Author Notes
General Information
History Magazine is published by Moorshead Magazines. The magazine is published six times a year and sold via subscription and on newsstands throughout the United States and Canada. Edward Zapletal is the Editor of the magazine; proposals, submissions and other correspondence should be e-mailed to Edward Zapletal (edward@moorshead.com).
What We Cover
History Magazine strives to feature articles that are interesting rather than academic. We prefer that our articles be wrapped around a particular phenomenon, achievement or occasion, rather than around a profile of a "great man" most closely associated with the subject: we'd rather carry an article titled "Early Telephones" than an article titled "Alexander Graham Bell". We like it when people take some item or custom that's now a part of our lives and tell the story of how it came to be that way. We're interested in answering the question "How did we get here?", here being North America at the beginning of the 21st century. These articles are roughly chronological and do not employ first-person narrative.
We are currently expanding History’s focus to include battles, wars and biographies. The battles must have world significance — like Waterloo — and the accounts must keep in mind that many of our readers are interested in what led up to the battle and its impact, not detailed maneuvers of the soldiers. Also the personalities must have had an impact on society. Unrecognized personalities like engineers or inventors who have shaped the world we live in are just some of the people we want to feature.
Our articles generally focus on the period between the fall of the Roman Empire and the start of WWII; our articles frequently mention earlier or later events by way of prologue or epilogue, but events outside of that timeframe are never our focus. We have listed some suggested subjects below to give you an idea of the topics we cover.
Please read a recent issue of History Magazine before submitting articles, to get an idea of the writing style. Details on how to obtain an issue can be found on our website.
Submissions
We much prefer queries instead of full-length articles, as this makes giving directions and suggestions easier. Our typical article length is 2,000 to 3,000 words. We prefer that articles be presented with suggested section headings already in place. We do encourage a list of further readings, but these are never used for trivia pieces. We do not employ footnotes. All work will be edited to some degree; please do not submit articles if you are not willing to have your work edited.
While submissions may be sent through the mail, e-mail is the preferred method, and text should be sent either as plain text or RTF (rich text format). Submissions must be accompanied by the author's name, telephone number, postal address and e-mail address. Please include suggested captions with any photographs or illustrations submitted, and credit the source. History Magazine assumes no responsibility for lost, stolen or damaged submissions of text, photographs or illustrations, and will not return unsolicited manuscripts. An expression of interest by History Magazine in a potential article is not a commitment to publish.
If you want to write for History Magazine, why not try submitting a trivia piece first? We always want good trivia items of about 400-600 words, and we welcome your proposals on ideas for future trivia items. Examples of our trivia pieces can be found at http://www.history-magazine.com/trivia.htm and please check our index (http://www.history-magazine.com/historyindex.html) to see what we’ve already published.
Illustrations
We like to be heavily illustrated; pictures are a very important component of an article. Regarding copyright, the illustration must be either copyright free or you have obtained written permission from the copyright holder. Many authors find it difficult to source illustrations, leaving this to us; in this case, we do not pay for the space used by the pictures in the article. We do appreciate authors recommending illustration ideas so we can narrow our picture research. Please contact us about copyright or picture resolution.
Payments and Rights
Our rate for articles is $55CDN or $55US per published page (this includes visuals provided by the author, if any). Additional payments for extra research of special projects are at the discretion of the publisher. Payments are made within 60 days of publication and copies of the magazine will be sent with payments. U.S.-based and international authors are paid in U.S. funds; Canada-based authors are paid in Canadian funds. If you have any questions, please contact us before submitting your work. Author payments will be for world serial and electronic rights.
Article Ideas
While we welcome proposals on any subject, this list of desired topics may give you an idea of the sorts of articles we look for. Please discuss an appropriate length before submitting any of these articles.
American Farms: how their history was distinct from European farms
Antebellum South: what was life like in the south just after the US Civil War?
Bricks: origin, improvements, impact
Bridges: how were they built before industrialization?
Carpentry: how the profession changed with inventions and social changes
Cars: early
Convict transportation: more focus on North America/the Caribbean than Australia
Cotton: its role in history
Drovers: their origins, decline
Dressmaker: how the profession changed with inventions and social changes
Electrification in North America: history of the electrification of cities and towns in North America
Embassies: when and where did they start? why? what impact?
Fairs: their role in history
Fertilizer: origin, improvements, impact
Fire fighting: early
Fishing: before industrialization
Flags/banners: their role in history
Fur Trade: why it started, how it grew, how it affected Canadian and American history, why it ended
Furniture through the ages: discuss form versus function, different classes, etc.
Gas lighting: origin, how it worked, impact
Girls' coming-out: cover parties, social obligations, etc.
Golf: origins, changes, impact
Life on a southern plantation
Make-up: origins, improvements, impact -- exclude perfume
Milliners: how the profession changed with inventions and social changes
Prisons in North America: general history, improvements, impact; sidebars on some famous prisons
Road rules: origins, changes, impact
Shoemaker: how the profession changed with inventions and social changes
Spice Trade: history of the European spice trade with the East Indies
Table Manners: origin, development, impact
Turnpikes: origins, improvements, impact
Water wells: improvements and impact before modern technology
Weaving: origins, improvements, impact
Wills: their social and political impact
Some potential trivia items include:
Scent bottles
Semaphores
Additionally, interesting historical etymologies of particular words and phrases, or descriptions of the origin and evolution of various customs are often suitable subjects for trivia items. If you begin work on a trivia item and find it warrants more than 600 words, please get in touch so we can discuss making it into a longer article.
Please e-mail proposals, submissions and other correspondence to Edward Zapletal (edward@moorshead.com).