WLT Kids Submissions Style Guide

WLT Kids, a magazine aimed at children ages 8-12, has three goals: to challenge children to understand other cultures and help them develop into responsible world citizens; to promote critical literacy through critical reflection; and to position children as literary critics and researchers by encouraging independent reading, writing, and thinking. Each issue is built around an area of the world and includes short stories, poetry, and essays. The magazine has maps, graphics and pictures, focused activities for exploration, thought -provoking questions, and suggestions for further reading.

Editorial Policy. The editors welcome short stories, poetry and essays grounded in the history, geography, and culture of the country/region showcased in the issues that are upcoming in 2005-2006 academic year. Issues will be built around Canada, South America, Africa, and Northern Europe. Our magazine is intended for children ages 8-12.

Submissions should be addressed to the editors at the following electronic address: wltkids@ou.edu

However, if access to e-mail is problematic, please send a hard copy of your submission to:

WLT Kids
Attention: Sally Beach
University of Oklahoma
820 Van Vleet Oval
Norman OK 73019-2041
USA

Please allow a minimum of six weeks for evaluation of your submission and for a response concerning acceptance; all texts that pass an initial in-house screening will be sent to at least two outside readers in the field. We do not generally accept unsolicited poetry or fiction for publication. In terms of creative writing, our general interest, with some exceptions, is in contributions by writers who are from outside the United States and, with poetry in particular, in poetry in translation by writers who write in languages other than English.

Length.

Essays on the history, geography and culture as well as short stories should have a maximum length of 1,500 (approximately 6 typewritten, double-spaced pages), unless otherwise directed by the editors.

Format.

Please send an electronic version of the final draft of your document to the editors (wltkids@ou.edu) as a fully formatted e-mail attachment. Please use MS Word, WordPerfect, or Word for Mac (in descending order of preference) when composing your text, and please keep formatting to a minimum. Alternatively, a printout of your final text, accompanied by a 3½" diskette, may be sent in the mail. Label the disk with your last name, article title, and the type of software used. For the hardcopy printout, please use some form of bond paper. Do not use onionskin or airmail stationery, and do not send glossy photocopies or carbons in lieu of original manuscripts or clean photocopies. Only one copy of the text needs to be submitted.

Text Preparation.

In matters of style and formatting, please follow the guidelines in the Chicago Manual of Style (15th ed., 2003, hereafter CMS) when preparing your document. On-line information about the Chicago Manual can be found at http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/cmosfaq/. For matters of spelling, we prefer the eleventh edition of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.

Double-space throughout the text and leave the right margin unjustified (ragged). Number all pages, and leave 1" (2.5 cm) margins at the top, bottom, and sides of each page for editorial markings. Place the article title at the top of the first page, then place your name on a separate line. Dedications may not be used. Your affiliation or place of residence should follow the concluding line of the text and be placed at the right-hand margin, underlined. Following your affiliation, please add two or three sentences about yourself and your current projects.

Notes and Bibliographies.

Notes should be avoided. For an excellent discussion on shortening the length and number of citations, see CMS 16.36-46. Essential publishing data, for example, can sometimes be incorporated into the text parenthetically at a book's first mention; it can be omitted thereafter. We do not publish endnote or footnotes.

Illustrations.

Illustrations may be submitted in the following formats: 5x7 or 8x10 black-and-white glossy photographs or 300-600dpi PDF or TIF files; 8x10 color prints, 4x5 transparencies, or 300-600dpi digital CMYK files. A separate list of captions and credit lines should accompany the illustrations, clearly keyed by number (1, 2, 3, etc.), as well as releases granting WLT Kids permission to reproduce any copyrightable text or illustrations (please specify nonexclusive world English rights for all editions). Guidelines on fair use and copyright can be found in CMS, chapter 4.

 

Last edited: 02.18.06 - KL