Writing Articles
Before writing, you might want to leaf through a few issues to see what
kinds of articles are published. Most are first-person accounts of the
writer's experience with alcoholism and Alcoholics Anonymous. The magazines
publish stories for special departments, such as Along Spiritual Lines, AA
Around the World, The Home Group, and Youth Enjoying Sobriety, as well.
Articles about the Steps and Traditions, jokes for Ham on Wry, and letters
for PO Box 1980 and Your Move are welcome too, as are submissions to i-Say
and Rule #62 on the website. But you are not confined to these topics. The
editors are always looking for innovative material, as long as it relates to
AA experience and reflects an awareness of AA's singleness of purpose.
Articles are reviewed by the editorial staff and selected by consensus, a
process which can take several months. But all contributors receive a reply
from the staff, whether their manuscripts are published or not.Length
and format: The magazines publish work of different lengths, from snappy
one-liners and one-paragraph anecdotes to five- or six-page articles
(2000-3000 words). All manuscripts should be double-spaced. Manuscripts sent
by e-mail should be submitted in the body of the message or as attached
files, saved in "Word," "Simple text," or "Rich text." Handwritten
manuscripts should be written clearly on one side of the paper.
A word about timing: The process of article selection for any
issue begins about three months before the issue is due to come off press,
and about four months before the cover date. Take the December issue as an
example: Articles are selected around the beginning of August; the editing
and production process takes three months; and the issue comes off the press
the first of November, in time to be mailed to subscribers by the cover
date. As a result, a Christmas article mailed to the Grapevine in November
would arrive after the December issue is already printed. (It might,
however, be saved for the following December.)
What the magazines do not publish:
Neither magazine publishes poems, prayers, song lyrics, tributes to
individuals, plays, previously published material, anything unrelated to AA
or that violates the principles of AA.
Submitting Photographs, Illustrations, and
Cartoons
Photographs may be submitted for "Picture This" or "If Walls Could Talk." We
also use photographs, line drawings, and paintings when they relate to
specific articles. Original cartoons, never published elsewhere, are also
welcome. Each photo or piece of artwork should be clearly marked with the
contributor's name and address.
Format: The Grapevine and La Viña
accept original black and white or color photographs, slides, and art, in
any size. Art sent via e-mail must be in a JPEG or GIF format, no larger
than 90K. Photographs must be scanned using a very high resolution (at least
600 dpi). Submissions may be e-mailed to
arteditor@aagrapevine.org; or
mailed to The Grapevine, Editorial Dept., 475 Riverside Drive, NY, NY 10115.
Submitting Articles, Letters, and Humor
E-mail submissions to
gveditorial@aagrapevine.org; or mail to The Grapevine, Editorial Dept.,
475 Riverside Drive, NY, NY 10115. If your work is fairly short, the
simplest way to submit it is within the body of your e-mail. However, if you
wish to attach a file to your e-mail, please save the document in word or
simple text. Please include your full postal address so we can respond to
you. Articles written in Spanish can be submitted to La Viña at the postal
address above or e-mailed to
manuscritoslv@aagrapevine.org.
( this information was taken from the official website of the AA
Grapevine ... www.aagrapevine.org )