It is with many apologies and much excitement that we are pleased to announce that Disability Studies Quarterly is back! After a nine-month hiatus, we are releasing a double issue to make up for lost time. There have been many challenges and changes for the field's oldest journal, so we'll begin with a brief explanation of where the journal stands.
First, we would like to introduce ourselves as we restart the journal. After an open search, we (Drs. Jeffrey Brune and Donald Grushkin) have been selected as the new Editors-In-Chief. Fortunately for us, the previous editorial team of Brenda Brueggemann, Elizabeth Brewer, and Kelsey Henry left us with three completed issues, which includes the two we are releasing now and a forthcoming special issue on disability and race due this fall. We greatly appreciate starting our term with these completed issues, which give us time to learn the technical aspects of publishing DSQ as we restart operations and begin work on our winter issue.
Second, we want to acknowledge the frustration of those who submitted manuscripts before the suspension of the journal last year, as well as those who have been waiting for DSQ to publish a new issue. Currently, there is a large backlog of manuscripts due to a confluence of events. Only five years ago, the journal received around two hundred manuscripts per year, but in the last year of publication it received around five hundred. While this dramatic growth of disability studies is great news for the field, it also created a major challenge for DSQ's small staff. At the same time, two other issues compounded difficulties facing the journal. Not surprisingly, COVID disrupted the lives of many peer reviewers which, in turn, slowed DSQ's workflow just as the number of submissions increased. In addition, an updated system for manuscript submissions was released and created significant problems for the staff in 2022. It was a difficult time for DSQ, and when the previous editors had to step aside after a great deal of work, there was no new team in place to take over.
As a result, there is a backlog of article submissions that is close to five hundred manuscripts. In an ideal world we would reach out personally to every author right away, but that is not possible with our limited resources and the amount of work we have on our plate. We ask for your patience and understanding of our limited capacity as we begin to work through that backlog and prepare a new issue in time for publication this winter. We are excited to be on board and getting this important journal back up and running and ask for some patience (as well as assistance from reviewers) as we do this. Know that we understand how important this journal is to many communities as well as to potential authors and we apologize for the problems that have arisen.
Meanwhile, please join us in celebrating the return of Disability Studies Quarterly and in thanking Brenda, Elizabeth, and Kelsey for their work on this issue and over the length of their term. We hope you enjoy these articles and hope that the double issue helps make up for some lost time.
