Submission Advice
What are we looking for?
We are looking for Articles, Quick-Reads and Reviews on any historical topic. We welcome submissions from researchers in any discipline, provided that their work has a historical focus. For example, some of the topics from the first issue include art, literature, philosophy, heritage, geography, religion, and warfare, among many others. We are also interested in promoting interdisciplinary research, global histories, and the digital humanities.
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We publish academic work in an accessible style. While we require submissions to be academically rigorous, we discourage the use of jargon. Articles need to be accessible to non-specialists; EPOCH is a magazine, not a journal. For more guidance on style, take a look at our sample article.
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We provide a platform for academic thought and research, but we will not publish or uphold messages of intolerance or hate.
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Keep reading for information on how to submit your work to us.
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Submitting A Quick-Read or Review
Content
These are designed to be shorter pieces of writing on wide variety of topics. We recommend a tight focus, for example on a single event, artefact or source. We also welcome a range of review pieces, for example on recent historical exhibitions, films, books or any other relevant content.
LEngth
These pieces should be around 750-850 words long; there is some room for flexibility in this matter.
Style
Download our submission form to submit a Quick-Read or Review
We encourage an informal but well-written style, comparable to a piece of popular history or journalism.
References
References are not essential for these pieces but we welcome suggestions for hyperlinked content if you think it would be helpful. This may depend on the type of content however (a book review will of course require the reference for that book).
Images
We welcome suggestions for any images that you would like to accompany your work. However, please remember that these will be subject to proper copyright attribution and the visual direction of the design editor. Please read more here.
Timeline
When your article is commissioned, a member of the editorial team will agree on a deadline with you. Once submitted, one of the editors will suggest any changes needed before publication. The magazine is published quarterly so articles will be scheduled for publication rather than put online immediately. You will be notified of the publication date of the edition in which your article will appear.
Please fill out the Submission Form
All submission forms should be emailed to epoch@lancaster.ac.uk
Submitting An Article
Planning your submission
As a guide, we suggest that conference papers can make a strong starting point when planning a submission and are close to the tone that we are aiming for, which seeks to inform and interest the reader.
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We ask that you include five keywords with your submission describing the central themes of the article. We will then use this information to assign you to the most appropriate member(s) of our editorial team. Your assigned editor(s) will support you through the editing process and will suggest revisions to your work to make it attractive to a broader audience. You can meet our editors here.
Download our submission form to submit an article
Content
For longer articles we welcome papers and essays on any historical topic. These should be serious and well-researched but accessible to an interested but non-specialist audience.
LEngth
Articles should generally be 2,500-3,000 words long. We also welcome shorter pieces; the guidelines for these can be found in the Quick Reads and Reviews section. We are flexible on word counts, and these can be discussed with your editor.
Style
We encourage an informal but well-written style, comparable to a piece of popular history or journalism.
References
We encourage you to include a small number of supplementary academic pieces which could be used to from a further reading section. We also welcome any suggestions you have for relevant online resources which could be hyperlinked in your article. Please do not include traditional footnotes.
Images
We welcome suggestions for any images that you would like to accompany your work. However please remember that these will be subject to proper copyright attribution and the visual direction of the design editor. Please read more here​.
Timeline
When your article is commissioned, a member of the editorial team will agree on a deadline with you. Once submitted, one of the editors will suggest any changes needed before publication. The magazine is published quarterly so articles will be scheduled for publication rather than put online immediately. You will be notified of the publication date of the edition in which your article will appear.
Please fill out the Submission Form
All submission forms should be emailed to epoch@lancaster.ac.uk.
More Information
Images
We welcome images to accompany your Article, Quick-Read or Review. EPOCH aims to be a very visual magazine, and we love having big, bold images.
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You can include images that serve as 'figures', helping to further your argument. These might be pictures of non-textual sources, such as works of art or diagrams. We also welcome decorative images, that might not be essential to your article, but enhance the background. For example, you may wish to include a map or a portrait of someone mentioned in the article.
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The art director will review all images before publication and reserves the right to refuse images. You do not have to submit images if you do not want to, and we will select a general image to accompany your work if this is the case.
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It is also essential that all images adhere to copyright law.
Copyright
When submitting images it is important to check the copyright. While EPOCH is non-profit, we still require permissions to reproduce certain images. Citing an image, as you would in an academic piece, is not sufficient for work published online.
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Typically, image copyright expires seventy years after the creator's death. Therefore, in most cases, historical images are in the public domain and can be used freely.
However, this is not always the case. Copyright may be extended by the owner(s) of an image. Sometimes archives and museums apply copyright to images in their collections to protect against improper use. In these cases, it is essential to get permission from the copyright holder if you wish to use the image.
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Equally, more recent images, such as paintings or photographs produced from the mid-twentieth century are likely to still be covered by copyright. The same applies to diagrams or maps found in books.
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The best way to source copyright-free images in the public domain is to use image libraries like Wikimedia Commons. Under each image, it will say whether or not the image can be reproduced.
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For those interested, the UK's official copyright guidelines can be found here.
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If you have any queries on this matter, please contact either your editor or the official EPOCH email (epoch@lancaster.ac.uk).
FAQs
Who can submit to EPOCH?
While we don’t discourage submissions from anyone, the magazine is designed with postgraduates and early career researchers in mind.
What sort of material is EPOCH looking For?
All of our content is designed for history enthusiasts who may not be specialists in any particular field. We cover virtually all periods, places, and approaches. When you are drafting your idea consider a subject that will ring a bell with a non-specialist audience, but that you can still make engaging and specific. These are articles which are academically driven, but written for everyone.
Which Citation model do you prefer?
The magazine is curated with other postgraduate researchers in mind, so what would be ideal is a list of recommended reading for those who want to research further (average of 5). If a citation is still necessary to avoid plagiarism, we ask that you use the most recent edition of the MHRA style guide, which can be found online here.
How often is the magazine Published?
We publish quarterly in September, December, March, and June.
Will I be Credited?
Of course! When the submission is complete we will also include links to your social media accounts if you would like.
What happens if my proposal is not accepted?
You can always revise your proposal and resubmit for a new issue or consider reshaping your proposal for a different format (e.g. redraft an article to be a quick-read).
Who will read my proposal?
The coordinating editors will send your proposal to the various content editors who will be most equipped to manage the piece. They will make the decisions and recommendations for publication.
How long are published pieces?
You can read the full editorial guidelines above, but our quick-reads run approximately 750 words while articles are longer at around 2,500 words. These are recommendations which can be discussed with your designated editor.
When will i hear back from EPOCH?
We try to respond to initial submissions quickly. Content editors may take a couple of weeks to be in touch regarding your submission.
Can i submit more than one proposal?
You may, but it would be helpful if you could indicate this on your submission forms, or in your initial email.