Public Humanities invites proposals for guest-edited Themed Issues that seek to use humanities knowledge to address key social questions or topics of contemporary public relevance. Guest Editors should complete a Proposal Form in the first instance, detailing the title, description of the proposed topic, publication timeline, potential authors and invited articles, and a brief bibliography.

Proposal assessment process
Each Themed Issue Proposal will be assessed by the Editors-in-Chief and the Editors – together the ‘Editorial Collective’ – for fit, timeliness, originality, diversity of perspective and relevance. It is particularly encouraged that the proposed list of authors and themes includes scholarship under-represented in academia.

Upon acceptance of a Themed Issue, the Guest Editor(s) will be issued a contract from the Press, and asked to draw up a ‘Call for Papers’ (CFP) adhering to our standard CFP template, detailing the criteria against which submissions will be assessed. CFPs for Themed Issues in progress are advertised through the Public Humanities website.

Peer review
All articles submitted to a Themed Issue will be subject to the rigorous peer review process operated by the journal. Guest Editors will recommend Accept, Minor Revision, Major Revision or Reject decisions, with all final decisions being made by the handling Editor-in-Chief. The handling Editor-in-Chief reserves the right to reject any paper regardless of the Guest Editor’s recommendation, and has full oversight and approval of the peer review process from submission to final decision.

Publication process and article types available
Articles appear online within their issue incrementally as soon as they are ready for publication.

To represent the diversity of humanities research, Guest Editors and authors have the freedom to select the article formats best suited to their themes:

Article type	Length	Abstract required	Description
Article*	6,000-8,000 words	Yes	Presents original research findings according to the typical research article format.
Roundtable*	No more than 4,000 words	No	Considers the current ‘state of the field’, or reflects on seminal events or processes, or explores different methodological approaches or potential avenues for future research. Workshops or conferences often provide the initial stimulus for roundtables.
Reflection*	1,500-3,000 words	No	A space, outside of the conventional research article, where authors can offer personal perspectives on a topic or theme.
Case Study*	No more than 8,000 words	Yes	An article that provides an in-depth, detailed examination of a particular case within a real-world context.
Position Paper & Rejoinder*	No more than 4,000 words	No	An opinion-style paper that makes a clear intervention or articulates an original vision. Papers will typically publish in conversation with each other.
Essay*	2,000-8,000 words	Yes	A discussion paper that reflects critically on a research topic or theme, rather than presenting original research, and syntheses that topic or theme for a broad readership across the humanities
Brief Report*	1,000-2,000 words	No	A report of empirical data related to the humanities and public life.
Policy Brief*	1,000-2,000 words	No	A brief, informed by humanities expertise, for authorities who hold power.

All Themed Issues will publish with an Editorial written by the Guest Editor(s). 

* All or part of the publication costs for these article types may be covered by one of the agreements Cambridge University Press has made to support open access. For authors not covered by an agreement, and without APC funding, please see this journal's open access options for instructions on how to request an APC waiver.