Submission Guidelines

LOUISIANA HISTORY

Louisiana History is the official organ of the Louisiana Historical Association and the leading scholarly publication on Louisiana history and culture.

The journal gives priority to essays of an exemplary caliber, thoroughly documented and carefully argued, that make a significant, original contribution to Louisiana historiography. Such essays must be based upon research in primary sources. Manuscripts should be thoroughly documented, with citations to specific sources for quotations and statements that are not common knowledge. All manuscripts should adhere to the journal’s in-house style sheet, based upon the Chicago Manual of Style (consult a recent issue of Louisiana History). Essay submissions should be between 7,000 and 12,000 words, excluding citations.

ARTICLES

Subject matter considered appropriate for Louisiana History articles:

  1. The broadest possible coverage of Louisiana history topics, including literature, politics, and historiography. Other topics at the editor’s discretion.
  2. The entire Mississippi Valley and Gulf Coast, when articles deal with the colonial period or the Louisiana Purchase.
  3. Material having historical relevance from the following disciplines: Political Science, Sociology, Geography, Anthropology, Economics, Journalism, Native American Studies, Historical Archaeology, Demography, and Public History.
  4. Occasional articles on sources and materials of value in teaching Louisiana history, or on areas in which secondary sources are lacking and which might be explored as research topics, or on questions that might have arisen in classes regarding conflicting facts and interpretations of primary source materials.
  5. Scholarly articles are the journal’s first priority, but the editor may occasionally publish eyewitness accounts of historical events or historical memoirs by “non-academic” writers.
  6. An attempt will be made to avoid too much concentration in any issue on one historical period or one topic. Instead, the editor will attempt to publish individual issues with as much variety and balance as possible.
  7. The presidential address will be published in the journal, at the discretion of the Publications Committee and the editor.

NOTES AND DOCUMENTS

Select materials can be included in this section of the journal. These selected materials will consist of edited letters, portions of a manuscript diary, memoirs, reminiscences, or other primary source with a brief introduction and commentary from the contributor. This section may also include short articles dealing with Louisiana historiography or narrowly defined historical topics. Notes and Documents submissions vary widely in length, but they typically are no longer than 5,000 words.

BOOK REVIEWS

The following types of books will be reviewed in Louisiana History:

  1. Those relating to Louisiana history, in its broadest sense.
  2. Significant works in Southern history.
  3. Outstanding general works on American history.
  4. Books suitable for use in junior high and senior high school history classes because such a policy would enhance the value of the journal to public school teachers belonging to the Association.

SUBMISSION OF MANUSCRIPTS

  • Authors should submit an electronic copy of their manuscript to the managing editor at the email address listed below.
  • The author’s name, address, telephone number, and email address should appear only on the title page. The author’s identity should appear nowhere else in the manuscript.
  • All textual material, including tables and notes, should be double-spaced. All manuscripts must be typewritten. Typewriter-type fonts are preferred.
  • Notes should appear as footnotes.
  • Charts, tables, figures, and maps should appear on pages following the notes.
  • All quotations should be clearly marked and footnoted. Block quotations should be set apart from the text and indented.
  • Authors must submit copies of their articles via email once their manuscripts have been accepted for publication. Files must be formatted in Microsoft Word

PROCESSING OF SUBMISSIONS

Manuscripts submitted to the journal will be processed in the following manner:

  1. Receipt of manuscript will be acknowledged immediately.
  2. Whenever possible, manuscripts will be read for style by an in-house reader. Manuscripts that are obviously unacceptable for publication will be immediately rejected.
  3. Manuscripts approved on the basis of their stylistic merits will be evaluated by means of a blind assessment process. Manuscripts will be forwarded to two qualified critic readers for evaluation. Critic readers will be asked to return their evaluations within three months.
    4. Upon receipt of the evaluator’s reports, the editor will again read the manuscript and make a determination regarding the suitability of the material, based in large upon the critics’ opinions. In the case of a split decision, the editor will seek a third opinion. The results of these deliberations will result in one of the following decisions:

     

    • rejection;
    • rejection with encouragement to rewrite and resubmit;
    • acceptance on condition that certain revisions be made;
    • acceptance of the manuscript in its existing form with a minimum of editorial changes

In all cases except unconditional acceptance, the manuscripts will be returned to contributors together with the anonymous critics’ suggestions and the editor’s comments. Where revisions are requested, the editor will suggest a time table for resubmission. Once a manuscript has been accepted for publication in the journal, the author(s) will be asked to submit a hard copy of his manuscript as well as the final draft in electronic form.

EDITING

The Association’s editorial staff will make any and all editorial changes necessary to make manuscripts publishable and to bring works into line with the Association’s manual of style. There will be no attempt to economize through over-consolidation or combination of citations. Authors will be given the opportunity to review and approve all editorial changes when proofreading galley pages. Authors will indicate their approval of editorial changes by returning the galleys within the time period specified by the editorial office. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit all submissions in conformity with the Chicago Manual of Style, supplemented by in-house rules.

COPYRIGHT

Under Copyright Act 17 U.S.C. §201(c), the publisher acquires the right of reproducing and distributing contributions as part of the issue of Louisiana History in which they appear. The publisher reserves all rights to materials appearing in Louisiana History. All contributors will be required to sign a publications agreement authorizing the Association’s editorial staff to make any and all necessary editorial changes to make manuscripts publishable. Individual contributors must indicate that they are the sole authors and proprietors of materials submitted to the journal for publication and that they are not simultaneously submitting their manuscript for possible publication in other journals. Contributors must agree to allow the Association to reserve all rights to materials appearing in Louisiana History.

CONTACT US

Michael S. Martin, Managing Editor: docmartin@louisiana.edu
P.O. Box 43605
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Lafayette, LA 70504-3605

Michael Frawley, Assistant Editor for Book Reviews: michael.frawley@utpb.edu
Department of Undergraduate Success
University of Texas of the Permian Basin
4901 East University
Odessa, Texas 79762