The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia seeks authors for its next phase of expansion. A wide range of topics is available, including subtopics related to communications, transportation, business and industry, the built environment, civil rights, literary works, holiday traditions, and key events in the region’s history. The scope of the project includes the city of Philadelphia and the surrounding region of southeastern Pennsylvania, South Jersey, and northern Delaware.
Prospective authors must have expertise in their chosen subjects demonstrated by previous publications and/or advanced training in historical research. Authors will have the option of volunteering or receiving modest stipends, and all submissions will be peer-reviewed. Deadlines will be set in consultation with authors; it is expected that most will range from end of summer to the end of 2014. To express interest, please send an email describing your qualifications and specifying topics of interest to the editor-in-chief, Charlene Mires, cmires@camden.rutgers.edu. No attachments, please. Graduate students, please include the name and email address of an academic reference.
Guidelines for writers are available online:
https://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/about/guidelines-for-writers/
(Readers on the Encyclopedia blog, click here to see the list of topics.)
Topics and Word Counts, Summer 2014
XX Indicates a topic is no longer available.
?? Indicates that an assignment is being discussed, but additional expressions of interest are welcome.
Abscam (750)
Advertising (1500)
Aerospace Industry (1000)
Agriculture and Agricultural Workers (2000)
Airlines (1000)
?? Alien and Sedition Acts (750)
Almanacs (500)
Apartment Buildings and Complexes (1000)
XX Appeal of Forty Thousand Citizens (500)
XX Archaeology, Prehistoric (1500)
Armories (750)
Arsenals (750)
XX Arthur Mervyn; or, Memoirs of the Year 1793, by Charles Brockden Brown (500)
Artisans (750)
XX Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (500)
Automobiles (1500)
Avenue of the Arts (500)
?? Bank of the United States, First (500)
Bank War (750)
Barbershops and Barbers (1000)
Billboards (500)
Birch Views of Philadelphia (500)
Birds (1500)
XX Black Power (750)
XX Blue Route (1000)
?? Board of Trade (Philadelphia) (500)
Book Publishing and Publishers (1000)
Bookselling and Bookstores (1000)
Brickmaking and Brickmakers (1000)
Buses (500)
XX Casinos (750)
Caves (500)
Chemical Industry and Workers (1000)
Christiana Riot Trial (500)
Christmas Traditions (1000)
XX China Trade (750)
Cigar Making and Cigar Makers (1000)
City (Line) Avenue (750)
City Merchant (The), by John Beauchamp Jones (500)
?? City Plan for Philadelphia (750)
Civil Rights, African American (2000)
Civil Rights, LGBT (1000)
Civil Rights, People with Disabilities (750)
Civil Rights, Women (2000)
Clocks and Clockmaking (1000)
XX Colonial Intermediaries (between natives and Europeans) (750)
Colonial Seats of Government (1000)
XX Colonization Movement (Africa) (750)
XX Columbus Day Traditions (750)
XX Common Sense (500)
?? Condominiums (750)
Convenience Stores (750)
Convention Centers (1000)
Court Houses (1000)
Credit Unions (750)
Cutlery Making and Makers (1500)
XX Dancing Assemblies (500)
Defense Contractors (1500)
XX Democratic-Republican Societies (500)
Dinosaurs (750)
XX Down There, by David Goodis (500)
Eugenics (750)
Exploration and Expeditions (1500)
Firefighters and Firefighting (1500)
Fires (1500)
?? Fish and Fishing (1000)
Flag (Philadelphia Civic) (500)
XX Forts (750)
XX Friends Neighborhood Guild (500)
