INSTRUCTIONS FOR AUTHORS

• Important Information for All Contributors
• Instructions for Article Contributors
• Instructions for Review Article Contributors
• Instructions for Book Review Contributors
• Open Access Policy

Important Information for All Contributors
The editors of the Journal of Modern History invite contributions in the field of modern European history from approximately 1500 to the present. The geographic scope of the journal extends from Great Britain through the European continent, including Russia and the Balkans. We will also consider articles on colonialism and articles that deal in part with United States history, provided that the European component of such articles is predominant. We are particularly interested in work that will appeal to a broad audience of professional historians and not just to specialists in a single field.

We also invite authors to submit contributions to our article series Contemporary Issues in Historical Perspective, which offers contributors a forum in which to explore the intersection between historical knowledge and current affairs. Articles in this series tend to fall into three basic categories: those that consider the active engagement of historians and other wielders of historical knowledge in shaping contemporary affairs; those that interpret contemporary affairs in light of the historian's knowledge of the past; and those that explore the implications of new methodologies and new thematic preoccupations for historical scholarship.

Review articles are generally commissioned by the editors. Suggestions for possible review articles are welcome.

Book reviews are published in the JMH by invitation only: we do not accept unsolicited book reviews, nor do we commission reviews from self-nominated reviewers.

The JMH does not publish comments or letters to the editors.

Submission Eligibility
Work submitted to the JMH may not be under consideration in any form by any other publisher. Submission of a manuscript is taken to indicate the author's commitment to publish in the JMH if the manuscript is accepted. The JMH requires the right of first publication.

Work that already has been or soon will be published elsewhere, in whole or in part, is not eligible for publication in the JMH. This prohibition includes:

• articles published elsewhere in the same form;
• articles whose substance is drawn from previously published books or articles;
• articles that share material with books or articles in progress that could appear in close proximity to the potential JMH publication.

It is the mission of the JMH to bring new scholarship to its readers; hence, we do not wish to publish work that will imminently be available elsewhere. Authors should be aware that the article evaluation process typically takes at least three to six months, and there is generally a period of approximately eighteen to twenty-one months between the acceptance of an article and its publication. Books or articles containing overlapping material must not appear until a period of six months has elapsed from the date of JMH publication.

Occasionally we will consider publishing articles that have previously appeared in another language. This exception applies in two cases: (1) if the language in which the piece was published originally is not one that would be accessible to those readers of the JMH who would be interested in the material; and/or (2) if the original publication is not readily available in U.S. libraries. For example, if an article dealing with French history had already been published in Russian—a language that most historians of France do not read—or if it had appeared in another language in a very small journal that is not easily accessed in this country, we might consider publishing an English translation of that piece in the JMH.

Authors who have previously published articles in the JMH are ineligible to submit new article manuscripts until a period of five years has elapsed from the prior publication.

Copyright and Licensing
The Journal of Modern History requires the assignment of copyright for articles, including articles in our Contemporary Issues series, and review articles. Although copyright to other contributions remains with their authors, it is understood that, in return for publication, the JMH has the exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free right of first publication and the non-exclusive continuing right to reprint, republish, display, distribute, license, archive, and use the contribution in any language, format, or medium, either separately or as part of a collective work.

Peer Review
The JMH uses a double-blind system of peer review for feature articles. Each manuscript is assessed by the editors and, if approved for further review, sent to at least one and usually two or more outside readers who are specialists in the field(s) the manuscript addresses. All commissioned manuscripts are reviewed by the editorial team. For both peer-reviewed and commissioned manuscripts, acceptance is conditional on revisions made by the author(s) at the editor's request. Authors of accepted manuscripts will be consulted and be given a chance to approve typeset proofs before final publication. 

Articles may be submitted in English, French, or German for evaluation. If a French or German manuscript is accepted, the JMH will commission an English translation. Authors who are not native English speakers are encouraged to submit manuscripts in their native languages unless the quality of their written English is equivalent to that of a native speaker.

We have a strong preference for articles that do not exceed 17,500 words, including references. Manuscripts should be double spaced throughout, and references should be provided as endnotes. More detailed information on manuscript preparation is available elsewhere on our website. Please note that we have separate style sheets for articles, review articles, and book reviews.

Manuscripts should be submitted in Word format to the Journal of Modern History online peer-review system. Our evaluation process generally takes between three and six months, although it may take longer particularly over the summer months when outside readers are less readily available.

Since the JMH follows a double–blind article review procedure in which the identities of the author and the evaluators remain confidential, any features that could reveal the author’s identity should be removed from the text and from the notes until after the manuscript is accepted. References to the author’s own work in the notes should be cited in the usual manner by name and not as "my" or "this author’s" article or book.

Open Access Policy
The open access policies of the University of Chicago Press ensure that no author is prohibited from submitting to or publishing in the journal due to a funder's open access requirements.

Green open access. The University of Chicago Press supports green OA across its entire portfolio of journals. Authors have the ability, at no cost, to self-archive their own work and make it freely available through non-commercial institutional or disciplinary repositories. Authors may deposit either the published PDF of their article or the Author's Accepted Manuscript (AAM)—the version of the manuscript that is accepted for publication in the journal, after editorial (peer) review and prior to copyediting—with a 12-month post-publication embargo on public availability. You must apply for any available waivers from your funding body or institution if they require a post-publication embargo of less than 12 months. If a waiver is not granted, you may deposit your manuscript according to the terms of the mandate, but in that case, only the AAM may be deposited.

If your funder or institution requires that a Creative Commons license be applied, you may only deposit the AAM. The AAM should be made available under a CC BY-NC license, which allows for its non-commercial reuse. If your funder or institution states that an alternate license, such as a CC BY-ND or CC BY license, is required, you should apply (if possible) for a waiver and request to use the CC BY-NC instead. If you are denied permission to use a CC BY-NC license, you may post the AAM in a green OA repository with a CC BY-ND or CC BY license as required by your funder or institution.

Please note that most funder mandates can be accommodated with green OA, and it is the option to choose if your funder allows you to meet its requirement via the green OA route.

Gold open access. The gold OA option is provided primarily for authors with research funding from an organization that mandates gold OA as a condition of publication and does not permit green OA as a route to compliance. The fee is $2,500. This request should be made at the time of submission, but not later than the time of acceptance. It is expected that the funder and the grant will be noted in the acknowledgments of the manuscript in the conventional manner. Articles published as gold OA are made available under a CC BY-NC license. If a CC BY or other license is required by your funding body, please notify the editorial office at the time you submit your manuscript. Articles published under a CC BY license are subject to an additional fee.