WRITE

If you want to write for upcoming Issues:

Each issue has a broad organizing theme. We also welcome theme and article ideas for future issues.

Feature articles are up to 2,500 words in length; departments are 500-750 words long. Honoraria may be available according to the policies of Connecticut Explored.

The magazine does not use footnotes but does require authors to embed citations into their stories. Please become familiar with our style by reading stories from past issues available on our website. Authors are also required to provide images (if possible) or leads on images. Rights and reproduction fees are handled by CT Explored. Authors are not required to pay rights and reproduction fees. Authors may not obligate CT Explored to pay fees.

Submissions

Subscribers: Letters to the editor and story suggestions are welcome. Submit to publisher@ctexplored.org. or mail to Connecticut Explored, c/o Department of History, Central Connecticut State University, 1615 Stanley Street, New Britain, CT 06050.

Writers: Article proposals are welcome. Please submit a 200- to 250-word summary or abstract about your proposed article and one or two published samples (if any) to editor@ctexplored.org. Honoraria are offered according to Connecticut Explored’s policy.

1 page, 450-500 words    = $100
2 pages, 750-800 words  = $150
4 pages, 1,500 words       = $200
6 pages, 2,500  words      = $250

Upcoming themes:

All proposals must fit the broad theme of the issue. Please note that suggested topics under the broad theme are not exclusive of other topics. Please look at our past articles to make sure your topic does not duplicate articles we have already published within the last 10 years. If you have a different thesis or a different angle on a topic we have covered, you may submit your proposal, but tell us how it is different.

We publish articles about Connecticut history and focus on the historical story. Our articles are not reflections on historical theory, methodology, or pure pedagogy. Within a story, however, you may show how a story also helps us fill gaps, bust myths, approach history from a different perspective, or how the story was discovered by using different methods. If how you approached your research affected the story, you may include it. If your article is longer than 2500 words or addresses questions of theory or methodology, consider submitting it to the state’s peer-reviewed academic journal, Connecticut History Review published by the Association for the Study of Connecticut History (ASCH).

Thank you!

Winter 2024-25: Eat Up! 

Abstracts due by May 25. Articles due Aug. 1, 2024.

Food is the main focus of this issue.  What can we learn about the history of our state by looking at the food its peoples ate? Stories might include:

  • Historic restaurants, mall food-courts, food trucks, you name it! The buildings, the owners, the workers, the community that kept them operating.
  • Food-based traditions from indigenous and immigrant communities 
  • Stories reflecting recipes, menus, flyers that have been preserved
  • Meals that went down in history 
  • Farms and food systems 
  • Food sovereignty
  • Food insecurity
_______

Spring 2025: The Power of Words

Abstracts due July 25. Articles due Nov. 1, 2024.

Preserving history and culture, shaping identity through narrative, literacy, and education. 

Stories might include:

  • Notable authors and educators 
  • Reading and writing practices throughout history 
  • Challenges to free speech 
  • Barriers to receiving equal educational opportunities 
  • The role of libraries in society
  • Storytelling, oral traditions, folklore 
  • Famous speeches 
_______

Summer 2025: Celebrate!

Abstracts due Dec. 20, 2024 or until issue is filled.  Articles due Feb. 1, 2025.

Communal Celebrations, Festivals & Rituals

How have people throughout history come together to celebrate? What has inspired them to take part in communal celebrations, festivals and rituals? Stories might include:

  • Heritage festivals and parades 
  • Holidays observed by various religious groups 
  • Marking milestones in a community, like Aviation Day in Walnut Hill Park, the first lighter-than-air flight in the state  
  • Bon Voyages, Welcome Homes, Commemorations 
  • History of Juneteenth in CT
  • Historic controversies around public holidays
  • Music, musical traditions, music venues
  • Connecticut soldiers, militia at Bunker Hill
  • Civic clubs or charitable organizations’ events

__________

Fall 2025: Our Environment

Abstracts due Feb. 25, 2025, or until issue is filled. Articles due May 1, 2025.

Environmental History

  • Energy
  • Preservation and conservation, stewardship
  • Climate change
  • Corporate policy, innovation, adaptation
  • Citizen action
  • Cultural approaches to the natural environment
  • Changes in the land and sea
  • History of relationship between economic circumstances and environmental conditions
  • Anniversary of King Philip’s War: the impact of the war on the natural environment in CT
Tentative themes for 2026 and beyond:
Summer 2026: The Declaration of Independence (250th anniversary celebration)
Winter 2028-29: Theme to be set, but will include The Redding Encampment (250th anniversary of the Rev. War)