Dear AQSG Members,


I come to you at an exciting time in our organization's development. As many of you know, in 2025, AQSG leadership, board, and members joined together to vision and strategize around the future success and sustainability of the organization. Part of the discussion included the future of learning and scholarship within AQSG. As Uncoverings editor, I had—and continue to have— a series of conversations about how the journal can continue to grow and evolve as the organization advances its strategic priorities. After careful deliberation, research, and deep listening, I have gleaned that we should think more expansively about what Uncoverings can hold and model for the field.


This letter is an introduction to some changes that I feel are responsive, exciting, and timely. I hope that you will feel the same!  I cannot overstate the amount of respect that I have for Uncoverings as a publication, all of those who have made it so rich and beautiful, and the rigor and time that has been put into shaping such profound and expansive research. I feel empowered to think strategically about how interest and visibility for Uncoverings can grow, and how it can be a resource to encourage growth in membership. Thus, in alignment with Strategic Priority II, I have presented both the Publications Committee and Board with changes to Uncoverings’ submissions process, which I am now pleased to share with you. The attached document gives you insight into what those changes will look like in the forthcoming round of submissions. I have also briefly summarized the changes and new formats below: 




Changes to pre-existing formats


●       Articles have an updated word limit of 4,000-9,000 words. 


New/updated formats


●       Interviews are now explicitly named as an acceptable format which also features a  4,000-9,000 word limit, and a limit of 15 images.

●       Exhibition-focused studies are a newly-introduced submission format with a 2,500-4,000 word limit, and a limit of 12 images.

●       Visual essays are a newly-introduced submission format with a 2,000 word limit, and a limit of 10 images.


I will be offering an in-depth presentation of these changes at a special session that will take place during Winter Virtual Seminar on Saturday, March 14 at 6:00pm ET! I do hope you will attend. Lastly, I want to reassure you that my top priority throughout this process is maintaining the rigor and depth of research that Uncoverings has become known for. Concurrently, I am also answering the task of expanding our reach to potential authors, reviewers, and other community members whose contributions will only enrich our work and future scholarship. Thank you for your continued support. I look forward to being in conversation with you soon!

 

Warmly, 


Sharbreon Plummer, Uncoverings Editor





UNCOVERINGS: SUMMARY OF UPDATES AND CHANGES



Introduction:


In 2025, AQSG held a retreat that gathered a Strategic Planning Committee to develop key priorities that support a long-term vision for the organization that would be fully actualized by 2035, with priorities to be addressed in the years 2026-2028. As part of this commitment to deepening and expanding our cultivation of quilt research and scholarship, the Publications Committee will institute an update to the submission requirements for Uncoverings, which will go into effect through the 2026 call for submissions (to be published in 2027).


Purpose + Aims


The proposed updates were developed in alignment with AQSG Strategic Priority #2. Additional details can be found below:


Strategic Priority II—Advance Quilt Scholarship and the Community That Sustains It.


Promote high standards for quilt-related study by curating research, publishing
 significant work, and fostering interdisciplinary learning. Strengthen the community of scholars, curators, makers, and educators who drive the field forward.


Objectives

●     Develop a structured process to identify and elevate emerging voices in the quilt research field.

●     Expand collaboration with academic and museum-based scholars on exhibitions, articles, and public programs.

●     Expand the scope of Uncoverings to highlight diverse and interdisciplinary

perspectives on quilt study. 


We are confident that through the expansion of submissions for Uncoverings, as well as the amendment of word count ranges and formats, we will:


●     Increase the number of annual submissions to the journal from our current membership

●     Raise visibility for new audiences and grow interest (and potential membership) in AQSG

●     Deepen the connections between quilt research and underrepresented disciplines


Scope Updates:


Uncoverings welcomes scholarship that connects quilt research to a variety of disciplines and research areas. We value scholarship that speaks across disciplinary boundaries, drawing on relevant theoretical frameworks while remaining accessible to our diverse readership of scholars, historians, museum professionals, educators, collectors, researchers, and quiltmakers.


The following submission formats will be considered for acceptance:


Articles + Interviews


Articles are considered to be long-form research-based writing that presents original findings shaped around a key thesis or investigation. It typically follows a standardized structure—introduction, methods, findings and discussion—allowing readers to understand and evaluate the research process. The article contributes new knowledge to a field by building on existing literature and furthering knowledge of quilt research/scholarship.


Interviews should be formatted as a structured conversation between a researcher and participant(s) that is transcribed, edited, and published to share insights, perspectives, or experiences relevant to quilt scholarship. There should be an analysis of the conversation and topics discussed beyond the initial transcript. Standalone conversations will not be reviewed.


Word count: 4,000 to 9,000 words in length, including notes and appendix materials. Articles below the 9000 word limit are encouraged! Authors are asked to submit 5-7 keywords (in addition to their abstract) when submitting their works for review.


Image count: max 15


Exhibition-Focused Studies


Exhibition-focused studies should highlight significant research and contributions to quilt study that have emerged through the presentation of work by an individual artist or group of artists and/or research undertaken by a curator or institution. Submissions should extend beyond a traditional review and critique of the works on view. Through these studies, readers should understand:


●     The significance of this exhibition and its area(s) of focus to the field of quilt study/research

●      What knowledge it furthers

●     New or deepened findings based on the conducted research and work on view


Word limit: 2,500-4,000


Image count: max 12


Example 1: Right to Rest—This article was published in Exhibition, a peer-reviewed journal of exhibition theory and practice for museum professionals, published by the American Alliance of Museums.


Example 2: Museum Care of Indigenous Cradles: Insights From Consultation With Tribal Communities— published in CURATOR: The Museum Journal


Visual essays


Visual essays combine scholarship with artistic storytelling for a more creative presentation of research and archival work. Authors are expected to contextualize the imagery in specific research themes, inclusive of proper citation and attribution where applicable. Visual essays may be best suited for the following submission formats:


●     Original artwork developed by an author to reflect their research-based quilt practice or response to other quilt-related inquiry

●     Material and technical analysis of specific quilts or quilt collections

●     Documentation of quilt-making processes, techniques, or regional traditions

●     Visual comparisons across time periods, makers, or geographic regions

●     Exploration of pattern development and evolution

●     Analysis of quilts as primary historical documents

●     Conservation and preservation techniques and impact case studies

●     Digital humanities projects involving quilt databases or mapping

●     Practice-based research documenting contemporary quilt-making


Word count: 2000 (max)


Image count: max 10


Visual essay example 1 (without accompanying text)


●     Note: a submission in this format would not be accepted as a standalone work. It would require context and analysis using the requirements listed above. This is simply an example of how a writer used a quilt block as a literary form within a journal.


Visual essay example 2  (with accompanying text)