The Royal Historical Society seeks to appoint up to six new members to the Editorial Board of its academic journal, Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, published by Cambridge University Press. Earlier this year, the Society launched a new-look editorial board for Transactions. On that occasion, 14 new appointments were made to the 20-person board.
The Society now seeks to complete revision of the editorial board with this second call. Applications are welcome from historians who are current Fellows of the Society and resident in the UK or worldwide.
As before, this latest call seeks to reflect the breadth of historical interests and backgrounds within the Society and the wider profession, including gender, race, career stage and geographical location. Fellows who are precariously employed or working outside higher education are especially encouraged to apply.
Applicants must be current Fellows of the Royal Historical Society. Applications may be made via the RHS Applications Portal.
The Society welcomes applications from Fellows working across a wide range of institutions, disciplines, and professional backgrounds. This includes Fellows who work outside higher education; for example, in sectors such as archives and heritage, and those who work independently and are not affiliated to education, or similar, institutions.
New members of the Editorial Board will work alongside the journal’s co-editors, Dr Jan Machielsen (Cardiff University) and Professor Paul Readman (King’s College London).
The new appointments will take effect from 1 March 2027 or as soon as possible thereafter. After an initial probationary period, the appointment will run for a minimum of two years (to March 2029) with the option to extend for a further two years (March 2031). Appointments will be made jointly by the Society and the co-editors.
If you wish to discuss the board roles in advance of an application, please contact the co-editors at [email protected].
The deadline for applications, via the RHS Applications Portal, is 11:59PM, Friday 4 December 2026.
About the Editorial Board and responsibilities of board members
Successful applicants will join the journal’s new-look Board comprising RHS Fellows who reflect the breadth of historical interests and backgrounds within the Society and the wider profession. New board members will bring research and professional expertise which complements that of the existing board and editors. Successful candidates have genuine curiosity and enthusiasm for the broad, interdisciplinary scope of the journal and creative, imaginative and sustainable ideas for its further development.
Members of the Editorial Board will be expected to:
- act as an ambassador for the journal, including encouraging submissions and publicising published content;
- periodically review both submissions to the journal and content proposals for the journal, as well as supporting the journal’s co-editors in finding peer reviewers;
- assist with the introduction and oversight of new publishing formats for Transactions, in line with RHS plans for the journal’s development; and
- attend and contribute to Editorial Board meetings, both online and in-person, to provide academic support and advice to the co-editors and the Royal Historical Society.
The Society and TRHS co-editors now invite invite applications to join the Editorial Board from:
- current Fellows of the Society who work as historians in higher education (UK and worldwide) / in related sectors of historical practice (for example, archives, museums, heritage and public history) / and from those working independent of education or equivalent institutions.
The Editorial Board will be further supported in their work by the Office of the Royal Historical Society and the journal’s publisher, Cambridge University Press.
About the journal
Transactions of the Royal Historical Society is the flagship journal of the Royal Historical Society (RHS).
Transactions is a generalist journal, including historical content on a wide range of subjects, chronologies and geographies from historians at all career stages and backgrounds. In addition to traditional 10,000-12,000 word research articles, Transactions also welcomes shorter, innovative comment articles on topics of historical approaches, practice and debate.
These commentaries appear in the ‘Common Room’, section of the journal, launched in 2023. From 2024, all articles accepted for publication in Transactions automatically appear Open Access, with no charge to the author, ensuring the widest possible circulation and readership for new work.
The journal’s editorial team provides prompt responses and peer review. Articles are published with Cambridge University Press, online via CUP’s FirstView, and in an annual online and print edition, which is next published in November 2026.
The journal invites articles from authors at every career stage. In line with the Society’s commitment to supporting postgraduate and early career historians, Transactions seeks to engage constructively and positively with first-time authors. The journal also invites articles and commentaries from historians working outside higher education in related sectors such as heritage.
How to apply to join the TRHS Editorial Board
Submission must be made via the Society’s applications platform before the closing date.
Those interested in joining the new-look Editorial Board should submit:
- a short CV (no more than 2 pages)
- a letter / statement (2 pages max) outlining your relevant experience, key ideas for the journal’s development, and what you would bring to the journal as a member of the Editorial Board
Questions about the application process may be sent to: [email protected].
Deadline for applications: 11:59PM, Friday 4 December 2026.