I have some exciting announcements to make in this inaugural issue of volume 58. First, I am delighted to announce that Susan Howe has been named associate editor of BYU Studies. Susan served previously on our Arts and Sciences Board. She is a poet and an emerita faculty member of the BYU English Department. Her most recent poetry collection, Salt, was published by Signature Books in 2013, and her poems have appeared in The New Yorker, Poetry, Shenandoah, and other journals. She received the 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award of the Association for Mormon Letters. She is a reviewer and contributing editor of Tar River Poetry. In the past, she has served as poetry editor of Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, poetry editor of Literature and Belief, managing editor of the Denver Quarterly, editor of Exponent II, and a board member of the Utah Humanities Council.
In order to reduce and simplify, three editorial boards have been merged into one. Several of the existing board members remain. Others who have served well for many years have been released with heartfelt thanks. Many members of the editorial board are new to BYU Studies.
Susan and the board members are esteemed scholars in a wide range of disciplines. They are strong where I am weak. They see from perspectives different from mine and from each other. They share, however, the essential BYU Studies commitments of seeking truth by study and by faith, discerning the harmony between revelation and research, valuing both academic and spiritual inquiry, and recognizing that knowledge without charity is nothing. BYU Studies needs them. I am grateful that they are willing and able to serve at this time.
Cover art has been a strength of BYU Studies for many years. The featured images have been chosen by the editors. To expose our readers to the range of edifying, evocative art now being created by Latter-day Saint artists, we have decided to open the cover to submissions. All artists who have produced work that is informed by the restored gospel of Jesus Christ are invited to submit images, one at a time, for consideration, along with a brief essay about the artwork. To submit artwork, visit byustudies.byu.edu, go to the Submissions menu, choose Cover Art Submissions, and follow the directions there.
Beginning with volume 59 in 2020, all BYU Studies Quarterly content will be available free online through our website and the BYU Scholars Archive. Older content is currently available for free on both sites, while content published within the last few years is behind a paywall. That paywall will go away in 2020.
For those of you whose digital subscriptions extend beyond 2019, we will reach out to you this year and arrange for a refund. If you prefer to donate the surplus rather than receive a refund, let us know at byu_studies@byu.edu. The print edition will continue to be sent quarterly to those who pay for a subscription.
Why this change? BYU Studies exists to publish scholarship informed by the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. We believe open access will dramatically increase exposure to what we publish, which means more than just what we print. It means everything we can communicate, make generally accessible, publicize, and shout from the housetops. I trust that you share that vision, and I thank you for supporting it.
