Submission Guidelines
The Other Journal welcomes the submission of critical essays, reviews, creative writing, and visual or performance art that encounter life through the lens of theology and culture; we seek pieces that consider the interaction of faith with contemporary life, art, politics, sexuality, technology, economics, and social justice. We are particularly interested in works which present creative, alternative views that may otherwise fall outside the margins of mainstream narratives. And although we primarily focus on perspectives within the Christian tradition, we invite dialogue with all who are interested in exploring the ongoing role of faith and spirituality in the world.
Content
The Other Journal is an online quarterly that addresses a new theme in each issue. We select content that is thematically relevant, imaginative, well-researched, and of first-rate quality. If you are interested in contributing, please read our issue-specific Call for Submissions and browse our archives for a better sense of the content that we accept.
Upcoming Issue Deadlines
Issue #18 - The Celebrity Issue - April 1, 2010
Issue #19 - The Food Issue - June 1, 2010
Audience
The audience of The Other Journal includes church leaders and theologians, scholars and students, hipsters and artists, bookworms and movie buffs, ragamuffins and the unchurched, and Web surfers of every stripe.
Style and Format
Critical essays and reviews
We accept critical essays, articles, and editorials that are between 2,000 and 4,000 words, and we accept literature, music, film, and art reviews that are between 1,000 and 3,000 words. Because we publish online (and not in print), our editors may reformat the paragraph length, indentation, and spacing of written works to better fit our online layout. If you have particular formatting concerns, please state your preferences in the body of your submission email. If we choose to publish your submission, we will collaborate with you during the editing process.
We fashion our editorial style after The Chicago Manual of Style. Please use endnotes with full bibliographic information and no separate bibliography. For detailed reference examples, visit http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html.
Creative writing
We accept poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. Please indicate the genre of your submission in the subject line of your email. Send up to six poems or one piece of prose at a time. Fiction submissions may include short stories or self-contained novel excerpts, and creative nonfiction submissions may include personal essays or memoirs. Because we are an online journal, we take a special interest in short prose submissions, especially pieces that are less than 2,500 words. We will consider simultaneous submissions, but please indicate they have been simultaneously submitted elsewhere and let us know right away if you are withdrawing them from consideration.
Visual and performance art
Visual art exhibits should be submitted as JPEG images, video exhibits should be submitted as Quick Time files, and music tracks should be submitted as MP3 files. Visual art and video exhibits should be accompanied by an introductory paragraph that describes the work. The introductory paragraph should be no more than 300 words and should be included in a Microsoft Word or rich text format document. Visual art exhibits should be accompanied by individual captions that correspond to each of the images. Music submissions should be attached to an email that includes song and album information for each song.
Submission Procedures
All submissions should be sent via email to submissions@theotherjournal.com with "TOJ Submission" written in the subject line.
Critical essays, reviews, and creative writing should be submitted as Microsoft Word 2003 or rich text format documents. Submissions that are pasted directly into the text of an email rather than an attached document may not be considered. All writing should be single-spaced and should follow the parameters that are outlined in the Style and Format section above.
Visual and performance art submissions should also be be submitted as attachments. If you are unable to submit your work via email, contact an editor to describe your intended submissions and the obstacles preventing email submission; we will respond in a timely manner with further instructions.
Your cover email should include the following:
(a) A brief bio.
(b) Specification as to which section of The Other Journal you are directing your submission (i.e., Examination, Creation, Imagination, Perspective, or Social Justice). To learn about each section please browse the journal archives for section content.
(c) A list of the pieces that you are submitting and whether (and where) they have previously been published. There is no limit to the quantity of content that you may submit at one time, but you should only submit work that is of high quality and of some relevance to an upcoming issue.
You can expect to hear back from our editors via email within 4 to 6 weeks of your submission date. If we choose to publish your submission, we will discuss potential editing and reformatting changes via email. If we make any changes to your submission, we will send you a final draft or proof before we publish your work.
Compensation
Because we are a nonprofit, online publication and do not receive advertisements, we are currently unable to offer compensation for published works. We are grateful to our writers and artists for providing free, original, and open perspectives to a wide audience for dialogue and inspiration.
