19: Interdisciplinary Studies in the Long-nineteenth century
19 is an academic journal published biannually, specialising in interdisciplinary nineteenth-century studies. My role as Editorial intern involved reinvigorating the Instagram and X accounts of the journal and establishing its presence on Bluesky to attract more readers, as well as copyediting, proofreading and organising the peer review process for articles featured in it, communicating regularly with contributors and editors about the status of articles.
Project Summary
As an academic publication, the tone of most posts and communications for 19 was necessarily one of gravitas and intellectual rigour; however, the editor-in-chief allowed me to experiment with a more light-hearted tone in posts not related to the articles themselves, and this was successful in bringing more engagement with the journal– during my tenure, the X account gained 1000 new followers.
Brand Voice
Bluesky was a relatively unknown platform at the time of my internship; seeing its potential for connections between academics and related institutions given that the political direction of other social media platforms was causing them to begin to leave, I asked the editor-in-chief if I could set up an account. This was a fruitful venture- the account has 2.4k followers- quite a large following for the relatively new account of a specialist academic journal.
Social Media
These posts demonstrate more serious and more playful tones:
“Shani is an excellent writer and editor, with a concise and flexible prose style and sharp eye for detail. In her work on the journal 19: Interdisciplinary Studies in the Long Nineteenth Century she copy-edited academic essays, oversaw the peer review process, handled queries from authors and worked closely with the production team. She worked with minimal supervision, shouldering responsibility and ultimately helping to train others in how the journal's editorial process functioned. I couldn't have been happier with her work, and she comes very highly recommended.”
-David McAllister | General Editor at 19: Interdisciplinary studies in the long nineteenth century
“I am delighted to write in support of Shani Cadwallender. Shani is one of the best writers I have ever come across. Her understanding of language and its rhythms is felt in every sentence she writes. For this reason she is a formidable editor, too. In my role as General Editor of 19, the journal she worked in as intern, I saw how she worked with writers and editors in the most professional way: silently correcting and improving when needed. It is rare to find a writer and editor of her calibre.”
-Dr Ana Parejo Vadillo | General Editor (2019- 23) at 19: Interdisciplinary studies in the long nineteenth century