Submissions Guidelines

UU World welcomes news leads, press releases, query letters, and unsolicited submissions of writing and visual arts. To be considered for publication in UU World, an article must be directly relevant to Unitarian Universalism, and should address topics that concern UUs.

You can use the button below to place an online submission or query, or you can mail or fax submissions, queries, and other information to UU World, 24 Farnsworth Street, Boston MA 02210-1409; fax (617) 742-7025. Please do not send unsolicited articles, resumes, or writing samples by e-mail. For information about submitting artwork, please see our art guidelines.

Departments

We would most likely publish unsolicited manuscripts in our "Spirit" section, which compiles personal pieces such as essays and poems that relate the writer's religious response to life; our "Life" section, which shares practical and reflective essays about congregations and individuals as Unitarian Universalists; or our "Ideas" section, which covers books, history, and theology.

Essays in these departments range in length from 300 to 1,200 words.

Feature articles

Materials or story ideas submitted by readers have served as the basis for longer feature articles, sidebars, and profiles; these articles are usually solicited from freelancers well in advance. If you would like to be considered for UU World feature assignments, send us your resume and one or two writing samples.

If you would like to submit a feature article, it's a good idea to query us first. Send a letter describing the article you would like to write, the sources you would use, and your qualifications to write it along with your resume and writing samples. Payment for features is negotiated when the article is assigned.

UU News

UU World's editors are always eager to hear of events and achievements in your congregations. However, because of limited space, we cannot include all of the news items we receive. The following guidelines will help you to determine the type of news most likely to appear in print:

• Significant church activities marking church anniversaries in fifty year increments.
• Projects that affect or involve the community. We want to hear about them after they've started or occurred, not when they are still in the planning stage.
• Fires, floods, vandalism and other calamities that affect the congregation.
• Activities of ministers or individuals representing their congregations in the public sphere.
• The completion of new church buildings or extensive renovations.

Articles for UU News are written by the UU World staff. The editors need information describing newsworthy activities (a couple of paragraphs or a press release are fine), along with contact information. If the editors wish to include an item, a reporter will then follow up.

UU News also needs good photographs. We can accept color prints (from film) and digital photos with a resolution of at least 1200 by 1800 pixels. 

We appreciate the time and energy required to send in news items. Thank you!

Spiritual Landmarks

The magazine is always seeking photographs showcasing congregations' unique worship and meeting spaces for our Spiritual Landmarks column. Whether you meet in a building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, or a rented room, we are interested in seeing your space in use. The photographs should give a sense of what's unique about the building's (or room's) interior or exterior architecture and should include people. This last is of special importance because we want to show congregants using their space. Contact Sonja Cohen, senior editor, at UU World, 24 Farnsworth St., Boston, MA 02210-1409 or at scohen@uua.org. Please do not send photos attached to email unless asked to do so.

General Information

We receive many manuscripts; send us your best work. Manuscripts should be succinct, well-thought-out final drafts. We do not accept previously published material or fiction, and we rarely publish unsolicited poetry. We do not publish freelance book reviews.

Neatly type your article on 8 1/2 x 11 paper, double-spaced, with margins of at least one inch all around. Please make sure to keep a copy of everything you send us. Due to the volume of manuscripts received, we do not return manuscripts even when accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope. We will try to let you know if we can use your article or query within eight weeks of receipt.

Use the submission button below to send an online submission. Mail or fax submissions, queries, and other information to UU World, 24 Farnsworth Street, Boston MA 02210-1409; fax (617) 742-7025. Please do not send unsolicited articles, resumes, or writing samples by e-mail.

Thank you for considering UU World. Submissions increase our understanding of Unitarian Universalism and thus represent a real contribution to our efforts.