Dialogue Editor Search Announcement

Dialogue’s Board of Directors announces a search for a new editor-in-chief to begin in 2024. 

Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought has long served as the journal of record for the intellectual and cultural life of the Mormon people. Thanks to more than five decades of work by editors, authors, and the Board, Dialogue continues to provide space for some of the community’s most vibrant thinking on cultural, historical, theological, and social issues, and remains the premier literary repository for the tradition. Dialogue is a quarterly subscription-based print journal, and all of our content–current and archived–is freely available on our new website at the moment of publication. In addition, Dialogue now has a substantial internet presence with web-only content. 

The journal publishes four issues per annual volume. Submissions and peer review are managed through a system provided by the University of Illinois Press. The new editor will continue to liaise with the Press to ensure the journal’s visibility, as well as with the Dialogue Board to build upon the journal’s strengths and fulfill the Dialogue Foundation’s mission. Further, the editor will be expected to be engaged in relevant scholarly and cultural organizations by representing the journal at conferences and other events.

Ideally, candidates will be experienced authors and editors with a track record of accomplishment. We appreciate a felicitous writing style and honest brokerage of the dialogue between faith and reason.

Dialogue has traditionally sought to publish writing of all sorts, from fiction to poetry to peer reviewed scholarship, and an ideal editor would feel comfortable working with a wide spectrum of material. The new editor will also work with a production team—including an active Board of Directors, section editors, and web editors—to produce both print and online content. The Board is interested in considering traditional editorial models as well as in a variety of innovative models, including an editorial team or other forms of shared workload.

Among the tasks of the editor are the following: 

• Acknowledging submissions, making a preliminary assessment, locating referees, requesting their review, distributing the submissions, and following up with referees.
• Soliciting submissions when appropriate and working with authors to develop manuscripts.
• Negotiating revisions and preparing ready drafts for the copy editor.
• Preparing agreement forms and negotiating exceptions with authors.
• Keeping the editing and production team on schedule, including supervising art preparation.
• Supervising the web editor and contributing and soliciting original web content.
• Oversee the Dialogue Podcast Network, and produce new podcast episodes and series in consultation with the Board.
• Attending relevant scholarly conferences, semiannual Dialogue board of directors meetings, and preparing timely reports as directed by the Board.

Compensation is moderate and negotiable, depending on the editorial and production model agreed upon between the editor(s) and Board.

Relevant dates are as follows:

Search announced in May 2023.

Non-binding indication of interest requested by September 1, 2023. The search committee and other Dialogue Foundation Board members welcome informal discussions about the role and responsibilities of the editor. Several Board members will be in attendance at the Mormon History Association meeting in Rochester, New York, June 8-11, and available for conversations about the search. 

Complete application submitted by October 15, 2023. The application should include the following:

1. Curriculum vitae of editor(s) emphasizing editorial, authorship, and leadership experience. In the case of co-editors, briefly outline the complementary strengths and experiences of the team.

2. If appropriate, a statement of institutional support. For example, letters from Chairs/Deans for possibilities concerning course release, course buy-outs, or stipends from institutional administrations. In other circumstances, an explanation and support for coordinating with and shared time with employment or business activities. 

3. A cover letter briefly outlining the editorial vision and any other appropriate information. Please address plans to continue Dialogue’s long-standing mission in the twenty-first century and among a new generation of readers.

We expect a final decision in the first week of December, 2023.

Active involvement with the Journal beginning June 2024, in order to overlap with and learn from the current team and get a start on the Summer 2025 issue, to be submitted to the University of Illinois Press by December 1, 2024.

Take over full responsibilities as editor on September 1, 2024. 

Please submit any formal expression of interest, all application materials, and requests for more information, to the search committee:

Benjamin E. Park (chair), [email protected]

Matthew Bowman, [email protected]

Rebecca de Schweinitz, [email protected]

Linda Hoffman Kimball, [email protected]