Submit to Spire

The submission deadline for our 2024 issue is February 1. Submissions received past this deadline will be considered for inclusion in future issues. 

Spire is at its heart an interdisciplinary and community-engaged resource, so we encourage submissions from any field or background. The more diversity, the better. Therefore, submitted works may take a number of forms, including but not limited to:

  • An essay on an environmentally relevant topic
  • An article detailing a project or study in which the author participated
  • A collection of data gathered by the author
  • A journalism piece highlighting a specific environmental issue
  • Artwork, photography or other digital media
  • A narrative or poem

Submissions to Spire should advance dialogue around conservation and/or sustainability, and be relevant to our Maine readers. Therefore, the primary purpose of accepted submissions is not to advertise any particular organization, group or company, but instead to inform and prompt new thinking among our community.

Please review our past issues to get a sense of the type of work that we seek to promote. We primarily publish work that focuses on a solutions-oriented approach to sustainability, as we believe that this adds the most value to our community dialogue for advancing environmental conservation. 

Publishing with Spire includes a comprehensive review and revision process, following these steps:

  1. Lead editors screen the submission for general quality, consistency, and fit relative to the journal’s aims.
  2. Author is notified whether the submission will move forward. If accepted for review, piece is referred to at least two peer reviewers. 
  3. Peer reviewers provide editorial team with feedback on submission. Editorial team discusses reviewer feedback and makes a decision whether to publish.
  4. Author is notified of decision and provided with anonymous formative feedback. If accepted, the submission may require revisions to proceed.
  5. Editors review revisions (if applicable) and notify author if further revisions are needed. Editors may also suggest specific line edits for authors to approve.
  6. Author and editors review a final proof before completing an open-access publishing agreement. The work is published to the Spire website.

General Submission Guidelines

  • All submissions should be sent to the Editorial Team at spire@maine.edu.
  • The email subject line for all submissions should include the author’s last name and the words “Submission to Spire.” Example: Lastname Submission to Spire
  • In the body of the submission email, please provide a brief description of your piece including your field of study (if applicable).
  • Visual work (photographs, artwork, video, etc.) should include descriptive captions for each individual piece and ideally a short narrative that clarifies for the reader how the pieces connect with each other and Spire‘s aims.
  • DO NOT send excerpts of published work seeking promotion, and submit no more than three poems or four works of art for review. 

Guidelines for Submission Types

Submissions of typed documents: 

  • Typed documents should be double-spaced in 12-point Times New Roman font and submitted in a .docx file as an email attachment.
  • Submissions should not exceed 5,000 words total (including references).
  • Submissions should be prepared and any references cited according to the guidelines of the Chicago Manual of Style 16th edition or higher. You may find a free and open-access version of the stylebook at Purdue’s Online Writing Lab. For any questions concerning style or if authors anticipate difficulty with CMS, please contact our Editorial Team at spire@maine.edu.
  • Any figures or images should be included within the body of the .docx file and also as separate attachments to the email (please submit the highest resolution files possible).
  • In some cases, authors may wish to link to certain external materials (images, popular press articles, other websites, external data, etc.). If so, please hyperlink select text directly in your typed submission. Wherever possible, ensure that linked materials are freely accessible on the open Web.

Submissions of computer generated artwork: 

  • File Formats: Please submit computer generated artwork in a TIFF, PNG or high-quality JPEG file.

Submissions of physically rendered artwork:

  • Lighting Condition: A physical piece must be photographed in a brightly lit area without a camera flash.
  • Image Quality: Please photograph all artwork with a DSLR, Digital Scanner, or other high-quality recording device. (Avoid using cell phones, for example.)
  • File Formats: Please submit photographed artwork in a TIFF, PNG, or high-quality JPEG file.

Submissions of photography:

  • Image Quality: Photographs should conform to aesthetic norms characteristic of high-quality photography such as proper exposure and lack of image grain.
  • File Formats: Please submit photographed artwork in a TIFF, PNG, or high-quality JPEG file. Do not submit photographs in a RAW, CR2, or DNG format.

Submissions of videography:

  • Video Format: Video submissions should be sent in a universally used format such as .mov, .mp4, or .avi.
  • Video Quality: Please do not submit videos smaller than 1280 * 720 p (1920 * 1080 p preferred). Videos should conform to aesthetic norms characteristic of high-quality videos, including proper exposure, smooth and balanced audio, and lack of image grain.
  • Videos can be submitted in a number of ways, including email attachments, file transfer services (Dropbox, Google Drive), and links to video playback websites (Youtube, Vimeo).