In its current incarnation, Critical Survey is now thirty years old. We have been its Editors throughout, with the support of our publisher Berghahn Books, a judicious Editorial Board, and the loyalty of readers and subscribers.
A celebration of some sort seems in order. We thought it best to remind ourselves of the journal’s founding principles: clarity of exposition; relevance to the curriculum; recognition given to emerging fields of study; and the potential to blend critical with creative voices.
The journal was originally founded by the late (and very great) C.B. (Brian) Cox and A.E. (Tony) Dyson in 1963. They both helped us enormously in relaunching Critical Survey. They were able, fifty-five years ago, to do something remarkable: to launch careers. One of the first essays published in the journal was written by a PhD student at the University of Birmingham. Malcolm Bradbury went on to become one of the great novelists of his age, an outstanding scholar and a knight of the realm.
In that spirit, we want to open more space for new entrants to the academic profession to publish in the journal, as well as continuing to disseminate work from those creatively engaged in traditional scholarship.
So, as a thirtieth birthday present to the journal’s readers and subscribers, we announce that Critical Survey will from 2018 publish four issues a year. We will of course retain rigorous quality control of all submissions published, but in the spirit of our editorial predecessors, we want to provide greater opportunity not only to established and distinguished scholars, but to early career researchers, and to those who are seeking to expand the boundaries of literary critical practice.