At the meeting of the Council of the Hakluyt Society held at the Royal Geographical Society on 28th June 2006, Mr RJ Howgego put forward a proposal for the creation of an online publication to be known as The Journal of the Hakluyt Society. It was thought that such a development would not only serve to advance the stated aims and objects of the Society but would also, via the medium of the Internet, bring the work of the Society to the attention of a much wider audience. In addition, publication in solely electronic form would not be subject to the costs incurred by the production and circulation of a printed journal which would necessarily have led to an increase in the membership fee. After some discussion, members of Council accepted the proposal on condition that an editorial board be appointed to assess the content of submitted articles and to ensure that the material maintained the high standards of scholarship for which the Society is known. It was also agreed that a printed copy of all submissions should be retained for Society archives, and that articles would be accepted from both members and non-members of the Society.
The future development of the Journal will to a large extent depend on the nature and quantity of material received by the editor. However, it is envisaged that the contents will be organised into distinct categories as detailed below:
1. Articles of an original, academic and scholarly nature dealing with specific voyages or journeys of exploration, or having a particular relevance to the historical development of geography.
2. Biographical information for voyagers, travellers or geographers whose lives have not been adequately treated in the existing literature. Such articles should not simply reproduce what is already immediately accessible, either in print or via the Internet, but should incorporate a high degree of original research.
3. Book reviews. The journal will here adopt the procedure common to its printed counterparts, namely that any book submitted for review must, in the first instance, pass through the hands of the editor. The editor will then seek out a suitable independent reviewer who is regarded as having no connection with, or vested interest in either the author or the publisher.
4. Notices of forthcoming events, conferences, exhibitions, etc., or new publications that might be of interest to members of the Society.
5. News of members’ recent activities and achievements.
Articles in categories 1, 2 and 3 will be retained indefinitely in the pages allocated to the journal and will be dated to allow citation by researchers. Categories 4 and 5 will be continuously updated as necessary, while deleted items will be archived but remain accessible for research purposes.
Submission of articles
Articles of the type detailed above are invited from both members and non-members of the society. They must be forwarded to the editor (address: ) either as email attachments or by post on floppy disk or CD-ROM. Any common text format is acceptable, but Rich Text Format (rtf) is preferred. The editor reserves the right to correct, amend or shorten any article as he sees fit, but will carry out such changes only after consultation with the author. Changes of spelling and formatting will be made to conform to the style-sheet in use for all Hakluyt Society publications. Alternatively, a copy of the Society style-sheet can be forwarded to prospective authors upon request.
If you have any other enquiries, need help or are seeking advice about the suitability of a projected article, please do not hesitate to contact the editor.
;){kind=logo}
) either as email attachments or by post on floppy disk or CD-ROM. Any common text format is acceptable, but Rich Text Format (rtf) is preferred. The editor reserves the right to correct, amend or shorten any article as he sees fit, but will carry out such changes only after consultation with the author. Changes of spelling and formatting will be made to conform to the style-sheet in use for all Hakluyt Society publications. Alternatively, a copy of the Society style-sheet can be forwarded to prospective authors upon request.