Topics
We invite submissions of articles, stories, poetry, artwork, and photos on various topics relevant to the Eastern Townships, past, present, and future.
Original Works
We are looking for original works relevant to the Eastern Townships. Material must not be taken from the internet or any other source without permission and acknowledgement. The Townships Sun’s policy is to not reprint work previously published by other media covering the same readership territory (the Eastern Townships).
The Townships Sun will not publish any material deemed to be racist, misogynistic, homophobic, or to otherwise promote intolerance or hatred.
Copyright
Contributors sign a contribution agreement which states they retain copyright to their work, but agree not to republish the work during the three months following its publication in The Townships Sun. They also grant The Townships Sun the privilege of reprinting their work for a special occasion such as one of the magazine’s anniversary celebrations.
Articles, Essays, or Reviews (art, book, music, theatre)
Our magazine seeks articles, essays or reviews that differ from newspaper stories or op-ed pieces in their breadth, depth of research, and quality of prose. We look for a unique argument and a strong writing voice that expresses a salient point of view about a Townships issue, event or creative product.
Articles or essays are usually 400 to 900 words in length; reviews are a maximum of 450 words. The written piece may take the form of a memoir, a reported narrative, an interview, a short feature about a specific topic, a book review, or a review of an art exhibit, concert or music CD, photo exhibit, theatre, or creative body of work.
Queries. Before submitting a completed article, essay or review, please query the editor by email. A successful query will show that you have a good idea, that you can write, that you can research the topic, that you know The Townships Sun, and that your idea is pertinent for this magazine. The query letter should be sent well in advance of
the target issue, be a maximum of one page, and include these paragraphs:
- A “pitch” paragraph or lead that attracts the reader’s eye and arouses their curiosity.
- Article description. Tell us about your intended research, approach, format (interview? photos? title?),word length, and length of time needed to complete the article.
- Your credentials and experience. What qualifies you to write this article? (If you have not written for The Townships Sun before, you may provide a link to previous work online, or attach samples.)
- Contact information. Your full name, phone number, address, and email address.
Please send your query letter in the body of an email to the editor via our Contact page.
Please allow two weeks for a reply before following up by email. An affirmative response will lead to your receiving a contribution agreement that spells out details (due date, word length, and so on).
Short-Short Stories
Creative fiction, personal story, humour…. Surprise us; sometimes we don’t know what we want until we see it. Submit original work only. In general, stories should be a maximum of 1200 words. Do not query in advance.
Poems
Poems should be a maximum of 40 lines, and line length 3.5 inches or less (11-point Cambria font). Submit original work only. For concrete poetry or poems with unusual formatting, please submit the work as a PDF or JPG image, in as high resolution as possible (preferably 600 ppi). Do not query in advance.
Photos and Art
Submissions of photos or artwork related to the issue’s theme are invited for consideration for publication on the inside pages, on the front or back cover of the magazine, or to accompany articles. We are looking for work with visual impact in either black-and-white or in colour.
Photos and artwork submitted must either belong to YOU, or be classified as being in the public domain. Note that historical photos over 70 years old are customarily in the public domain; however, you must not take them from sources such as the Eastern Townships Resource Centre (ETRC) without permission. State the title of the work,
the name of the artist or photographer, year of creation, media used, dimensions of the work, its source, e.g. photographer’s and/or organization’s name, and any other pertinent information.
All images should be in as high resolution as possible, preferably 600 ppi or higher. Minimum 3.5 inches wide.They may be in the following file formats: JPG, TIFF, PDF, PNG, EPS or PSD. Do not query in advance.
How to Submit
Please submit all written work by email attachment in Word (.DOC or .DOCX) or LibreOffice Writer (.ODT), using 11-point Times New Roman or Cambria font. Single-space the text.
Include a short one-sentence bio, and a small photo – headshot – of the author. Also give the author’s full name, phone number, address, and email address.
Email to the editor via our Contact page or, if your files are over 15 Mg, send by WeTransfer.com.
Payment
The Townships Sun is a non-profit community magazine. Insofar as funding permits, we offer honoraria to contributors according to the following scale, whether the work is in written or image form:
1 magazine page of work: $50.
1/2 page: $25.
1/4 page: $12.50.
Contributors who do not already have a current subscription to The Townships Sun will receive a one-year subscription, which will constitute part of the honorarium, with the cost deducted from the sum offered above. An e-subscription is $15/year; a print subscription is $25/year.
Questions?
Please reach out to us via our Contact form for any questions. If you wish to subscribe, please visit our Subscriptions page.
The Townships Sun Contribution Guidelines, 2022-06
