
Welcome to our 2020 Conference on Illinois History Virtual Exhibit! Enjoy our extensive representation of the state of Illinois in our books, journals, blog posts, and more. From Oct. 5th – Oct. 9th we are offering 50% off of all of our Illinois History titles. Plus when you buy three of our Illinois History titles, you will receive a free copy of the Winter 2021 issue of The Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association. Use the promo code CILH20 for the sale October 5th – 9th. Browse a list of all of our Illinois History titles here.
Featured Titles
Browse our Illinois History Catalog
Free Book Drawing

Sign up to our email list for a chance to receive a free copy of Exploring the Land of Lincoln: The Essential Guide to Illinois Historic Sites by Charles Titus. You can sign up here.
Illinois History in Our Journals

The Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, established in 1908, is the scholarly publication of the Illinois State Historical Society, a statewide non-profit organization dedicated to preserving, promoting, and publishing the latest research about the Prairie State. Read some recent articles:
“Annabel Carey-Prescott: African American Educator and Chicago Leader” by John S. Burger
To subscribe to the Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, click on the following link:
https://www.press.uillinois.edu/journals/ishs/subscription.html.
Call for Papers: Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society
The Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society accepts manuscript submissions on an ongoing basis. Manuscript submission guidelines for the Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society should be followed:
https://www.press.uillinois.edu/journals/ishs/submissions.html. The journal prefers to work with electronic files of manuscripts. Please submit your manuscript via email to: executivedirector@historyillinois.org. Alternatively, you may send inquiries to Bill Furry, Illinois State Historical Society, 5255 Shepherd Rd, Springfield, IL 62703.

Illinois History: A Reader, edited by Mark Hubbard, offers important articles from the Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society. Organized as an approachable survey of state history, the book offers chapters that cover the colonial era, early statehood, the Civil War years, the Gilded Age and Progressive eras, World War II, and postwar Illinois.
Illinois History: A Reader is part of the Common Threads series. Common Threads volumes gather hand-selected material on timely and teachable topics, framed with thoughtful introductions by leading scholars. Each volume in this innovative series brings together thematically linked content curated through our journals program.

The Journal of The Abraham Lincoln Association is the only journal dedicated exclusively to Abraham Lincoln scholarship. It is the official journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association.
Call for Papers: Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association
The editor of the Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association accepts manuscript submissions on an ongoing basis. Manuscript submission guidelines for the journal should be followed and can be found here:
https://www.press.uillinois.edu/journals/jala/jalasubmissions.html.
Articles should be submitted electronically to the JALA online manuscript submission system. If you have not previously submitted a manuscript, fill out the following form:
https://ojs.press.uillinois.edu/index.php/jala/user/register; if you have submitted your work previously, log onto the following page:
https://ojs.press.uillinois.edu/index.php/jala/login.
To subscribe to the Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association, click on the following link:
https://www.press.uillinois.edu/journals/jala/subscription.html.
Open Position: Editorial
The Illinois State Historical Society seeks a new editor for the 112-year-old Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, the leading academic publication for historical research about the state of Illinois.
Candidates should:
- Have a Ph.D. in American history and hold a teaching position at an Illinois college or university
- Be engaged actively in the study of Illinois and Midwestern history
- Be a member of the Illinois State Historical Society
- Have support from his or her department and institution (release time or interns)
- Have some editorial experience in academic writing
- Be willing to make a three-year commitment to publish four issues of the Journal per calendar year
Interested candidates should send curriculum vitae to:
William Furry, Executive Director
Illinois State Historical Society
5255 Shepherd Road
Springfield, IL 62703
Or send via email to:
Executivedirector@historyillinois.org
Open until filled.
Let’s Talk!
If you are interested in talking about a book project on Illinois history, please reach out to Alison Syring, asyring2@illinois.edu.
University of Illinois Press on Spotify
Our Playlist for Always the Queen: The Denise LaSalle Story
University of Illinois Press and Chicago
The Press has several Chicago-oriented titles, all of which celebrate Chicago’s diverse history, music, and more. Read about our latest titles on African Americans in Chicago, and read our blog post about the Chicago Blues scene.
Award-Winning Title in Illinois History

Making an Antislavery Nation: Lincoln, Douglas, and the Battle Over Freedom by Graham A. Peck won the 2018 Russell P. Strange Award from the Illinois State Historical Society for the book of the year in Illinois history. Read more here.
Read More from Our Authors and Editors
- Steve Cushing on Pioneers of the Blues Revival
- Deborah E. Kanter on Chicago Católico: Making Catholic Parishes Mexican
- Robert E. Weems Jr. on The Merchant Prince of Black Chicago: Anthony Overton and the Building of a Financial Empire
- Roger Biles on Mayor Harold Washington: Champion of Race and Reform in Chicago
- David Whiteis’s archived work in Chicago Reader
- Deborah E Kanter’s “Making Mexican Parishes: Ethnic Succession in Chicago Churches, 1947–77” in Catholic Historian
- Graham A. Peck’s “New Records of the Lincoln-Douglas Debate at the 1854 Illinois State Fair” in Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association
- Brooks Blevins on A History of the Ozarks, Volume 1: The Old Ozarks