We are currently accepting submissions for the following issues:

Special Issue: New Perspectives on the Pennsylvania Abolition Society

Founded in 1775 as the Society for the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage, the Pennsylvania Abolition Society was the first formal organization dedicated to the abolition of slavery in what became the United States. Comprising 40 feet, 81 boxes, and 60 volumes, the Pennsylvania Abolition Society papers are among HSP’s signature collections. They are perennially popular, ranking among the institution’s most-used collections, an all-but-required destination for historians researching slavery and abolition. Despite or perhaps because of the popularity of this collection, historians have continued to find cutting-edge ways to use it. This special issue of PMHB will showcase the new and innovative form this research has taken. (Note that submissions must draw substantially on the PAS papers, but they need not center the PAS as their subject.) Send submissions of full-length articles (8,000–10,000 words) and shorter reflections (500–1,000 words) on specific aspects of the collection to Christina Larocco (clarocco@hsp.org), editor of PMHB.

Due date: January 15, 2025

Special Issue: Memory and Commemoration at the Semiquincentennial

As historians, our relationship to 1776 and the events that preceded and followed it are complicated—as are our feelings about its commemoration. This special issue of PMHB seek articles that grapple with this complexity. Broadly speaking, submissions should focus on the memory and commemoration of the revolution—how did people in the past think about these events? How do we approach them today? Especially given the fractured state of American politics, what responsibility do historians have to frame this narrative within recent scholarship, and how do we disseminate this knowledge to the public? Send submissions of full-length articles (8,000–10,000 words) and shorter reflections (500–1,000 words) on specific aspects of this topic to Christina Larocco (clarocco@hsp.org), editor of PMHB.

Due date: January 15, 2026

See general submission guidelines here.