Submissions

This page is designed to help you ensure your submission is ready for and fits the scope of the journal.

Before submitting you should read over the guidelines here, then register an account (or login if you have an existing account)

About

Quill & Quire is an undergraduate journal of medieval studies committed to showcasing original research, adapted coursework, and critical reflections on medievalism. The journal invites interdisciplinary approaches to the global Middle Ages (476-1492 CE) and provides undergraduates with professional experience in editing, peer review, and academic publishing. Through its inclusive editorial model and rigorous scholarly standards, Quill & Quire fosters a dynamic intellectual community and seeks to reimagine how students engage with the medieval past.

Focus and Scope

Quill & Quire is an undergraduate journal dedicated to exploring the global Middle Ages (476-1492 CE) through inclusive, interdisciplinary scholarship. Published by Aperio, the University of Virginia's open access press, and supported by UVA’s Medieval Studies program, the journal provides a professional platform for undergraduate students to publish original research, engage in peer review, and contribute meaningfully to the academic study of the medieval world.

The journal invites interdisciplinary work from all fields relevant to medieval studies—including: history, art history, literature, theology, religious studies, architectural history, anthropology, and philosophy—as well as contributions that interrogate medievalism in modern media such as film, television, games, and popular literature. We especially encourage submissions that reflect diverse cultural, geographic, and methodological approaches.

Quill & Quire publishes:

Original research articles
Adapted coursework demonstrating scholarly rigor
Media and book reviews
Editorials or reflections on the practice and pedagogy of medieval studies

All submissions undergo a double-blind peer review process conducted by trained undergraduate editors, with oversight and support from graduate ambassadors and faculty advisors. This process is designed to uphold scholarly standards while providing developmental feedback and mentorship to student authors.

Our audience includes undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, librarians, and independent scholars across the humanities.

As the first undergraduate journal of its kind at UVA, Quill & Quire is committed to the sustainability of student-led scholarship. Through active editorial outreach, inclusive academic community-building, and a dedication to professionalization, we aim to reimagine how students engage with the medieval past and its present-day echoes.

Submission Checklist

Originality: the submission is original, has not been published elsewhere, and is not under review with another journal.
File Format: The manuscript is submitted as a Word document (.doc/.docx)) or editable Google Doc with footnotes and a full bibliography in Chicago Manual of Style format.
Anonymized Document: The manuscript has been anonymized for peer review (no names or identifying information in the file).
Title and abstract: The submission includes a descriptive title and a 150-250 word abstract summarizing the article’s argument and significance.
Author Information: A separate cover sheet includes the author’s full name, institutional affiliation, email address, article title, and a brief bio (50-100 words). The bio may be written by a staff member if necessary.
Citation Style: All sources are cited using Chicago Style (Notes and Bibliography format), with complete and accurate footnotes and a bibliography.
Image Rights (if applicable): Any images used are sourced from public domain or licensed repositories (e.g., ARTSTOR/JSTOR, Wikimedia Commons, personal photography) and are appropriately captioned and credited.
Permissions: The author confirms they have the right to publish any third-party content included in the submission.
Competing Interests Form: The author has disclosed any competing interests at the end of the manuscript or confirmed that there are none.
Author Agreement: The author agrees to publish under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license and understands they retain copyright.

Copyright Notice

Authors who publish with Quill & Quire retain full copyright of their work. All articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction, and adaptation in any medium, provided appropriate credit is given to the original author(s).

By submitting to Quill & Quire, authors grant the journal a non-exclusive license to publish and disseminate their work. This license ensures that content remains freely accessible and reusable while maintaining the author’s right to attribution and control over how their work is credited.

This open licensing policy supports our commitment to accessible, student-led scholarship and fosters the widest possible dissemination of undergraduate research in medieval studies.

Peer Review

Quill & Quire uses a double-blind peer review process to evaluate all submissions. Each manuscript is reviewed by at least two qualified reviewers—either trained undergraduate editors or graduate ambassadors—who assess the submission’s originality, clarity, argumentation, and scholarly rigor.

Final editorial decisions are made by the Editor-in-Chief, with input from faculty advisors as needed.

For full details, please see our Peer Review Policy.

Licences

The following licences are allowed:

CC BY 4.0
Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.

Publication Fees

Quill & Quire does not charge any publication fees. There are no submission fees, article processing charges (APCs), or publication costs for authors.

As a student-led journal published through Aperio at the University of Virginia, we receive full support of our annual publication costs, including digital hosting and production services.

This no-fee model ensures that undergraduate authors can participate in academic publishing without financial barriers, upholding our commitment to equity, accessibility, and open access scholarship.

Publication Cycle

Quill & Quire will follow an annual publication schedule, releasing one issue each academic year. The journal will publish a curated cluster of content as a single issue, showcasing 7-8 peer-reviewed contributions.

Each issue will include original research articles, adapted coursework, critical essays, and media reviews that reflect the journal’s interdisciplinary scope and scholarly standards. This cluster model supports a cohesive editorial vision and allows for careful coordination among the student editorial team.

As Quill & Quire grows, we may explore the possibility of expanding to multiple issues per year while maintaining our commitment to rigorous, student-led publishing.

Sections

Section or article type	Public Submissions	Peer Reviewed	Indexed
Editorial and Commentary
Research Article
Essay
Book Review Article
Media Review Article