British and American English are accepted, provided usage is consistent throughout the manuscript. Manuscripts written in other languages are not accepted at this time.
Manuscripts must be written to a high standard of written English before submission. The editorial team does not provide copyediting or language correction at the review stage. Manuscripts that contain significant grammatical errors, unclear prose, or inconsistent usage will be returned to the author before proceeding to review.
Authors whose first language is not English are encouraged to have their manuscript reviewed by a fluent English speaker or professional editing service before submission.
PublicPast is read by scholars, students, and educated general readers. Manuscripts should be written to be accessible to this broad audience without sacrificing intellectual rigour. Avoid unexplained jargon, excessive use of theoretical language, and writing that assumes a specialist readership without justification.
Authors should use inclusive, respectful language in their manuscripts. This includes using current accepted terminology when referring to communities, identities, and historical groups. Where historical sources use offensive or outdated terms, authors should contextualise and critically engage with such language rather than reproduce it uncritically.
AI tools may be used for language editing, grammar correction, or translation assistance. However, the ideas, arguments, research, and prose of every submitted manuscript must be the author's own. Manuscripts that appear to be substantially AI-generated will be flagged at initial screening. Authors must disclose any use of AI assistance in their cover note. See the Publication Ethics page for the full AI writing policy.
Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to reproduce all images, maps, tables, and other visual material that is not their own original work or in the public domain. Written permission must be provided to PublicPast before publication. PublicPast cannot publish images for which reproduction rights have not been cleared.
Images must be submitted at a minimum resolution of 300 dpi for print-quality reproduction. Acceptable formats are JPEG, PNG, or TIFF. Do not embed low-resolution screenshots in the manuscript. Images must be submitted as separate files alongside the manuscript, with clear placement markers in the text (e.g. [Figure 1 here]).
Every image must have a caption that describes the content and provides a full source credit, including the name of the photographer or creator, the institution or collection where it is held, and the date. For public domain images, state clearly that the image is in the public domain and provide the source.
For Photo Essay submissions, all images must be original work by the author or in the public domain. The author must confirm in their cover note that they hold the rights to all images submitted or that the images are in the public domain. A minimum of six images is expected for a Photo Essay submission.
Authors must address the following in their cover note at submission. Submissions without the required declarations may be returned before review.
Authors must confirm that the submitted manuscript is original, has not been previously published in any form, and is not currently under consideration at another journal or publication. Simultaneous submission to multiple outlets is not permitted.
Authors must disclose any financial, personal, or professional relationships that could be perceived as influencing their work, including funding sources, institutional affiliations to the subject, and personal connections. If there are no conflicts of interest, this should be stated explicitly.
Research involving human subjects, oral history interviewees, or community participants must have been conducted in accordance with applicable ethical guidelines. Authors should confirm that informed consent was obtained where required and that participant anonymity has been protected where appropriate.
Any use of AI tools in the preparation of the manuscript must be disclosed in the cover note. State which tools were used and for what purpose. Failure to disclose AI assistance may result in rejection or retraction. See the Publication Ethics page for the full policy.
Where a manuscript substantially builds on or reproduces a portion of the author's own previously published work, this must be declared at submission with full bibliographic details. Self-plagiarism (presenting one's own previously published work as new without attribution) is not permitted and will result in desk rejection.
Before submitting, confirm that every item below has been completed. Manuscripts that do not meet these requirements will be returned at initial screening.
You will receive an automated acknowledgement email immediately after submission confirming receipt and providing your submission reference number. Keep this reference number for all correspondence.
All submissions are assessed within five to ten working days for completeness, scope, formatting, blind compliance, and citation style. Submissions that do not meet the requirements set out in these guidelines are declined at this stage with a brief explanation. Submissions that pass initial screening proceed to editorial assessment.
The Editorial Board reviews submissions that have passed initial screening for originality, argument, use of evidence, and overall quality. Submissions that pass editorial assessment proceed to double-blind peer review. The editorial assessment stage typically takes two to three weeks.
Submissions that reach peer review are sent to two independent expert reviewers. The review process is double-blind. The first round of review typically takes four to eight weeks. Following reviewer reports, the Editor-in-Chief will issue one of the following decisions: accept, accept subject to minor revision, major revision required, or reject.
Authors asked to revise their manuscript will be given clear guidance on what is required. Revised manuscripts should be resubmitted within the timeframe indicated in the decision letter, along with a point-by-point response to reviewer comments. Resubmitted manuscripts proceed to a second round of review.
PublicPast aims to provide a first decision (post-screening) within twelve weeks of submission. Authors are notified by email at each stage of the process. If you have not heard from us within fourteen weeks of submission, please contact the editorial office quoting your submission reference number.
Read the checklist above, then submit your manuscript through the online submission portal.
If you have a question about scope, submission requirements, or any aspect of these guidelines before submitting, contact the editorial office. We aim to respond within five working days.
Editorial office
submissions@publicpast.org for submission enquiries and manuscript questions
editor@publicpast.org for ethics, copyright, and editorial policy
