Submissions
INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS
(Revised October 2012)
Catholic Insight seeks to enlighten hearts and minds by proclaiming the splendour of truth and the sanctity of life. It endeavours to foster the culture of life by reporting truthfully, critically, contextually, and comparatively with a view to history and guided by a cultural vision inspired by Catholic doctrine and the classical liberal arts. In a climate of moral and cultural relativism it unequivocally upholds the existence of moral absolutes as a source of hope.
Catholic Insight does not publish previously printed material.
TYPES OF ARTICLES AND RATES
Catholic Insight accepts letters, short communications, commentaries, book reviews, articles, research articles, and columns. Please send submissions a Word attachment to submissions@catholicinsight.com.
Letters (100–500 words). Letters to the editor should address an article that has appeared in Catholic Insight or a subject of general interest to readers. Preference will be given to letters relating to recent issues.
Short communication (250 words). Short communications are brief summaries of global news and events. Short communications will appear in “Church and the World” and should address issues pertinent to the Catholic Church.
Commentary (750 words). Commentaries are short articles or essays (e.g. the essays of Addison and Steele) of general interest to readers. Suitable topics include pro-life, politics, music, liturgy, education, art, and architecture. See past issues of Catholic Insight for examples.
Articles (1000–2500 words). Articles are in-depth treatises on subjects meriting such treatment. Articles should be well researched, substantiated, and footnoted if necessary. For examples, see Fr. Neil Roy’s and Ryan Topping’s articles in the September 2012 issue.
Research articles (1000–2500 words). Research articles will be published biannually in a special edition. Research articles are peer-reviewed and address relevant topics, such as culture, history, literature, liturgy, media, and philosophy. Research article submissions must include an abstract of 200 words or less and use footnotes.
Columns (750 words). Columns are written by contract; proposals may be sent to reach@catholicinsight.com and should be addressed to the editor directly.
Rates. Authors printed in the magazine will be given an honorarium depending on length. Letters and short communications will not be financially remunerated.
STYLE GUIDE
Format. Submit articles as Word documents. Text should be Times New Roman, 12-point font, double-spaced throughout, with 1-inch margins at the top, right, left, and bottom of each page, and page numbers. Use a single space after periods, and indent the first line of each paragraph.
Titles. Capitalize the first word only.
Headings. For major headings, capitalize the first letter and centre the heading on its own line. For minor headings, capitalize the first letter but place at the beginning of the paragraph and indent.
Spelling and grammar. Use Canadian Oxford spelling, unless the article necessitates otherwise. Follow Fowler’s Book of English Usage prior to the 1965 printing and the Government of Canada style guide available here.
Foreign words and phrases. Use roman for e.g., ad hoc, per capita, ibid., i.e., other common foreign words, and names of institutions (Mater Dei High School). See this site for examples. Italicise unfamiliar foreign words, and follow by an English translation in parenthesis if the meaning is not generally known.
Gender. “Gender” is a linguistic term that has been misused as a replacement of biological sex, and as such is to be avoided. Refer to the biological sex of a person as such.
Inclusive language. Catholic Insight does not use inclusive language. As appropriate, use “men,” not “humans.” Do not use “he or she,” “altar server” for altar boy, “fisher” for fisherman, “police constable” for policeman, or “postal worker” for mailman.
Pronouns. Divine pronouns and relative pronouns referring to God are to be upper case. Capitalize Mass, Catholic when referring to the Catholic Church or the Catholic Faith, and Pope when referring to a specific pope.
Units of weight and measure. Units of weight and measure may be Imperial (acres, gallons, miles, pounds) or SI (metric). If American English units are used, they must be distinguished as such; for example, gallons (American).
SUBMISSION SCHEDULE
Submissions will be reviewed by the editors for suitability, and decisions will be made within 4 to 6 weeks. Peer-reviewed articles will be adjudicated within 3 months.
Send electronic submissions as a Word attachment to submissions@catholicinsight.com. Indicate the type of article being submitted and include a brief description of the article in the email.
Send hard copy submissions to:
Catholic Insight
Attn: Submissions
PO Box 625, Adelaide Station
31 Adelaide St. E
Toronto, ON M5C 2J8