O God, Where Art Thou? A Review of A Serious Man
rwsmoore says ::
nice work John. Good thoughts on a good movie. One part I was intrigued by that you didn't touch upon was the link between the morality of our actions and the effect they have in the world. The closing scene of him changing the grade & getting t . . .READ MORE >
Friend of the Opposing Views
jfo1966 says ::
I'm trying to think well, and because of an atheist friend, I doubt more, and have deeper faith. So, my comment is pretty simple: I wonder if Ockam's razor is of help: if a business relationship cannot in any way touch the depth, breadth of a relat . . .READ MORE >
Young Life and the Gospel of All-Along Belonging
Alan K says ::
What can serve as an adequate reference for sin, evil and death? How is the world supposed to know that it is supposed to be different than it already is? Maybe earthquakes in Haiti and tsunamis in the Indian Ocean are just the way things are. May . . .READ MORE >
Young Life and the Gospel of All-Along Belonging
jking says ::
"whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son" how does the gospel of all-along belonging come from this?READ MORE >
Young Life and the Gospel of All-Along Belonging
jking says ::
i do think the incarnational model has been incorrect throughout the twentieth century. especially in ministry. we minister to Jesus, not as Jesus.READ MORE >
Young Life and the Gospel of All-Along Belonging
hesed says ::
It was that...and "go and sin no more" (Jn 8:11). Which is said immediately AFTER saying "Where are those that condemn you?...Neither do I." ABSOLUTELY, jking, absolutely. That is what is remarkable about the ministry of Jesus. He comes to sin . . .READ MORE >
Young Life and the Gospel of All-Along Belonging
jking says ::
"With 'sinners' and those outside of faith, his message was a banquet thrown for them, a father running to embrace, a shepherd looking for sheep." It was that...and "go and sin no more" (Jn 8:11).READ MORE >
Tempting Science Fallacies 1: Seeing Is Believing
jking says ::
did your article commit the "personal anecdote + mention of tree rings = article to shame naive creationists" fallacy?READ MORE >
Young Life and the Gospel of All-Along Belonging
jking says ::
could someone explain what "belonging" is and how it is a valid theological category? also, could someone remind me why our language of "incarnational ministry" makes sense for someone other than Jesus? by going to a high school and loving te . . .READ MORE >
Young Life and the Gospel of All-Along Belonging
jking says ::
being inclusive makes us feel oh so good, too. too bad our "Christian bros" just don't understand. (oh crap, have we become exclusive again?)READ MORE >
The Way Mulattas Make Me Feel: Michael Jackson's Domination of the Feminized Other
jking says ::
did you consider the context that generated this video? before using the occasion of your "cousin's" death as an opportunity for an article (in which you place the ills of the video solely on jackson's shoulders), it would have been helpful to l . . .READ MORE >
New TOJ Book - God Is Dead And I Don't Feel So Good Myself
gilman says ::
I bought the book. I haven't read it through, yet, but I've started it. It kicks ass and really is what it claims to be, a fresh, smart, compassionate, confessional new take on this tired old culture-war. I'm proud to be in such company, with m . . .READ MORE >
Friend of the Opposing Views
gilman says ::
Wow, great post. What a dose of honesty. This is the kind of stuff that makes TOJ great. I really will have to re-read to digest. When I got married 14 years ago, my wife was not a Christian. She was not an atheist either -- she was a Baha'i. . . .READ MORE >
Recycling
blaze says ::
Wow. Stunning and gripping story with great elements of faith and sexuality and life. All these things mixed in together and an author willing to admit the doubt in her own heart. Yet so modern too, talking about Java and Kayaking and traveling the w . . .READ MORE >
Young Life and the Gospel of All-Along Belonging
hesed says ::
jgriss, Yes sin needs to be talked about. We need, and have, a savior, again no argument there. I have read the gospels a bunch and have not been able to find the times where Jesus tells his listeners about sin, sends them home for 24 hours and th . . .READ MORE >