Editorial announcement

Abstract

It is with grateful thanks that we, as editors of Area and The Geographical Journal, acknowledge the sterling endeavours of three people associated with two of the Society's journals. Helen Jarvis and Jasper Knight have completed their five-year terms as book review editors. With their assistance and persistence, both journals have benefited from securing a range of book reviews and essays that showcase the intellectual diversity of our discipline. The introduction of book review forums in Area under Helen has shaped the way both journals will publish reviews in the future. Pat Laughton retires as book review editor for the journal at the end of 2010. Pat has worked for the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) since the early 1990s, originally as a member of staff for the Institute of British Geographers and then for the RGS-IBG following the merger in 1995. Pat has been a book-keeper for the Institute of British Geographers; and bursar's assistant, research group administrator, managing editor and book review editor for the RGS-IBG. When Pat originally started working on the journals published by the RGS-IBG (including Area, The Geographical Journal and Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers), they were all produced from scratch by the journals office and Pat was involved in editing the art work and setting the tables ready for production. Pat says that one of the biggest challenges in her role as book review editor has been trying to ensure that all the many subfields of geography as a discipline have been represented in the book reviews published in the journals. It is a testament to her dedication that the two journals have been able to achieve this.