PNQ is a scholarly journal of Northwest history—the region comprising Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and western Montana.
Any topic pertaining to the history of some portion of this region or of the American West is appropriate, but the editor looks especially for something new in the way of scholarship or some new analysis of an old topic. Essays that are strictly anthropological, economic, architectural, or otherwise specialized will not be considered, nor will pieces that focus on current events, but interdisciplinary treatments are welcome, and comparative studies particularly so. There is no minimum or maximum page length for submissions; 25-30 double-spaced pages of text are usual. Documentation must be prepared as endnotes rather than footnotes or bibliography, and it too must be double-spaced. Authors should submit photocopies of possible illustrative materials along with the manuscript; depending upon the subject matter and available space in the issue, up to ten or a dozen photographs, maps, documents, or other visual records of historical relevance may be used, and all materials lent will be returned.
Every manuscript submitted to PNQ gets an initial reading from the faculty editor, a professor of history at the University of Washington. He then sends it out anonymously to two expert readers for evaluation. The refereeing process can be long; the expert readers take on this unpaid work on their own time, and they usually need a month, or even two, to read, consider, and write their commentaries. When the referees’ reports are in, the managing editor makes his decision to reject the manuscript outright or to guide the author in revising the essay. When the author submits his revised manuscript, it goes back to one or both of the referees for review, and if the evaluations are positive, the managing editor accepts the essay. Scheduling usually occurs within six months; during the course of production, authors will be expected to review copyediting and correct galley proofs. In lieu of pay, they receive copies of the issue in which their work appears.
Please send submissions to: Managing Editor, Pacific Northwest Quarterly, University of Washington, P.O. Box 353587, Seattle, WA 98195-3587 or email pnq@u.washington.edu.