In our first editorial note, published in ELL 1.1 in 1997, we said: There has until now been no one journal which covers the range that ELL is intended to cover, a ‘natural class’ of research interests which deserves to be treated in one place, and at the highest level. English Language and Linguistics exists to promote knowledge and inquiry in the interlocking fields of its title. We hope that ELL will prove so useful that authors will come to regard it as their first choice for submission, while readers turn to it readily because they know it is bound to contain work of value and interest.