What kind of things are published in Cockatrice?
- Project photos
- Artisan profiles
- Community A&S stories
- Competition reports
- Book/website/source/supplier reviews
- Project stories (how-to, first attempts, failures)
- Tips from an expert
- Original research articles (theoretical or experimental, including recipe redactions)
- Original creative works in a period style
Check out our article templates for more info on each of these!
Who reads Cockatrice?
Our audience includes long-standing members and newcomers alike, with both experts and beginners at the Arts & Sciences. You can assume that our readers are interested in the Arts & Sciences, and that they have the sort of general knowledge that is widespread in the SCA, but they may not understand discipline-specific technical terms.
What’s the point of a Cockatrice article? Do I have to be an expert?
To share your story, and inspire others in their own journey of learning and discovery. While many of our articles are written by people who are very skilled, Cockatrice is not an academic publication. No matter your skill level, if you’re excited about one of your projects, we want to hear about it!
What should I write about?
Cockatrice accepts articles on any A&S topic in our period (pre-1600 AD) that is relevant to an SCA audience. If one of our article templates inspires you, go ahead and use it, but if you’d like to do something different, you’re welcome to try that as well.
I don’t think my work is good enough. People aren’t going to be interested
If you don’t feel comfortable talking about your work, you don’t have to. But everyone’s work is welcome in Cockatrice. We want to hear how you’ve grown and developed as an artisan, even if you feel that you have a long way to go. Have you tried something new recently? Did you learn a new technique? We want to hear it because it’s your story.
I don’t think my writing is good enough
Lots of people who submit articles to Cockatrice are very confident writers, but that doesn’t mean you have to have the same skill level in order to tell your story. You could use our templates to help you structure your writing, or you could ask a friend to interview you using the questions included.
How much should I write?
Different types of articles suit different lengths. Something like an artisan profile might be around 300 words, while a project article is probably more like 500. Original research articles are typically around 1000 words, although we do accept longer than that.
What do I need to do before I submit an article?
- Formatting: 14pt Garamond, 1.15 line spacing, no extra space before or after a paragraph. Headings should be 16pt and bolded, with subheadings 14pt and underlined.
- References: Please make sure you reference all sources in accordance with our referencing guide
- Photos & Images: If you did not take an image personally, please try to make sure you have permission from the photographer to publish it, or it is out of copyright. If you’re not sure, please include as much information about the source as possible, so I can chase it up
- File format: Documents should be submitted as .doc, .docx, or .rtf files
- Attribution: Please include both your SCA name (as you would like it to appear in the newsletter) and your legal name (for copyright attribution)
How do I submit my article?
Please email it as an attachment to cockatrice@lochac.sca.org. If your submission is one or more photos, please include the captions you want in your email along with your mundane and SCA names for attribution purposes.