Weather is one of the common denominators of our lives. It helps shape our culture, character, conduct, and health. It frequents the pages of our history and can change its course. It colors our conversations, folklore, and literature; it rains on our parades, awes us with its power and beauty, frightens us, and sometimes kills us.

Weatherwise magazine shares this force of nature with engaging features and breathtaking photography. Weatherwise articles are anecdotal, analytical, and illuminating. They take a creative look at everyday occurrences and are accurate, authoritative, and easily understood by a large, non-technical audience that includes teachers and students.

Please initiate your interest in writing for Weatherwise by sending a query letter or email to Margaret Benner, Managing Editor, Weatherwise, email: ww@heldref.org. Your letter should outline the direction of the article, give an indication of your writing style and perspective, tell us why or how you're qualified to write the article, list potential sources and illustration possibilities, and include clips of your published work. (If you have not been published, please send a sample of your writing suitable for magazine-style work.) We will consider research topics, but do not publish academic papers. Authors are expected to write (or rewrite) in a conversational, magazine style suitable for a popular audience. We get a lot of queries from writers proposing broad-brush articles on global warming, the greenhouse effect, the ozone hole, or El Niño. These are certainly valid topics, but you won't be able to do them justice in 2,000 words. Look for the story within the story, and emphasize the human element.

We begin planning an issue at least six months before the cover date (i.e., September/October in March). In other words, think hurricanes in January and blizzards in July. We try to respond to queries within two months.

Unsolicited manuscripts may be held indefinitely without response. Please remember that queries and manuscripts under consideration at Weatherwise should not be submitted to other publications concurrently. Payments to established authors are at the discretion of the managing editor and are made upon publication.

Feature articles are relatively short (1,500 to 2,500 words) and well illustrated. Departments—including software, video, and book reviews and essays on topics ranging from folklore to personal experiences—should be between 800 and 1,500 words. Short news fillers (200 to 500 words) about noteworthy people, events, or trends will also be considered. Where appropriate, include a list of sources, both published materials and personal interviews.

Published articles are often chosen as much for the quality and impact of the photographs as for editorial excellence. Authors must at least provide sources, leads, or ideas on illustrating an article. We will gladly research photo leads or commission artwork for an author whose article is worthy of publication. We maintain a file of stock weather photos and prefer photos of recent events or unique treatments of familiar sights. Great photos that standalone may be considered for our annual Photo Contest with permission and a signed entry form from the photographer.

Include your name, phone number, and email address. Also, include other ways we can contact you—a fax number or cell phone number. Once an article is accepted, it must be submitted electronically as a word document. Include a word count on the first page. Our preferred format is Microsoft Word for Macintosh.

We do not publish cartoons.

Photographs may be submitted as prints, slides, or electronic files. Color is preferred. Please provide captions on a separate sheet of paper. Do not write on the backs of photos. Other illustrations (i.e., maps, graphs, charts, tables, etc.) should be submitted as finished, camera-ready art or on disk with hard-copy back-up that need not be camera-ready. Many software formats are acceptable.

Please feel free to contact our editorial office via email at ww@heldref.org to discuss your ideas or ask questions.

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