General Editor for French Studies: Further Information
We are seeking a new General Editor for the journal French Studies.
Applications are welcomed from academics based professionally in the UK or Ireland.
The General Editor is appointed for a 5-year term with the possibility of renewal. The position is unpaid but funding is available to support teaching buyout, and all expenses involved in attending the annual conference of the Society for French Studies are covered.
Responsibilities of a General Editor
In outline, the role entails:
Editorial
- Assigning submissions to Co-Editors for peer review; communicating decisions to authors.
- Scheduling accepted articles for future issues.
- Along with the Co-Editors, assisting the Managing Editor in the copy-editing of articles.
- Commissioning États présents, interviews, and other invited pieces.
- Fielding proposals for articles and Special Issues.
- Overseeing the journal’s editorial direction, in consultation with the Co-Editors and the Editorial Board.
Production
- Proofreading issues.
- Liaising with the production team as needed.
- Liaising with the publisher.
Administrative
- Preparing short reports for the SFS Executive Committee (quarterly), the SFS Annual General Meeting (annual), and the journal’s Editorial Board Meeting (annual).
- Organizing and chairing the annual meeting of the Editorial Board.
- Organizing the recruitment of new Editorial Board members.
- Along with the President and Vice-President of SFS, recruiting the journal’s Co-Editors.
Time commitment
The role requires approximately 1-2 days per week, with occasional meetings. In recognition of this, an amount of funding is available to support teaching buyout.
The General Editor and Co-Editors of the journal are members of the Executive Committee of the Society for French Studies, which meets four times a year (and to which the General Editor submits reports, as noted above). The AGM takes place in person at the annual conference; of the other three meetings, at least two are usually online. All expenses for attending meetings and the annual conference are covered.
How to apply
We plan to interview in early to mid May and to appoint the new General Editor formally at the Society’s AGM on 30 June 2025. The successful applicant will have the opportunity to shadow the current General Editor, Professor Martin Crowley, for the rest of the year, before assuming the role in January 2026.
Informal enquiries may be addressed to the current General Editor, Professor Martin Crowley, (mpvc2@cam.ac.uk), who will not be involved in the selection process.
Applications should be submitted to Professor Siobhán McIlvanney (siobhan.mcilvanney@kcl.ac.uk) by Thursday 24 April 2025. Please include a CV of no more than 3 pages and a covering letter drawing attention to relevant experience and giving a sense of how you would approach the role.