Friends Journal welcomes articles, poetry, art, photographs, and letters from our readers. We are also helped by your comments and questions. We are an independent magazine serving the entire Religious Society of Friends. Our mission is “to communicate Quaker experience in order to connect and deepen spiritual lives,” which allows for a variety of viewpoints and subject matter. We welcome submissions from Friends and non-Friends alike.
Read our full editorial guidelines and learn about the different types of articles we publish on our Submissions Page.
Upcoming General Submissions Deadlines:
- 2023: Nov. 20.
- 2024: Jan. 22, May 20, July 22, Nov. 18.
- 2025: Jan. 20, May 19, July 21.
Many issues of Friends Journal are set aside for specific themes. Every 18 months or so we poll readers and dream up ideas for future issues (you can see the current list on our submissions page).
We also keep four issues a year open: no theme and no expectations. Most of our unsolicited articles go into a “General Submissions” list that we hold for these issues. Sometimes a choice is easy: we’ll get a blockbuster article that we know we just have to print. But just as often we’ll run some quiet piece of Quaker life that is offered to us without regard to our schedules.
The first bit of advice is to give our editorial submission guidelines a good once-over. The introduction to what we’re looking for is instructive.
We prefer articles written in a fresh, non‐academic style. Friends value an experiential approach to life and religious thought. Our readers particularly value articles on: exploring Friends’ testimonies and beliefs; integrating faith, work, and home lives; historical and contemporary Friends; social concerns and actions; and the variety of beliefs across the branches of Friends.
You should also study our tips for writing for Friends Journal. This is our list of the most-common pitfalls for incoming submissions—problems like length, structure, and tone.
The next thing to ask when writing or pitching an article to us is “why Friends Journal?” There are very few places where someone can write on the Quaker experience and see their work published. This scarcity weighs on us as we select an open issue’s mix. Authors don’t need to be Quaker, but the piece should have a strong Quaker hook. We’re not above doing a control-F on a submission to see how many times “Quaker” or “Friends” is mentioned. If it’s just a tacked-on reference because you’re shopping a piece written for another publication, it probably won’t work for us.
When you’re ready to send us something, please use the Submittable service so that we will have all of your information on file. “General Submissions” is the category for material that we consider for non-themed issues.
Link to share: Writing for General Submissions
Please note: All poetry should be submitted separately here.
Our March 2024 issue will look at prayer and healing. There are some historical traditions—George Fox’s long-suppressed Book of Miracles comes to mind—but also personal testimonies recounted in Quaker journals. There are stories of Friends who seemed to be able to sense unanswered prayers and respond to spiritually threatening situations out of a kind of instinct. There have been traditions of healing dating back at least to the time Fox reportedly brought someone back to life after a fall from a horse broke their neck.
What do we moderns think of such tales? What is prayer and how does it work? Do we pray to or for something? What does it mean to hold someone in the Light and is that the same or different than prayer?
Many Friends work in healing. We treat bodies as doctors and nurses, treat minds as therapists, and treat souls in pastoral work or as hospice workers. How does prayer and healing work in these settings?
Modern life has given us much that needs prayer and healing. How do we heal from gun violence? Domestic violence? What about from war and our seemingly constant witness of state-sponsored brutalities? How do we address the mental health, especially of young people, especially after the trauma of the pandemic and lockdown isolation? How do Friends use techniques, such as art, poetry, or sacred chant for healing? More pragmatically, how do meetings come together to provide pastoral and spiritual care for Friends and neighbors under distress?
Fast Facts
- Features run 1200-2500 words.
- Submissions close December 18, 2023.
- Questions? Email editors@friendsjournal.org
Learn more general information at Friendsjournal.org/submissions.
Membership in a particular local meeting has long been what has made one officially a Friend. This model kept Quakers together in tight-knit geographic communities but its meaning and utility has shifted over time. Some Friends have questioned whether it's even a useful concept anymore
- What is the basis for membership in Religious Society of Friends the twenty-first century?
- Can one be considered a Quaker if they don't hold formal membership?
- What different models of membership are being developed?
- What distintion between members and longtime attenders is there in the modern Friends meeting?
Fast Facts
- Features run 1200-2500 words.
- Submissions close February 19, 2024.
- Questions? Email editors@friendsjournal.org
Learn more general information at Friendsjournal.org/submissions.
