Writer’s Guidelines for Cultural Survival Quarterly

The magazine focuses on indigenous peoples—their culture and the issues they face in surviving as a distinct culture. The magazine is produced for a general audience, educated and sympathetic to indigenous peoples, but not expert in the issues and not interested in reading about technical or legal minutiae. The language should be conversational, without jargon. We do not want academic writing or diatribes, but articles that your mother could read and enjoy. We also do not want the written equivalent of ethnotourism; articles need to be knowledgeable and respectful of indigenous culture. We don’t want things superficial or sugar coated. We want real people and real issues. Whatever your subject, we want it told as a story wherever possible, and it should revolve around a particular person, family, or community. The focus should be on the indigenous people, and the story told from their point of view as much as possible—what they want, how they see things, who they are. Do not write in the present tense. Ever.

See recent issues on our website www.cs.org or the attached sample articles and style guidelines for a better idea of what we're looking for in terms of style, subject, and format.

Each issue of Cultural Survival has a number of feature articles: in-depth profiles of particular indigenous communities or discussions of issues related to indigenous peoples (but told through the example of a particular indigenous community). There are also three regular departments (on traditional food, indigenous arts, and outstanding indigenous women), as well as reviews of books, films, television programs, or other media. See separate guidelines for each department and reviews.

Feature articles should be between 1,200 and 3,000 words in length (though there are occasional exceptions with prior consultation with the editor). Reviews are generally no more than 700 words, and departments should be 1,200 words or fewer. Authors should ideally discuss their subject and their contemplated approach with the editor before writing, but already-written manuscripts are also accepted for consideration, with the caveat that these often need considerable reworking.

All articles are subject to editing for style, content, and length, as well as copyediting and proofreading. Articles may require one or more rewrites or adjustments from the author. Once an article has reached the final form (but before copyediting and proofreading), it is sent to the author to be sure it is still factually accurate. Then the article goes through the final copyediting and proofreading. We do not have a formal peer review structure, but we do often send articles to indigenous consultants for review and comment. We always try to be respectful of our writers, but the editor has to have the final say in matters of style and content.

Photographs to accompany the article are always very helpful, but are not required. See separate photo guidelines if you are thinking of submitting photos.

All articles in Cultural Survival Quarterly are posted on the organization's website and archived there in perpetuity. Cultural Survival may also, from time to time, reprint articles from Cultural Survival Quarterly in other formats, including books and pamphlets. Authors agree to both of these uses by submitting their work for publication.

Unfortunately, our budget does not allow us to pay writers at this point, but we do offer as many copies of the printed issue as the writer might want. And for writers who live in countries where contributions are tax deductible, we offer a letter acknowledging their donation, and we can offer guidelines about market rates for articles and photographs for deduction purposes. In the United States, this deduction can be worth as much as a thousand dollars.