Since 1982 and the publication of The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail, hundreds of books have been published about Freemasonry or which touch on Masonic subjects. That figure does not account for the books, video productions and other media that also discuss subjects which, rightly or wrongly, have come to be associated with Freemasonry—such as Knight Templars, Rosslyn Chapel, and the Illuminati. These sensationalist publications, and productions are a modern phenomena. For over three-hundred years much has been written about Freemasonry, but it was mainly done so by Freemasons for Freemasons, or by their critics. Today, Freemasonry, as an institution, finds itself in a most curious position where non-Masons are writing about it and the principal customers for most of these unreliable books are Freemasons.

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It is now apparent that because Freemasons and Freemasonry does not defend or promote itself in the publishing world, or on the internet, writers are free to produce anything they wish about the Craft. In other words, Freemasons’ research about their fraternity are distorted in publications, videos, and websites that are produced by non-Masons, anti-Masons, and assorted lunatics. And Masonic organizations often give these products equal standing with academic quality Masonic publications, videos, and websites.

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It is for these reasons, and others, we created a professional guild for those who research, write, edit, and publish materials related to Freemasonry. Membership is by invitation only and offered only to those who meet, or exceed, the guild’s standards. These standards are nearly exactly as used by academic historians’ associations and journals, such as the Organization of American Historians, or The Journal of Scottish History.