History Journal Response Times

This is a wiki to discuss journal response times. Please enter details of how many weeks/months between submission, acknowledgment, decision (acceptance, R & R, rejection). If possible please also add the date (month/year); some journals change a lot over time, or with different editors in control. If a journal you have submitted to is not listed, please add it.

Attention users: there have been a couple of incidents of half the page being (inadvertantly I hope) deleted with edits. I don't know if this is a glitch with this page. For this reason, I undid the previous edit (apologies to that user, but everything below the Journal of Women's History had been wiped!). So please check carefully when you edit that no entries are removed. (Feb 11, 2010)

Aboriginal History
 * 3 months (rejection) (2012)

Agricultural History
 * 2 months (R&R) (2012)

Ambix
 * 4 months (acceptance)

American Historical Review
 * 3 weeks (rejection); 10 weeks (rejection)
 * 1 week (rejection with brief report) (2010)
 * 1 month (rejection with detailed report)

'''American Quarterly
 * 10 months (rejection)
 * 18 months (rejection)

Annals of science
 * 4 months (acceptance)

Australian Historical Studies
 * 2 months (rejection) (8/2010)

British Journal for the History of Science
 * 2 1/2 months (r & r), after resubmit another 2 months (acceptance)
 * 4 months (acceptance with minor revisions)
 * 9 months (acceptance with revisions)

Bulletin for the History of Medicine
 * 4 months (revise and resubmit); 3 weeks (acceptance)

Comparative Studies in Society and History

Contemporary British History
 * 11 months (acceptance)
 * 12+ months (withdrew article & published elsewhere)

Diplomatic History
 * 3 months (acceptance with minor revisions, revisions accepted 6 days after being returned)

East/West Connections
 * 3 months (R&R)

Endeavour
 * 5 weeks (acceptance with minor revisions, revisions accepted 1 day after being returned) [09/2010]

English Historical Review
 * 1 year (rejection); 9 months (acceptance); 11 months (rejection); 12 months (rejection)
 * 7 months, following e-mail enquiry (2009)
 * 15 months and still waiting (new referees found after 12 months) (11/2009) - I'm at 11 months and waiting. I'm a little tired of it - should I contact them to find out what the hold up is?  This is pretty unacceptable - I'm trying to get a career going here and I don't have a year to wait around for this journal to bother to respond to me.
 * Finally rejected after 19 months
 * 11 months (rejection) To the above comment: send a short but polite e-mail to the editor requesting a progress update. It worked for me.
 * 7 months (rejection) - a polite email asking about progress also worked for me 2010.

Environmental History
 * 2 months (rejection)

European Comic Art
 * 3 months (acceptance with minor revisions 02/2011, revisions accepted 4 days after being returned)

Film and History
 * Still waiting at 6 months [2011]

French History
 * 4 months (acceptance)

Gender and History
 * 2 months (R&R)
 * 5 months (R&R); then 2 months (acceptance)

History
 * 1 month (acceptance)
 * 5 weeks (acceptance) (10/2007)
 * 6 weeks (acceptance) (2008)

History and Anthropology
 * 4 months R&R (2011-2012)

History Australia
 * 4 months (R&R) (2012)

History of Education
 * 2 months (R&R) (8/2010)

History of Science
 * 5 months (R&R), followed by 6 months (acceptance) (9/2010)

Historical Journal
 * 9 months (acceptance); 3 months (rejection); 3 weeks (R&R)
 * 4 weeks (editor's rejection - no reviews), (6/2010)
 * 9 months (rejection) (5/2011)
 * 4 months (R&R) followed by 3 months (acceptance) (2009)

Historical Research
 * 2 months (rejection)
 * 2 months (acceptance) (03/2008)
 * 3 months (acceptance) (2010)

History Workshop Journal
 * 7 months (rejection)
 * 2 months (rejection) (6/2009)
 * 1 month (acceptance)(6/2009)
 * 4 months (acceptance, with small revisions) (6/2010) The editor and production editor were the most helpful and amenable I've come across.
 * 6 months (rejection) (9/2010)

Hispanic American Historical Review

International Journal of African Historical Studies
 * 8 months and still waiting

ISIS
 * 6 months, R&R [2012]

Journal of African History
 * 18 months (chose to withdraw without decision made)
 * 7 months (editor didn't even send off for peer review, choose to decline it himself. Article subsequently published in similar top tier journal. Be ware of this journal with this editor. Seems to have an agenda).

