This is an exciting opportunity to join Associate Professor Daniel J. DiCenso (College of the Holy Cross, USA) as Co-Editor of Plainsong & Medieval Music when Co-Editor Catherine A. Bradley (University of Cambridge, UK) steps down from the journal at the end of this year. We are inviting applications by 8th August 2025.
Plainsong & Medieval Music is a hybrid Open Access journal published twice a year by Cambridge University Press, in association with the Plainsong and Medieval Music Society. The journal publishes high-quality scholarship covering the entire field of plainchant and music as well as book reviews. It encompasses Eastern and Western chant, secular lyric, music theory, palaeography, performance practice, as well as medieval and early renaissance polyphony, both sacred and secular. The chronological scope extends from late antiquity to the early Renaissance and to the present day in the case of chant.
To maintain a balanced editorial scope for the journal, we are seeking an individual whose expertise is in a complementary field to the specialisation of Daniel J. DiCenso in early plainchant. An expert in polyphony of the later Middle Ages would be a favourable candidate, but this is not an essential requirement to apply for the position. Final appointment decisions will be made by the Syndicate of Cambridge University Press.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
Working alongside a Co-Editor and Book Review Editor, and with the support of two Consulting Editors and five Editorial Committee members, responsibilities will include:
• Shaping the strategic direction of the journal, in cooperation with Cambridge
• Organizing and managing the editorial office, with support from Cambridge
• Managing the peer review process (using the ScholarOne system), alongside the Co-Editor
• Making final article acceptance decisions
• Working with Cambridge Production to ensure articles and issues are published on time
• Editing and proofing articles for the journal
• Proposing and working with members of an active Editorial Committee
• Attending relevant conferences
• Reporting on journal developments and progress to the Plainsong and Medieval Music Society, the journal’s affiliated society
The position will commence officially on 1st January 2026 with training and handover beginning in October 2025. We propose an initial term of three years and there is a small honorarium attached to the role.
HOW TO APPLY
Please include a curriculum vitae and cover letter along with an abbreviated development plan (not to exceed two pages) and the names and addresses of two referees. Applications will be reviewed by the current editorial team and the publisher. Final appointment decisions will be made by the Syndicate of Cambridge University Press.
In your application, please indicate:
• Experience publishing in the field
• Editorial experience, ideally with an academic journal
• Ability to work under pressure, meet deadlines and work as part of a team
• Strong professional and academic links
• Organisational, communication and IT skills
• If the applicant has provision for Institutional support, financial or otherwise, to aid their work on the journal, this should be outlined in the cover letter
• Proposed plan for development, including areas such as:
1. Engagement with the changing landscape of academic publishing
2. Journal metrics
Interested candidates should apply by 8th August 2025 to Lauren Brooke, Associate Publisher, Journals at Cambridge University Press: lauren.brooke@cambridge-org.demo.remotlog.com. Please use PPM Call for Editor as your email subject line.