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Manuscript Studies Author Guidelines
Manuscript Studies is a semi-annual, diamond-level Open Access journal that publishes scholarship from around the world and across disciplines on topics related to pre-modern manuscript objects. The journal welcomes Article submissions that rely on traditional approaches, as well as those that explore the potential of new methodologies. Studies that incorporate innovative digital methods are particularly encouraged. Articles should normally not exceed 12,000 words. A separate section, entitled Annotations, features research in progress, new discoveries, and project reports; the length for these should fall between 1,000 and 4,000 words. Book reviews are written upon invitation by the Review Editor.
All submissions should consider the multidisciplinary and global audience of Manuscript Studies and provide sufficient context for informed but non-specialist readers. Submissions must present original scholarship: versions of book chapters or research previously made available on the internet should not be submitted. Likewise, submissions must not be under consideration for publication elsewhere. Special issues, assembling multiple contributions related to a certain topic or theme, may be proposed by contacting the editors directly.
Authors must submit their contributions via the Scholastica online submission system. For illustrations, authors are responsible for supplying high-quality image files (at least 300 dpi) upon the submission’s acceptance for publication, and if necessary, permission to reproduce them in print and online. Authors should follow the guidelines for manuscript preparation and documentation available here.
Authors have the option to retain copyright or assign copyright to the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania.
Review Policy
Manuscript Studies follows a double-blind peer review policy for evaluating Articles. After initial editorial review, Article submissions are sent for peer review in consultation with the Editorial Board. Annotations are reviewed by the Editorial Board and, if needed, by an outside expert reviewer. Authors are asked to indicate whether a submission is an Article or an Annotation at the time of transmittal. All submissions must be anonymized.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use Policy
Manuscript Studies does not allow the use of generative AI tools to compose any or all submitted content, including narrative text, citations, captions, figures, and tables. The content of an article must represent the original work of one or more individuals named as authors. AI is not a legal entity and therefore cannot be considered an author. Software that assists with grammar and spelling is not considered generative AI and does not require disclosure; the use of other more specialized AI writing assistants requires disclosure upon submission. The use of AI tools for translation of the author(s)’ words into English is permitted but must be disclosed upon submission.
Manuscript Studies accepts that authors may use AI tools as part of the research process, including but not limited to analyzing large data sets, performing machine-reading tasks, translations, and natural language processing of historic scripts and languages. Any permitted use of AI tools must be acknowledged in an unnumbered footnote at the beginning of the article, including the specific platform(s) and prompt(s) used.
Authors are required to affirm their compliance with this policy at the time of submission. If violations of the policy are discovered at any point in the submission and publication process, submissions will be rejected or (if already published) retracted.
The purpose of this policy is to ensure that authors accept full responsibility for their submitted work and that the material published in Manuscript Studies remains consistent with the highest standards of scholarly publishing.