Journal of African American History
 * 6 months, R&R; 4 months, acceptance; 12 months, publication (publication of theme issue delayed) [Extremely positive and helpful interactions with editor.]

Journal of American History
 * 3 1/2 months (revise & resubmit); 4 months (acceptance)
 * 3 months (rejected with three readers' reports: 1 positive, 2 negative)

Journal of Australian Studies
 * 4 months (rejection) (2011)

Journal of British Studies
 * 6 months (R&R), then 1 month after resubmit (acceptance); 3 months (acceptance)
 * 2 months (rejection)
 * 6 weeks (R&R) then 2 months after resubmit - they were changing editors at the time so some of my papers and a CD of images got lost (acceptance) (2009)
 * 2 years + Still waiting for a book review to be published; no response from the editors to email queries over past 24 months (2011)
 * 2 months (R&R) followed by 1 month after resubmit (acceptance) (2009)

Journal of Canadian History
 * 4 months (R&R), then 4 months after resubmit (acceptance)

Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History
 * 3 months (R&R); 8 months after resubmit, still waiting
 * <1 week (desk rejection); editor v. unfriendly. (2010)
 * 4 months (acceptance); then 4 months later Editor decides not to accept it. Very unprofessional.

Journal of Contemporary History
 * 5 months (R&R) (9/2009)
 * 5 months (accepted)

Journal of Early Modern History
 * 6 months (R&R), then 1 month (acceptance)

Journal of Historical Biography
 * 4 months (rejection) (10/2009)

Journal of the History of Medicine & Allied Sciences
 * 4 months (revise and resubmit); resubmit accepted in under 24 hours, and online in <3 months

'''Journal of the History of Sexuality
 * 7 months (acceptance) (2008)
 * 10 months (revise and resubmit); 2 months (acceptance)

Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History
 * 6 months (revise and resubmit); 2 months (acceptance). Went to proofs right away for the next issue.

Journal of Medieval History
 * Under 3 months (acceptance)
 * 1 month (acceptance) 2010

Journal of Military History
 * 7 months (rejection) (11/2010)
 * 10 months (acceptance) (2009). Had some problems with this journal and wouldn't submit to it again.

Journal of Modern History
 * 7 months (acceptance)
 * 3 weeks (desk rejection) (3/2010)
 * 2 months (R&R)
 * 4 months (R&R); then 5 months (acceptance)

Journal of Policy History
 * 5 months (R&R) (2013)

Journal of Social History
 * 3 1/2 months (rejection)
 * 1 month (acceptance without revision)
 * 3 months (rejection) (6/2010)
 * 5 months (rejection); 3 weeks (revision accepted) (2009)
 * 1 month (minor revisions suggested); 1 week (revisions accepted) (2011/2012)
 * 2 weeks (desk rejection) (2012)

Journal of Southern History
 * 4 months (R&R) - then, two weeks after resubmit (acceptance - it doesn't appear to have gone back to the readers)

Journal of Strategic Studies
 * 6 weeks (rejection) (2011)

Journal of Urban History
 * 6 months (acceptance) (2007)
 * 1.5 months (R&R) and a very positive one at that.
 * 3.5 months (revise and resubmit, with encouraging and thorough comments); 1.5 months (acceptance) (2012)

Journal of Women's History
 * 4 weeks (rejection)
 * 8 weeks (R&R); 14 (revisions accepted); 14 months to publication. editor very easy to work with.

Journal of World History
 * 7 weeks (acceptance) (3/2010)

Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History
 * 4 months (R&R); 1 month after resubmission; 12 months to publication (2010)

Law and History Review
 * 4 1/2 months (revise and resubmit)
 * 2009: 4 months (revise and resubmit); 2 weeks for acceptance of resubmitted piece. 12 months to publication from acceptance.

