Open Call for Papers

First published in 1942, Bandwagon, The Journal of the Circus Historical Society, Inc. is committed to sharing the history, exploring the variety, and celebrating the cultural relevance of the Circus. Bandwagon is a peer reviewed journal, published six times a year with distribution to the members of the Circus Historical Society. We invite submissions of original research papers relevant to the history of circus and the circus arts. Topics may include the business and logistics of circuses, the evolution of specific acts or performers, or the interaction of circus and other cultural institutions. Papers should be well-argued, thought-provoking, and offer substantial contributions to current research.

Guidelines for Submissions

Manuscripts of any length should be submitted as digital files compatible with Pages or Microsoft Word. A minimum of formatting (i.e. tabs, highlights, use of bold, italics, or underlining for anything other than the usual style conventions) and the use of standard fonts (Times New Roman, Calibri, Garamond, etc) is preferred. Authors should verify facts, names of people, places, and dates, and double-check all direct quotations and entries in endnotes and works cited lists.

Consideration may be given to transcribing manuscripts that exist in handwritten form, such as a diary or correspondence, or in a verbal format, such as the recording of an interview.

Authors are encouraged to submit images for publishing with their work. When possible, editorial staff will assist authors in finding and procuring rights to appropriate images. Each image should have a caption, generally not more than two sentences long, which includes the source of the image and any other pertinent information. Images will be numbered, i.e., Fig. 1, with the identification at the beginning of the caption and placed at the appropriate location within the text.

Illustrations should be provided in a high resolution format suitable for publication, Authors are responsible for securing any permissions necessary to reproduce images.

The editor shall review the submitted manuscript. If there are major concerns about quality or style, the piece will be returned to the author for modification. Additionally, the editor may seek an anonymous peer review of any submitted article by one or more acknowledged authorities in the field, to garner opinion as to the quality and accuracy of the piece.

A pdf file of the layout will be submitted to the author for their review prior to publication.

All article copyrights shall remain the possession of the creator, with the proviso that the CHS shall have permission to print the article, place it on the website in a digital archive, and to otherwise make it available for educational purposes.