Feature Articles

Author Guidelines

Voyageur’s coverage area extends from the Sheboygan and Fond du Lac areas northward to the Michigan border, and from Lake Michigan westward to the Wisconsin River region. Manuscripts may focus on a variety of historical issues and themes, including but not limited to: social, economic, political, technological, cultural, business, labor, industrial, environmental, religious, military, transportation, ethnic, racial, sexual, institutional, educational, medical, health, legal, criminal, archeological, architectural, sports, and recreational history. The magazine welcomes submissions about the Native American peoples of this region, whether before or after the arrival of Europeans. Voyageur will also consider historical memoir, historical fiction, and creative non-fiction.

Upon making an initial determination of relevance, the editor sends manuscripts to at least one member of the Editorial Committee for blind review. Authors will typically be notified by email within two months of submission whether a manuscript has been accepted for publication.

1. Format and Length

Authors should submit their works in Microsoft Word format electronically via email attachment or via Dropbox using the Submit link above. Other formats may be accepted, with prior approval from the editor. Manuscripts should be double-spaced and include page numbers. Although Voyageur occasionally publishes manuscripts of up to 5,000 words, a good target length is 3,500 to 4,000 words, not including notes and tables. With the author’s approval, and based upon the discretion of the editor, longer manuscripts may be edited for length or divided for published as a multi-part series. Original manuscripts are preferred, although Voyageur occasionally publishes previously published works if necessary permissions are secured by the author.

2. Style

Use The Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition) guidelines for all manuscripts. As part of the editing process, the editor will ensure that the manuscript complies with Chicago-style and specific Voyageur style conventions. An excellent free resource on Chicago-style is available from the Purdue University Online Writing Lab.

3. Sources and Citations

Voyageur generally requires end notes to help readers evaluate information presented in a manuscript. See The Chicago Manual of Style or the Purdue University Online Writing Lab regarding citation format. Exceptions should be discussed with the editor prior to submission. If your manuscript includes lengthy quotations from sources, you may be asked to submit copies of the original source to confirm accuracy.

4. Photographs and Other Images

Voyageur encourages authors to submit images or scans of images that could be used with their text. Images may include photographs, drawings, maps, artwork, and reproductions of documents. As a general rule, publishable-quality images must be 300 DPI (at full size). Submitted images must include a complete citation and source information. All decisions regarding images are made by the editor and issue art director.

5. Tables and Figures

Do not merely duplicate material in text and tables or other figures. Tables and figures are helpful when they aid the reader in clarifying complicated or voluminous information or data.

6. Headings

The use of headings is encouraged to organize information and to break up long blocks of text. First-level headings should be typed in bold and centered. Second-level headings, if used, should be flush left and typed in bold italic.

7. Copyright

The contents of Voyageur are protected by copyright in the name of the Brown County Historical Society. Permission is freely granted by Voyageur and the Society for authors to reprint their published work elsewhere if proper credit is given to Voyageur.

8. Remuneration

Voyageur is unable to pay authors or other contributors for publishing their work. However, Voyageur does pay image reproduction fees associated with publication. Each published author will receive three gratis copies of the magazine.

Other Departments

While our longer feature articles remain central to the mission of Voyageur, the magazine has created or revived a number of regular departments consisting of shorter articles. One of our goals with these departments is to make authorship more accessible to Voyageur readers who enjoy exploring old newspapers and archives. Articles for each of the following departments typically range from seven hundred to eight hundred words (though in some cases they can be two or three times that long).

Landmarks

Articles for the Landmarks department focus on historical sites. See for example Natalya Jenson’s article on the Washington Island Stavkirke (Winter/Spring 2018) and Antonio Saldaña’s “A Poor Migrant Home” (Summer/Fall 2018).

looking back

Looking Back articles also focus on historical sites, but with a focus on change over time through the comparison of a historic photograph with a contemporary photo. See for example Kent Crain’s “Washington Street, Green Bay, 1937 and 2016” (Summer/Fall 2016) and Jerry Abitz’s “Kewaunee Harbor: The 1940s and Today” (Summer/Fall 2018).

portraits

Articles for the Portraits department offer brief historical sketches of historical figures from our region. For examples, see Carol Jones’s article on Father Leo Ricklin (Winter/Spring 2018) or John Berens and Ruth Roebke-Berens’s article on Brown County historian Bella French (Summer/Fall 2018).