National Geographic Style Manual has moved to

Credits & History

Throughout the years many people have contributed to the National Geographic Style Manual. The earliest version was created on a typewriter (with carbon copies) in 1962 under the direction of Margaret Bledsoe, head of the magazine's research division. Expanded and updated, the manual next appeared in 1969, its pages set in type and contained within a yellow loose-leaf binder.

Over the next two decades Miss Bledsoe, as almost everyone called her, and her successor, Ann Wendt, maintained editorial style for the Society, occasionally publishing new editions. Late morning meetings held in the 1970s to revise the manual are said to have been helped along on occasion by a sip of sherry.

Lesley Rogers, a long-time research director and managing editor, became involved with the manual in the mid-1980s when she was included in the group Ann convened to revise the manual one more time before her retirement. Even with weekly meetings that task was not completed until October 1988, a year after Ann's retirement, when a new print edition was released.

In April 1990, Lesley expanded the Style Committee to include a cross section of editorial talent from our publications and began regular meetings, at which questions are raised, style is debated, and amendments to the manual worked out. The manual moved online in 1995; Tom Puckett was instrumental in setting up a web-based manual.

Special thanks to the entire Style Committee, for the members' unending knowledge of the finest points of grammar and punctuation and for their good humor and careful consideration when there are differences of opinion. After all, style is often a matter of personal preference.

In 2007, when the first copydesk at National Geographic magazine was created, style editing of text moved to the copydesk, chaired by David Brindley until 2013. Amy Kolczak and a team of copy editors from our publications now oversee updates to this manual.

Page updated

Report abuse