Opportunity: Reviews Editor

A shelf full of books of varying sizes and colours

The Royal Musical Association invites applications for the post of Reviews Editor, who will be responsible for soliciting and editing reviews for both the Journal of the Royal Musical Association and Royal Musical Association Research Chronicle.

You are invited to consult the RMA website publications pages for more information about the distinctive nature of these two publications, both of which are published by Cambridge University Press.

  • The Journal of the Royal Musical Association was established in 1986 (replacing the Association’s Proceedings) and is now one of the major international refereed journals in its field. Its editorial policy is to publish outstanding work in the field of music studies, broadly conceived, including historical and critical musicology, theory and analysis, ethnomusicology, popular music studies, music pedagogy, audiovisual media, and practice-led research. The journal works to disseminate knowledge across the discipline and communicate specialist perspectives to a broad readership, while maintaining the highest scholarly standards. The journal is one of the only musicology journals to publish longer review articles only, rather than standard reviews. Review articles published in the journal contain substantial research content and as such undergo peer review, after initial screening by the Reviews Editor for quality and fit with the journal’s objectives.
  • The Research Chronicle’s aim is to publish submissions from all areas of music research that make extensive use of primary sources such as recordings, digital-borne files, results of ethnographic work, and/or archival materials. The journal is published online, and the editors will consider submissions of any length (with a recommended length of up to 15,000 words), including short essays, position papers, forums and roundtables, and material in non-written formats such as video and audio. Submissions that make use of extensive apparatus such as indexes, catalogues, inventories and calendars are also welcome and can be in addition to the recommended article length. All articles published in the Research Chronicle undergo rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening and refereeing by at least two anonymous referees. The journal’s new Reviews section concentrates particularly on publications that are relevant to its distinctive content. It includes short reviews, longer review articles, and reviews of projects and editions, and it is also piloting a series of ‘discursive’ or collaborative reviews involving 2–3 scholars in conversation (published in both text and audio formats).

Informal enquiries should be directed to the Chair of the Search Committee, Professor Professor Pauline Fairclough (Pauline.Fairclough@bristol.ac.uk).

The new Reviews Editor will be appointed in early 2021, for a 5-year term. There will be a handover period during the first three months of the appointment. A modest consultancy fee is offered.

Applications should be sent by email to Prof. Fairclough and should include a CV and a letter outlining the motivations for applying, ideas for developing the reviews section of both journals, and details of relevant experience. The deadline for applications is 12 January 2021.  The interviews will be held online shortly afterwards.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *