North Carolina Historical Review

During this grant cycle, two decisions made for the North Carolina Historical Review impacted its future in ways that are largely invisible, yet quite significant. It began to support students across the state as they explore the role and practice of historians through participation in National History Day. By publishing award-winning papers to promote young scholarship, NCHR seeks to encourage budding historians in their pursuit to understand and share parts of North Carolina’s history through research, analysis, and writing. There may not be an appropriate paper each year, but NCHR hopes and plans to provide space for publication whenever available.

A significant amount of time and energy during FY 26 went into preparation for the A250NC-themed special issue. During the fall, Kathryn McKee sent out a call for papers and solicited several article ideas and potential pieces. In order to reach readers and subscribers by early July 2026, the production schedule contracted and shifted backward significantly, so the winter and spring saw work activity on the January, April, and July issues all at once. Because the A250 issue came out in early July, the chronically late NCHR production schedule is now “back on track” after nearly twenty years and should arrive to subscribers during the month on the cover, barring extreme circumstances. A large part of the success of that process is the working relationship between the managing editor (Kathryn McKee) and the contract proofreader (Anne Miller), who understand the standards and expectations of the Review and work well together. Anne Miller’s background as the former editor of the Review gives her a level of expertise above and beyond other copyeditors and proofreaders and is extremely valuable as it enables Kathryn to continue moving forward with other components of the Review while material is in her hands.

The decision to support budding historians will hopefully bear fruit for generations to come as young students study history and have the experience of seeing their work in print. Likewise, the decision to have a themed issue in reader’s hands at the appropriate time meant a lot of hard work on the front end but sets up the Review to be on schedule for many years to come. These choices may not be noticed by many but were deliberately made with NCHR readers and scholars of North Carolina in mind.

~ Kathryn McKee,, Editor, North Carolina Historical Review
Historical Research and Publications Office
Department of Natural and Cultural Resources