The Royal Historical Society invites applications for up to 10 historians to join the Editorial Board of its successful ‘New Historical Perspectives’ book series, run in partnership with University of London Press and supported by the Institute of Historical Research and the Economic History Society.
New Historical Perspectives publishes first monographs by early career historians within 10 years of completing a PhD. Titles are made available Open Access and in hardback and paperback print editions. Having launched in 2019, the series is nearing its 30th published title, with more than 200,000 book downloads to date.
Applications are now invited from current Fellows of the Society, in the UK and worldwide, to join the Editorial Board and help shape NHP in the coming years. This opportunity arises as existing Board members complete their four year terms. With this call, the series editors are also keen to extend the range of subject expertise among an expanded Board, with particular focus on the medieval and early modern periods, and those with a specialism in modern political history and twentieth-century history, but interested Fellows working on all periods are encouraged to apply.
Applications are via the RHS Applications portal. The closing date for applications is Monday 4 December 2026.
About New Historical Perspectives
New Historical Perspectives (NHP) is a book series for early career scholars who have recently completed a doctorate in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Books in the series are overseen by an expert editorial board to ensure the highest standards of peer-reviewed scholarship.
NHP is distinctive in the level of guidance and support it offers to contracted authors. This includes mentoring by a member of the Editorial Board during the writing of a book manuscript, and an Author Workshop as the book nears completion. Author Workshops, funded by the Royal Historical Society, enable authors to discuss their manuscript in detail, with one or more subject specialists, their dedicated board member, and one of the series co-editors, prior to its final revision and submission to the publisher.
The NHP Editorial Board is led by the series co-editors, Professor Elizabeth Hurren (University of Leicester) and Dr Sarah Longair (University of Lincoln). Commissioning and editing is undertaken by the Board on behalf of the Royal Historical Society, and in partnership with the University of London Press who publish the series.
To date, the NHP series has published 27 titles (principally monographs with some edited collections from the early 2020s). The series currently aims to publish between 3 and 5 new titles per year. Key features of the series include:
- titles published from the outset as Open Access, as well as in Manifold e-reader, hardback and paperback print editions.
- costs of publishing Open Access are borne by University of London Press, rather than by the author.
- as a series designed for early career historians, NHP provides its authors with a programme of support and advice through the writing phase. This includes an Author Workshop, supported by the RHS, to discuss and review a near complete manuscript before submission. Members of the NHP Editorial Board play a central role in this programme of support and advice for early career authors.
- Commissioned titles include new historical work across all historical subjects, chronologies and disciplines.
About the NHP Editorial Board
New Historical Perspectives aims to be inclusive and supportive to all early career scholars seeking to publish their first monograph. The Editorial Board also seeks to reflect this policy of diversity and inclusiveness in everything we do together. This has recently given rise to a new opportunity for up to 10 new members to join the Editorial Board as expert reviewers.
We especially welcome applications from historians in post-92 universities, and those working on neglected aspects of ethnicity, gender and global histories. In this endeavour, we seek to better reflect the diversity of researchers and their academic interests in the sector. We also seek colleagues who have particular interests in medieval and early modern history, and those with a specialism in modern political history and twentieth-century history, but all interested are encouraged to apply.
The current editorial board, following recent departures:
- Professor Elizabeth Hurren, University of Leicester, Series Editor: early modern and modern Britain, especially history of medicine
- Dr Sarah Longair, University of Lincoln, Series Editor: modern imperial history, especially east Africa and the Indian Ocean World
- Professor Charlotte Alston, Northumbria University, modern European and Russian history
- Dr Christopher Bahl, Durham University, early modern global history
- Dr Milinda Banerjee, University of St Andrews, modern history, especially South Asia
- Dr Robert Barnes, York St John University, modern history, especially North America
- Professor Karin Bowie, University of Glasgow, early modern Scotland
- Professor Ian Forrest, University of Glasgow, medieval history, and social and religious history
- Professor Neil Fleming, University of Worcester, modern imperial history
- Professor Jane Whittle, University of Exeter, early modern Britain, especially economic and social history
Roles of the NHP Editorial Board
As an Editorial Board member, you will be expected to:
- read and comment on book proposals as they come in;
- recommend specialist reviewers for chosen submissions;
- attend an annual meeting of the Editorial Board: this meets once a year (usually in February and online)
- act as an Editorial Board mentor for our contracted authors. This involves acting as the point of contact for any questions relating to the writing and publishing process from contract to submission of the manuscript, providing writing and publishing advice, such as reading a sample chapter and commenting generally on the new contribution of the commissioned book. You are unlikely to have more than one author to look after at one time.
- serve in this capacity for up to four years, following the successful completion of an initial 6-month term.
In this call we are keen to enlist the experience and expertise of Fellows of the Society resident in the UK and worldwide.
How to apply to join the NHP Editorial Board
All applications should be submitted via the RHS Applications Portal.
Please submit:
- a short CV (no more than 3 sides at most)
- an expression of interest (no more than one side of A4) – particularly detailing any experience on journal or book series editorial boards or similar
The deadline for submissions is: 11.59PM, Friday 4 December 2026.
If you have any questions about the Board ahead of an application, please contact the NHP Series Editors: Professor Elizabeth Hurren (University of Leicester, [email protected]) or Dr Sarah Longair (University of Lincoln, [email protected])