The Library
 * 9 months (rejection) (2/2012)

Literature & History

Magic, Ritual and Witchcraft
 * 5 months (revise and resubmit) 2011

Medical History
 * 3 months (rejection)
 * 3 months (revise & resubmit); 1 month (revision accepted); predicted 12 months to paper publication.
 * 2 1/2 months (revise & resubmit); 2 weeks (acceptance); 4 months later it was in print.

Mediaeval Studies
 * 5 months (R&R) 2010; 6 months (acceptance subject to revisions after another round of peer review). Really helpful and constructive review reports if you don't mind the longer timescale.

Modern Asian Studies

Modernism/Modernity
 * 3 months (desk rejection after initial email had said piece had 'entered the review process')

Notes and Queries
 * 8 months (acceptance) (1/2009)

Notes and records of the Royal Society
 * 3 months (R&R), followed by 3 months (acceptance)

New Mexico Historical Review
 * 3 months (R&R)

Pacific Historical Review
 * 3 months (Revise and Resubmit)

Past and Present
 * 7 months (R&R) then 3 months (acceptance)
 * 7 months (R&R) then 4 months (acceptance) (5/2010)
 * Incredibly slow replying to the editorial email address (2010)
 * 5 months (rejection) [2011]
 * 3 months (rejection) (2011)
 * 3 months (rejection) [2011]
 * 5 months (rejection) [2011]
 * 3 months (acceptance) [2012]

Pharmacy in History

positions: east asia cultures critique

Rethinking History

Scottish Historical Review
 * 4 months (revise and resubmit), then 4 months (acceptance) (2010/11)

 Sixteenth Century Journal
 * 6 months (acceptance) 2007
 * 3 months (R&R); 2 months (minor revisions); 6 weeks (acceptance) - September 2010

 Slavery & Abolition 
 * 3 months (rejection, no feedback) 2012

 Slavic Review 
 * 4.5 months (rejection) 2012

 Social History
 * 2 months (acceptance without revision, published in next issue), and this was during the period immediately after one of the editors had passed away (2010)

The Social History of Alcohol and Drugs: An Interdisciplinary Journal 

Speculum
 * 16 months (oddly worded R&R; chose not to resubmit)

Social History of Medicine
 * 3 months (revise and resubmit); then 9 months to online publication [2009]
 * 3 months (revise and resubmit); 1 month (acceptance); 18 months later I have only just completed proofing stage.

Technology and culture
 * 7 months (R&R) followed by 3 months (acceptance)
 * 5 months (R&R)

Totalitarian Movements and Political Religions
 * 3 months (acceptance)

Twentieth Century British History
 * 4 months (rejection)
 * 6 weeks (rejection: no reports) [09/2010]
 * 2 months (rejection) (summer 2010)
 * 2 months (rejection) (summer 2011)
 * 8 months (acceptance with minor revisions) (7/2012); then 2 months (acceptance) (10/2012)

Urban History

Virginia Magazine of History and Biography
 * 3 months (acceptance) 2009

War and Society
 * 5 months (acceptance) 2009-10

War in History
 * 1 month (R&R) then 3 months (acceptance) (11/2009)
 * 9 months (R&R) then 2 months (acceptance), apparently unusual delay because reviewer failed to submit report (submitted May 2006, accepted June 2007, published April 2008)

Women's History Review (incidentally, the friendliest editor I have *ever* dealt with - a pleasure! Jan 2010.)
 * 3 months (R&R); 6 weeks (Minor revisions); estimated 12-14 months from final acc. to pub. [2008-9]
 * 4 months (R&R); then 5 weeks (acceptance) (2011-2012)

William & Mary Quarterly
 * 1 month (desk rejection)
 * 2 weeks editor response (out to reviewers); 3 months (accepted with revision, due in 2 months); copy edits 6.5 months after initial submission; published 11 months after initial submission (2010-11)