Guidelines for Contributors to Scoláire Staire
June 2011
Style and Word Limits
Writing shouldn’t be jargon filled or make for heavy reading. The articles should be easily read in a short space of time and provide entertainment as well as information for the reader. At the same time, do not sacrifice quality and high academic standards for entertainment’s sake. Any technical or tangential details should be placed in a sidebar (a few hundred words explaining an issue or event that would otherwise take away from the narrative flow of the article).
Articles should be between 2,000 and 3,000 words in length. Shorter pieces can be discussed with the editor.
Reviews should be less than 1,000 words (ideally 750 – 1000) and give all publication details. If a reviewer believes a certain book deserves a longer review this can be negotiated with the editor.
Our Letters section does not have a word limit but be reasonable. If you want to get something big off your chest discuss it with the editor. We can make it a one-off piece or an article.
We like to have as many Photos etc. as possible. These should be of sufficient quality to publish on a website. Any copyright issues can be discussed with the editor.
Referencing etc.
The articles in Scoláire Staire should have an uninterrupted narrative flow, therefore, footnotes and referencing should be avoided. In time, we may launch a more academic journal but for now articles should follow magazine style. A mini-bibliography should be provided though. This can include anything from three to ten items. (This will be shortened by the editor if deemed necessary).
Contacts and Bio
Please also provide a short biography (what you are doing, or have done, and where). You are also welcome to provide contact details but this is to the author’s discretion.
Submissions
Submit articles by attachment in word format to scolairestaire@gmail.com. Please label the email with the title of the article.
All copyright remains with the author. We cannot offer any payment for articles but we will provide publicity for any events, publications etc. our authors have coming up.
You say authors should be Irish. What do you mean by that, do you have to have an Irish passport? What about the Irish diaspora? Leave us out at your peril.
Hi Kae,
By “Irish Historians” I mean historians concentrating on Irish history. This project is aimed at researchers of Irish history who are isolated from the mainstream research community here in the motherland. So to answer your question, no, you don’t need a passport, and you don’t need to have any Irish blood whatsoever. I hope the diaspora will play as big a part in this than those of us in Ireland. I’d love to get some contributions from researchers outside of Ireland so if you, or anyone you know, has any ideas don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Adrian.