In this issue of Quaker Studies, we are pleased to present Angus Winchester’s George Richardson Lecture, two important research articles, and three research notes, including the beginning of what we hope will be a series on archives, libraries and other research resources.

Winchester’s lecture on ‘George Fox’s Pulpits’ takes us to two locations in the north of England—one much better known than the other—and on an exploration of the ways in which later Quakers have created the significance of locations through their actions and story-telling. In his article on ‘Families in Transition’, Peter Coutts brings to light the complex processes through which four Irish families abandoned the Religious Society of Friends, using demographic profiling to consider changing membership patterns. Tracing another change, Isaac Barnes May and Andrew S. Taylor’s research article analyses ‘The Invention of Professional Quakerism’—particular how twentieth-century American Quaker leadership could be based on secular credentials.

Our three research notes highlight new findings and resources. Mary Crauderueff and Jordan Landes describe the holdings at Swarthmore and Haverford Colleges in the USA, as well as commenting on the work being done to make these collections more accessible. Pink Dandelion shares his recent research on Quakers and Host Cultures, arguing that present-day British Quakers are undergoing a process of internal secularisation. Isabella Rosner introduces exciting new findings on early Quaker female ministers, Gertrude Derix Niesen (b.?–1687) and Hannah Payton Young (1716–61), with a focus on their education.

You may notice that this issue of Quaker Studies has fewer book reviews than usual. Erica, our Reviews Editor, was preparing for her viva (which she passed with minor corrections) so she was unable to recruit more reviews. The next issue will see a return to more plentiful book reviews. If you would like to review a book or have a suggestion for a book you would like to see reviewed in an upcoming issue, please email Erica at

In the rest of this editorial, I would like to introduce the new style guidelines for the journal. I hope this will be of interest to all readers of the journal, but especially useful to those who are considering submitting.

Quaker Studies is the leading journal for all aspects of Quaker studies, including historical, sociological, theological, philosophical and other work. We publish a wide range of types of content: articles, prize essays, certain lectures, research notes, book reviews, and short notices about books. Some of these are by invitation only, such as book reviews, or come from our arrangements with other bodies in the Quaker Studies field: for example, the George Richardson Lecture is given every year as part of a conference held jointly by the Quaker Studies Research Association and the Centre for Research in Quaker Studies, and we publish each year. Others, especially articles and research notes, can be submitted by anyone working in the field. We welcome submissions from independent scholars and those not in traditional university roles.

The style guidelines lay out the requirements for all submissions. As well as being a suitable length and presented in the right format, an article should be a developed piece of academic research. It should refer to the existing scholarly literature on a topic as well as presenting new material. When we receive a research article that may be appropriate for the journal, we send it—without revealing the name of the author—to two experts in the field, who offer anonymous peer review. A wide range of expert researchers offer this as a voluntary service to the community, and are often very busy, so it can take some time. The peer reviewers give their opinion to us as editors so that we can make well-informed decisions about what to publish in the journal. We share their feedback with the author, along with our decision to publish the article, ask for changes before publication, or reject it.

Research notes, by contrast, are shorter and not peer reviewed. Typically, a research note introduces a new discovery, a new resource, a new approach, new data, or a new method—something of interest to the Quaker studies research community, but which has not been researched comprehensively enough to be written up as a full article. There can be many reasons for this: for example, perhaps it is simply a resource and not a single research project; perhaps it is a discovery that requires more time or expertise; perhaps the work is not yet or cannot be completed.

In the style guide, most of the points cover straightforward issues on standard format. Some are specific to Quaker studies, such as the formatting for terms like meeting house (capitalise the specific (‘Bournville Meeting House’), but not the general (‘a meeting house’)). Others are broader academic or social issues on which it is necessarily to take a position—for example, we encourage gender-inclusive language (‘humanity’ rather than ‘man’) and discourage outdated or prejudiced language (naming specific countries or continents rather than generalising about ‘the Third World’ or ‘the Global South’).

Anyone interested in submitting an article or research note is encouraged to contact the editors. We are happy to work with you on developing a piece suitable for publication in the journal. If you are working independently or have not had a traditional academic training, we may be able to connect you with a mentor to help with your academic writing.

We look forward to making new connections for the journal and expanding the range of material we publish.