Submission Guidelines

Editors: Shanetia Clark (Salisbury University), Robyn Seglem (Illinois State University), and Matt Skillen (Elizabethtown College)

Voices from the Middle (VM) is the peer-reviewed journal of the Middle Level Section of the National Council of Teachers of English. VM publishes original contributions by middle level teachers, students, teacher educators, and researchers in response to specific themes that focus on our discipline, our teaching, and our students. VM offers middle level teachers innovative and practical ideas for classroom use that are rooted in current research; this is a journal for teachers, by teachers.

See VM Calls for Manuscripts for information on upcoming themed issues.

See VM Reviewer Guidelines for information on writing and submitting reviews.

Manuscripts should meet the following guidelines: (1) be a minimum of 1,250 and a maximum of 2,000 words and, when appropriate, include high-resolution (300 dpi) files—as tiff, jpg, or pdf—of student work, photographs of students working, charts, diagrams, or other visuals. Please note that word count does not include references, text in tables or figures, endnotes/footnotes, etc. As a practitioner journal, reference lists need not be lengthy; (2) address the theme listed in the call for manuscripts for that issue; (3) be double spaced with 1-inch margins in 12-point font; (4) include 100-word abstract and bulleted list of key points; and (5) follow the current edition of the publication manual of the American Psychological Association. Please do not include an abstract, footnotes, endnotes, or author identification within the body of the text. Be sure all internal references to the author are omitted. Should a manuscript contain excerpts from previously published sources that require a reprint fee, the fee payment is the responsibility of the author. Manuscripts judged by the editor to be appropriate for the journal are submitted to blind review by external readers.

To submit a manuscript: All manuscripts should be submitted electronically. Please register as an author at our online manuscript submission and review system, Editorial Manager. Once logged in to the system, follow the instructions to upload your submission. Be sure to indicate in the comments section the issue date and theme of the call for manuscripts for which you are submitting (e.g., March 2022–Embracing Flexibility). Also be sure all internal references to the author are omitted. Receipt of submissions will be acknowledged by email. NOTE: The review process will begin once the submission deadline has passed.

Consent/permission forms: All authors whose work is accepted should submit a completed, signed Consent-to-Publish form. If you use student work or photos of students in your accepted manuscript, please include the appropriate Student Consent-to-Publish form(s) completed by the student’s parent/guardian. If you reprint previously published, copyrighted material, secure the necessary permission using this permission form. Please send this form to the original copyright holder and return to NCTE with all information completed. All forms should be submitted electronically. Certified digital signatures are accepted as are scans of handwritten forms.

Manuscript review: Manuscripts are reviewed anonymously by at least two members of the VM editorial review board.

Questions and other correspondence should be addressed to the editors via email at voices@ncte.org.