The Quaker movement original coalesced around charismatic young minister George Fox in the 1650s. All of the branches of Friends today look to him as our founder and in 2024 Friends throughout the world will be coming together to mark the anniversary of his birth.
- How does Fox act as a unifying force in the Quaker world today?
- What was Fox's role in bringing together Friends? What about the many other figures around at the time, like James Naylor, Margaret Fell, and others?
- What parts of Fox's life and preaching do we honor, or quietly ignore, today?
Fast Facts
- Features run 1200-2500 words.
- Submissions close March 18, 2024.
- Questions? Email editors@friendsjournal.org
Learn more general information at Friendsjournal.org/submissions.
Humans are social animals. We are inspired, influenced, supported—and sometimes undermined by—the people we love. In this issue we'll look at the variety of our personal relationships as well as those of extended families and close friendships. We're interested in the full range of friend and family models that our readers experience.
Fast Facts
- Features run 1200-2500 words.
- Submissions close June 17, 2024.
- Questions? Email editors@friendsjournal.org
Learn more general information at Friendsjournal.org/submissions.
In November 2024 we will publish our fourth annual issue of Quaker Fiction (you can read through our first and second issues here). It’s open to all genres—crime, fantasy, romance, science fiction and horror, young adult, and more. Surprise us with your work! For this special issue, we’re seeking short stories from 500-2000 words, and flash fiction of less than 500 words. We’re seeking stories of Quakers and their experiences outside of what is true of the world we inhabit today. We welcome submissions from Friends and non-Friends alike. While we’re casting a wide net, we’re not the right market for erotica or extreme horror. We are also not a market for fan fiction or other works that use other folks’ intellectual property. We are a queer-affirming publication and will not be accepting any work based in homophobia, transphobia, or general racism, sexism, bigotry, or fascism. Fast Facts
- Submission length: 500-2000 words
- Submissions close August 19, 2024.
- For our fiction issues we use a slightly modified version of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) Model Magazine Contract, Version 3.1.
- Pay: $0.12/word
- Questions? Email editors@friendsjournal.org
Learn more general information at Friendsjournal.org/submissions.
Fast Facts
- Features run 1200-2500 words.
- Submissions close September 16, 2024.
- Questions? Email editors@friendsjournal.org
Learn more general information at Friendsjournal.org/submissions.
Fast Facts
- Features run 1200-2500 words.
- Submissions close October 21, 2024.
- Questions? Email editors@friendsjournal.org
Learn more general information at Friendsjournal.org/submissions.
Fast Facts
- Features run 1200-2500 words.
- Submissions close December 16, 2024
- Questions? Email editors@friendsjournal.org
Learn more general information at Friendsjournal.org/submissions.
Fast Facts
- Features run 1200-2500 words.
- Submissions close February 17, 2025.
- Questions? Email editors@friendsjournal.org
Learn more general information at Friendsjournal.org/submissions.
Fast Facts
- Features run 1200-2500 words.
- Submissions close March 17, 2025.
- Questions? Email editors@friendsjournal.org
Learn more general information at Friendsjournal.org/submissions.
Fast Facts
- Features run 1200-2500 words.
- Submissions close June 16, 2025.
- Questions? Email editors@friendsjournal.org
Learn more general information at Friendsjournal.org/submissions.
In November 2025 we will publish our fifth annual issue of Quaker Fiction (you can read through our first and second issues here). It’s open to all genres—crime, fantasy, romance, science fiction and horror, young adult, and more. Surprise us with your work! For this special issue, we’re seeking short stories from 500-2000 words, and flash fiction of less than 500 words. We’re seeking stories of Quakers and their experiences outside of what is true of the world we inhabit today. We welcome submissions from Friends and non-Friends alike. While we’re casting a wide net, we’re not the right market for erotica or extreme horror. We are also not a market for fan fiction or other works that use other folks’ intellectual property. We are a queer-affirming publication and will not be accepting any work based in homophobia, transphobia, or general racism, sexism, bigotry, or fascism. Fast Facts
- Submission length: 500-2000 words
- Submissions close August 18, 2025.
- For our fiction issues we use a slightly modified version of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) Model Magazine Contract, Version 3.1.
- Pay: $0.12/word
- Questions? Email editors@friendsjournal.org
Learn more general information at Friendsjournal.org/submissions.
Fast Facts
- Features run 1200-2500 words.
- Submissions close September 22, 2025.
- Questions? Email editors@friendsjournal.org
Learn more general information at Friendsjournal.org/submissions.