Guidelines

Jewish Spirituality: The Magazine is a modern and accessible magazine committed to spreading the teachings and practices of 21st century Jewish spirituality. You, as a writer, artist or photographer add strength to our success. Thank you for your interest in contributing content that explores the spirit, practices, and teachings of Jewish spirituality along a modern continuum. Our writer's guidelines below should provide you with all the information you need. We welcome submissions from all individuals with a range of experience. If you have further questions after reading the information below, contact us at editor@jspirituality.org. We look forward to working with you to deepen the interest and make more accessible 21st century Jewish spirituality.

Jewish Spirituality: The Magazine Writer's Guidelines

Jewish Spirituality: The Magazine is a semi-annual publication committed to revitalizing the spiritual consciousness and responsibility of all people. Its practical, accessible content introduces readers of all faiths and backgrounds to the spirit, practices, and teachings of the modern Jewish path. Each issue of the magazine is organized around a central theme and features articles, interviews, and literature that explore Jewish experience and practices.

To Whom Are You Writing?
Our audience is made up of individuals who may or may not be traditionally religious, but who:
* Strive to live with purpose and meaning.
* Are curious about the Jewish path and its precepts.
* Recognize the wisdom of history, but continually seek new ideas, suggestions, teachings, and experiences that are relevant to navigating the challenges of modern living.
* Are eager to learn about, explore, and adopt meaningful practices that open their hearts and deepen their connection to themselves, the Divine, and other people.

Topics of Interest
Each issue of Jewish Spirituality: The Magazine is theme driven, addressing a specific topic from various points of view. All articles must be directly related to the theme of an issue. Articles must be grounded in the rich religious or cultural traditions of Jewish lineage and clearly convey the modern relevance of Jewish practices and/or teachings. We seek articles that help our readers explore how to improve their physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual well being. In addition to our ongoing columns (see below), we use Q&A interviews, inspirational, how-to, features, original short stories, and poetry.

Upcoming Issues:

September 2004/Tishrei 5764 Issue: Beginnings
Beginnings is the theme of the inaugural issue of Jewish Spirituality: The Magazine. Topics could include: The beginning of practice, beginning of the day, beginning of relationships, beginning of the end, beginning of music, and what do all these beginnings mean and why do they matter? Of course, this list is only a beginning... feel free to send suggestions our way. We're interested in who you are and what you want to say.

Email submissions and queries to: editor@jspirituality.org

Upcoming themes include:

  • Relationships
  • Charity/Service
  • Health
  • Career Paths/Work
  • Parenting
  • Community
  • Ecology

Stay posted or contact us with ideas: editor@jspirituality.org. Include in the subject line the topic theme to which you are referring.

Ongoing columns include:

  • Meditation
  • Music
  • Rituals
  • Sacred Text
  • Ecology
  • Women's Studies
  • Poetry
  • Prayer
  • Book Reviews
  • Men's Studies
  • History

Tone: We are interested in practical, positive articles that help our readers live more consciously. We avoid pieces that pontificate. Be clear, supportive, inviting, informative. Write directly to our defined audience. Articles written in first person rarely are accepted. Avoid profiles of and/or interviews with teachers that focus just on their backgrounds and accomplishments. Focus instead on a teacher's unique or individual insights into Jewish spiritual practices, experiences, or teachings. Their personal achievement or abilities can be included in an introductory biographical paragraph.

Length: Articles may vary in length from 500 to 2,500 words, depending on the topic. Avoid overwriting. A well-written article of 700 words, for example, has a much better chance of being accepted than a lengthy, rambling piece.

How to Submit: Email Submissions Only!
Email a brief query to editor@jspirituality.org with 'Submission' as the subject heading. Include your name, address, phone number, and estimated word count in the first lines of the email. Tell us what you would like to write, why you are the person to write it, and how the piece is relevant to our readers (Be specific: How will our readers benefit from our topic, what will they receive from reading your submitted piece? Who are you?) If you are planning to cite or interview leading teachers, tell us who they are and how you plan to access them.

If editors are interested in pursuing your submission, they will request further information by email or phone.

Artists and Photographers:
Spiritually oriented artwork is strongly desired. Follow theme guidelines above. Email a brief query to editor@jspirituality.org with 'Artwork Submission' as the subject heading. Include your name, address, phone number, and email. Include a short one-paragraph bio and a weblink to your online portfolio. Show us a sample of what you would like to submit and tell us specifically how the piece is relevant to a particular theme.

Accepted Submissions: Final articles are submitted electronically. Send an email that includes in the body of the email: your name, address, phone, and title of the piece, and the word processing program used. Save all documents as RTF files (Rich Text Format). Double space with one-inch margins. Put your name, address, phone number, email address, and word count in the upper left-hand corner of the document. Put subheads in boldface. Do not underline or use ALL CAPS for anything. Use only 12-pt. Times New Roman font. Any foreign words should be translated using the Roman alphabet. Italicize on first reference. Cite all sources within the copy rather than by footnotes. Include author, name of book or periodical, publisher, and year published.

Byline: An extended byline of three to four sentences in which you can mention your classes, professional services, products, or other services you have available. You may include two of the following: telephone, postal address, email address, or Website.

Payment: Every contributor receives three free issues of the magazine and is acknowledged on our donations page. In the future we will monetarily compensate our contributors.

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