The New Socialist Webzine welcomes all submissions that are in line with our guidelines provided below. Please send all submissions and inquiries electronically to the following email address: website[at]newsocialist.org

Quick Submission Guidelines

- Please read the full text on this page if you intend to submit material to the New Socialist Webzine.

- Text should arrive as plain email, MS Word document, or other word processor document.

- Text with auto-formatted endnotes will not be accepted. Please mark endnotes in square brackets, or add URL links for online sources.

- All submissions should include a short two to three line bio.

- Write SUBMISSION in the e-mail subject box before sending your article to us.

Notes for Writers and Contributors

This is a difficult period for people in the Canadian state who look to the self-organized struggles of workers and oppressed people for defence against the attacks we face. The level of struggle overall is low and the experience of defeat is common, so hope for the possibility of radical change is harder to maintain.

We at the New Socialist Webzine want our online publication to be useful to people who share our belief about the crucial importance of such struggles, regardless of what political terms they use to describe themselves.

We are not a news site. We think people involved in today’s struggles – and the many more who we hope will become involved – need more analysis and debate in these difficult times. To this end, we seek to publish original articles, reviews, interviews, and blog posts that

- tackle big political questions that are thrown up by organizing, campaigns and struggles (Alan Sears’ "The Politics of Free Speech")

- look at questions posed by the attacks we face (David Camfield and Daniel Serge’s "The Deficit: THEIR Problem, Not Ours")

- analyze today’s struggles in order to strengthen future struggles (Harold Lavender’s "Assessing the Anti-Olympics Protests in Vancouver")

- examine what’s going on in the world, to help make sense of developments (Johanna Brenner’s "Caught in the Whirlwind")

The editors and the small socialist network to which we belong don’t think we have all the answers. Nor can we possibly write more than a fraction of what needs to be written. At its best, New Socialist, which we published in print from 1996 to 2009, ran contributions and was read by a range of people who shared a commitment to struggle from below and the belief that a new left is needed. We want to make our webzine that kind of publication, with the added space for contributions from readers provided by our moderated comments feature.

What’s in an Article?

The New Socialist website includes both a webzine and a blog feature. Blogposts may include links to news, analysis and argument published elsewhere, as well as more time-sensitive writing. Webzine articles are normally original contributions of political analysis or argument that have not been published elsewhere. Each article should normally include: a title, subtitles, and a sentence or two to identify the author. Sometimes editors may add an introduction or postscript for context. Timeliness in delivering articles is important since the editors aim to publish at least one original article per week in order to maintain a strong readership.

Social media buttons are added to each online article to encourage readers to share articles. It is possible to subscribe to the webzine by RSS feed, and articles are also searchable on Google or other search engines. It is possible for readers to comment on articles, and for the author to respond to comments. All comments are reviewed and filtered as appropriate by an editor.

Procedures

Finalizing each article involves not only the author, but also an editorial team that ensures the article is polished and prepared for publication. The editorial team includes an Editorial Committee that normally meets every two weeks, and a pool of Editorial Associates that provide ideas for articles and/or authors, and assist with publishing tasks. Writers may work closely with one or two people through the assignment/shepherding and editorial process.

Articles go through three phases:

1) Writing assignment/shepherding

The editorial board collectively plans articles for publication. For each article, a shepherd is assigned to contact the potential author, confirm the author, discuss the political focus and style of the article, and identify a timeline for delivery of a first draft for editorial review. The shepherd also helps to ensure that article, graphics, and author biographies are submitted in time and according to specs.

2) Editing

Once the article is submitted, the shepherd informs the person responsible for editing it. That editor ensures that the article conforms to New Socialist Webzine standards and style. The editor may recommend that the author make revisions. Once the text is finalized, the editor adds subtitles as necessary to break up the text. If any substantive edits have been made to the version submitted, the article is sent back to the author for review and approval. It is important that sufficient time be set aside before production for this exchange to take place. The final article approved by the author, called the "print copy version," is read one last time for copy edits. At this stage, only minor edits should be necessary.

3) On-Line Publication and Discussion

Each copy edited article is loaded to the webzine, along with any graphical illustrations, and social media buttons are added to encourage readers to share the article. Authors and editors are encouraged to advertise articles, and solicit comments for the discussion forum.

The webzine format is new for our organization and we are still experimenting with format and style. We welcome input!

The webzine allows for flexibility in article length. Articles are broken up in sections so as to make reading easier. Subtitles help with this.

This magazine is not aimed at an academic audience. We do bear responsibility to our readership to ensure that

- Facts are correct.

- The politics of the article fall within the boundaries of what we are prepared to publish.

- The arguments/ideas are sound.

- Argument(s) are made effectively and coherently.

- Writing doesn't presume too much prior knowledge of the subject matter (not all our readers know, for example, what the Comintern was or the basics of the Russian Revolution). If necessary, background information and/or explanation of concepts can be included with the article in a sidebar or box.

Style should be adapted to the magazine format to ensure ease of reading. Sentence and paragraphs are kept shorter than is the norm for academic writing. Writers and editors should ensure that the following criteria are met:

- Sentences are short and clear. Dashes and parenthesis are kept to a minimum.

- Paragraphs are short to help guide the reader through the logic of the article.

- Subtitles/breakers are included within the text of the article.

- Political concepts are explained rather than just presented.

- Acronyms spelled out fully first time used, and acronym put in brackets.

- No jargon. Clear wording.

- Citations are minimized. Short reading lists can be included if need be.

Format

The production team working with articles is volunteer, so it is very helpful if authors follow format guidelines to minimize errors and reduce work involved in preparing the article for publication. While there is more than one correct way for many stylistic details, standardization across articles for the webzine allows for a more polished and professional product. Please also refer to the style guide sheet attached below.