Terms & Conditions

Last updated: 12 September 2026

1. Introduction

These Terms and Conditions (“Terms”) govern your relationship with Dïaspora Journal SCIO (“the Journal”, “we”, “us” or “our”), a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation, Scottish Charity number SC055480, and set out the conditions under which authors, artists and other contributors (“you” or “the contributor”) submit work for consideration and publication.

By submitting written work, images or any other creative material (“the Work”) to the Journal, you confirm that you have read, understood and agreed to be bound by these Terms, the Contributor Copyright and Licence Agreement and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, you must not submit your Work.

2. Eligibility and submission

Submissions may be made via the designated online form on our website (https://diiaspora.org/submissions/), by email to the editorial team, or through any other method we may specify.

You must be at least 16 years old to submit Work. If you are under 18, you confirm that a parent or guardian has read these Terms and consents to your submission and to the licence granted below.

By submitting, you represent and warrant that:

You are the original author and copyright holder of the Work, or you have full authority to license the Work under the terms below.
The Work is original and has not been previously published elsewhere, unless you have disclosed prior publication to the editorial team at the time of submission.
The Work does not infringe any intellectual property rights, privacy rights or other legal rights of any third party, and any quotations, images or other third-party material are properly attributed and used with permission or under a valid exception.
The Work does not contain any material that is defamatory, discriminatory, hateful, or that incites violence.
The Work has not been generated by artificial intelligence tools, and any material use of such tools has been disclosed to the editorial team.

We reserve the right to reject any submission for any reason at our sole discretion. Submissions that contain plagiarism, hate speech or incitement to violence will be rejected and may be reported to the relevant authorities.

3. Editorial rights

By submitting your Work, you grant the Journal the right to review, edit and format your submission to align with our editorial style and publication standards. We will not make any substantive alterations to the meaning or intent of your Work without seeking your prior approval. Minor editorial amendments (for example, grammar, formatting or layout adjustments) may be made at our discretion.

Contributors whose Work is published will be credited under the name or pseudonym they supply. Contributors whose submissions are not selected for publication will not be credited or mentioned.

4. Licensing of submitted Works

By submitting your Work, you grant the Journal a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual licence to publish, reproduce, distribute, display and archive your Work in print and digital formats, including on our website and social media channels, and to sublicense these rights to printers, distributors and archives as necessary to do so.

You retain full copyright and moral rights in your Work. Nothing in these Terms transfers ownership of your intellectual property to the Journal. We will always identify you as the author of the Work.

5. Licence for the collective publication

The Journal as a collective publication (including its layout, design, editorial materials and overall arrangement) is a separate copyright work owned by Dïaspora Journal SCIO and may be distributed under a different licence determined by the editors (for example, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). This does not alter or restrict the rights granted to readers in respect of your individual Work.

Example notice to appear in print and digital editions:

6. Withdrawal and removal

You may withdraw a submission at any time before we confirm acceptance for publication. After publication, because the Work has been released, we cannot recall copies already distributed; however, we will consider reasonable requests to remove a Work from our website.

We reserve the right to withdraw or remove any Work from publication at any time for any reason, including where legal, ethical or editorial concerns arise.

All provisions of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination shall remain in effect, including those relating to ownership, licences already granted, disclaimers, limitations of liability and indemnity.

7. Disclaimer and limitation of liability

Participation in the Journal is voluntary. Views expressed in published Works are those of the individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Journal, its charity trustees, editors or volunteers.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Journal, its charity trustees, officers, editors and volunteers shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental or consequential loss or damage arising out of or in connection with your participation or submission.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for any other liability that cannot be excluded or limited under the law of Scotland.

8. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Dïaspora Journal SCIO and its charity trustees, officers, editors and volunteers from and against any claims, damages, liabilities or reasonable expenses arising out of:

your breach of these Terms; or
any infringement of third-party rights contained within your submission.

9. Data protection

We process any personal data you provide (such as your name, contact details or biography) in accordance with our Privacy Policy, which complies with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

10. Governing law and jurisdiction

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the law of Scotland, and any dispute arising out of or in connection with them shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Scottish courts.

If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.

11. Amendments

We may revise these Terms from time to time. Where changes are material, we will provide reasonable notice (typically at least 30 days) before they take effect. Changes will not apply retrospectively to Works already accepted for publication unless you agree. By continuing to submit or participate after such changes become effective, you agree to be bound by the revised Terms.

12. Contact

If you have any questions regarding these Terms, please contact:

Dïaspora Journal SCIO
Email: info@diiaspora.org
Telephone: +44 7932 774123
Post: 59/5 Thistle Street, Edinburgh, Scotland, EH2 1DY
Website: https://www.diiaspora.org