From the Editor’s Desk: Report for the French Review, 2009–2010

After twenty-three years on the editorial board of the French Review, it is difficult to say goodbye! It was Ron Tobin, my predecessor, who first asked me to join the board in 1987 to succeed Priscilla Clark as Review Editor for Civilization (now Society and Culture). In 1992 I became Assistant Editor for Civilization and in 1996, Managing Editor. Then Ron designated me as his successor and the Executive Council of the AATF elected me Editor in Chief in 1998. Now it is 2010 and time to turn the reigns over to my successor, Edward Ousselin of Western Washington University, Bellingham. Previously I appointed Edward/Edouard (he uses both his French and English names) as Editor for Creative Works. He has chosen Michel Gueldry of the Monterey Institute as his Managing Editor. Michel has been an Assistant Editor for Society and Culture for the past several years. Some wise person once said that one should always choose associates who are smarter than oneself if one hopes to be successful. Finding such people was never a problem for me! Indeed, I have many people to thank for helping me to serve the French Review and its readers these past twenty-three years. First and foremost are the Assistant Editors who read and evaluate many articles from among the 100 plus articles we receive every year. They and all of the members of the French Review staff are simply the best in the business. It is hard to believe that unpaid volunteers can be so unfailingly dedicated to the interests of teachers of French, all our other readers, and the profession which we share, but the members of the editorial board of the French Review are totally committed. In my professional life of over 40 years I have never seen so much good will. Along with the Assistant Editors, Review Editors must be singled out as well. They solicit reviews year round and edit them for each issue. Our Assistant Editor for Dissertations in Progress also primes the pump to keep you up to date on what prospective members of our profession are up to. Another demanding job is that of Advertising Manager, a position currently held by the recently elected president of the AATF, Ann Sunderland. In fact, Ann has succeeded in increasing the number of ads taken out in spite of the downturn in the economy. This said, as a former Managing Editor I can tell you that the hardest job of all is that of Managing Editor. The physical and interpersonal demands of this position are beyond belief. Managing Editors have had heart attacks in the middle of their tenures and several, 9 From the Editor’s Desk: Report for the French Review, 2009–2010 FR statistics for articles submitted 1 June 2009–31 May 2010 (vol. 83) Category Literature Pedagogy Civilization Film Linguistics Totals Submitted 57 (55.8%) 19 (18.7%) 12 (11.8%) 10 ( 9.8%) 4 ( 3.9%) 102 (100%) Accepted 20 (35.1%) 8 (42.1%) 7 (58.3%) 3 (30%) 1 (25%) 39 (38.2%) Rejected 23 (40.4%) 8 (42.1%) 5 (41.7%) 3 (30%) 3 (75%) 42 (41.2%) Under Evaluation 12 (21.1%) 3 (15.8%) — 3 (30%) — 18 (17.6%) No Decision 2 ( 3.4%) — — 1 (10.0%) — 3 ( 3%) including myself, suffered from double vision at times. The reason is that Managing Editors must read something on the order of 3600-4000 manuscript, galley, and page proofs (not to mention blue lines) every year. So it is more than fitting that I recognize my wonderfully talented Managing Editors: James P. Gilroy, Clyde Thogmartin, Sharon Shelly, and Wynne Wong. They carried out their duties at a very high level and several of them made innovations that have improved our journal. It is not really possible for me to express my gratitude to them in words. I must also thank the Executive Secretary of the AATF, Jayne Abrate, who took over her position when I began mine. Jayne has always supported me in my job as Editor and has served as a sounding board and confidant whenever there were difficult problems to be dealt with. She has also given...