XX Fries Rebellion (500)
Fugitive Slaves (1000)
Furniture Industry and Furniture Makers (1500)
XX Gallery, The (500)
Gambling (1000)
XX Garbage Barge (Khian Sea) (500)
Garment Industry and Workers (2000)
Gas Stations (750)
General Trades Union Strike (1835) (500)
Glass Manufacturing (1000)
Governments, Extralegal (Revolutionary Era) (1000)
XX Grand Federal Procession (500)
Grocery Stores and Supermarkets (1500)
Gunpowder Industry (750)
Hardware Stores (1000)
Hats and Hat Making (1000)
Highways (1500)
Historic Districts (1000)
Historic Preservation (1500)
Homelessness and Homeless People (2000)
Hotels and Motels (1500)
Hunger (2000)
XX I-95 (1000)
Ice (750)
XX Indian Trails (750)
Internet (1000)
Interurban Transit (750)
Jewelers Row (500)
Jewelry Making (750)
July Fourth Traditions (750)
XX Junto (500)
Korean War (750)
XX Labor Day Traditions (750)
XX Lafayette’s Tour (750)
Lancaster Avenue / Turnpike (1000)
Landfills (1000)
XX Lewis and Clark Expedition (500)
XX Liberia; or, Mr. Peyton’s Experiments, by Sarah Josepha Hall (500)
Liberty Place (500)
Log Cabins (750)
?? Loyalists (1000)
XX Lynching (750)
Magazines: Trade Journals (1000)
Mail Services and Mail Carriers (1000)
Mansions (1000)
Market Street (1000)
Martin Luther King Day Traditions (500)
XX Mason-Dixon Line (500)
Mechanics Union of Trade Associations (500)
Memorial Day Traditions (750)
XX Meschianza (250)
Metal, Machine Shops (1000)
Military Bases (1000)
XX Militias (750)
Modern Chivalry, by Hugh Henry Brackenridge (500)
XX MOVE (1000)
XX Mummers (750)
XX Murder of Octavius Catto (500)
XX Native Peoples Before 1600 (1000)
Nativism (1000)
Neighborhood Associations (1000)
New Year’s Eve Traditions (500)
Newspapers, County and Local (2000)
Newspapers, Foreign Language (750)
Office Buildings (1000)
Oil Refineries (1000)
Pedestrians (1000)
Penn Center (500)
Penn’s Landing (500)
Pepper Pot Soup (250)
XX Philadelphia Fire, by John Edgar Wideman (500)
Piers (Municipal) (750)
XX Plantations (750)
XX Political Conventions (1000)
Price of a Child (The), by Lorene Cary (500)
XX Privateering (500)
XX Prohibition (750)
XX Quaker City (The), by George Lippard (500)
?? Quasi-War (500)
Radio (comprehensive 2000 and/or subtopics: African American; DJs; Ethnic; High School and College; Public; Religious; Talk)
Recycling (1000)
Red City (The), by S. Weir Mitchell (500)
Religious Revivals (750)
XX Reminder Days (750)
Road Rage (500)
Rodents (1000)
XX Roosevelt Boulevard (750)
Saws and Sawmaking (750)
Schuylkill Navigation Company (500)
XX Sheppard Lee, by Robert Montgomery Bird (500)
Shoemaking and Shoemakers (1000)
XX Social Media (1000)
Spanish American War (750)
Sportscasting and Sportscasters (1500)
Stamp Act Crisis and Nonimportation (500)
Steam (Steam Loop) (500)
Steamboats and Steamships (750)
Street Numbering (Philadelphia) (750)
Strikes (1500)
Superfund Sites (1000)
Surveying (Colonial Era) (1000)
Taxicabs (750)
Telegraphy (500)
Telephones (1500)
Television, Cable (500)
Television, Public (1500)
Thanksgiving Day Traditions (750)
XX The Garies and Their Friends, by Frank J. Webb (500)
Tolls (750)
Trade Associations (1000)
Traffic (Patterns and Controls) (1000)
Traffic Accidents and Fatalities (1000)
Traffic Court (1000)
XX Trails, Recreational (750)
Trash Disposal (1500)
Trash-to-Steam (500)
XX Treaty Negotiations (with Native Americans) (1000)
Trinities (500)
Turnpikes (1000)
Twins (Housing) (500)
Vietnam War (1000)
Voting (Suffrage) (750)
XX Walking Purchase (500)
XX War of 1812 (1000)
Warehouses (1000)
Wastewater Treatment (1500)
Water Ice (500)
Works Progress Administration (WPA) (750)
XX Zoos (1000)