Writers' Guidelines for Turning Wheel

Turning Wheel is now published twice per year with a Spring/Summer issue and a Fall/Winter issue. Circulation: 10,000. 48 - 60 pages. Sample copy: $7. Subscriptions are available through membership in BPF.

Subject matter: We publish material that promotes peace, social justice, environmental awareness, and social activism from the perspective of compassionate action. Our focus is on writing from a Buddhist perspective, but we have found Buddhist resonances in the core beliefs of all spiritual faiths. In other words, if your writing is grounded in the compassion that arises from an awareness of the interconnectedness of all life, you may be writing from a Buddhist perspective even though you don't identify yourself as Buddhist.  Of special interest are articles that are grounded in personal experience, that are helpful and encouraging to others, that inspire compassionate activism.  Our editorial bias is toward the experiential, and toward stories that exemplify how the personal is political, and that the political is spiritual.

Language: Should be clear and accessible. Avoid academic styles, jargon, and flowery lyricism. No footnotes. Refrain from the utilization of polysyllabic signifiers whenever the message permits being communicated by monosyllabic signifiers. That is to say: Don't use long words when short words will do.

Genres: We accept nonfiction features, personal essays, interviews, short fiction, and poetry.  We are happy to receive artwork, especially photos. Keep in mind that artwork is reproduced in black and white at this time. If you send photos please send high resolution files of at least 300 dpi.

Deadlines:  We are open to receiving your submission throughout the year regardless of deadlines.

Length: For articles: 800 to 2000 words. (2500 words is equivalent to about 7 typed pages, double-spaced.) We do occasionally publish longer pieces, but send us an excerpt and a query if your submission is longer than 2000 words. Query before submitting a book review.

Submission policy: Please send submission by email to turningwheel@bpf.org. Please send your submission as an attached Word document, if possible. Do not submit by fax.

We only respond to submissions we are considering for publication.  However, feel free to check back with us about your contribution after two - three months.

Formatting: All submissions should be double-spaced, 12 pt. Times font, with 1-inch margins on all sides. The author’s name, mailing address, phone number, and e-mail address should be on the top right corner of the first page.  The title should be centered at the top of the submission. Supporting photos for the submission are helpful, but not required.  If accepted the author will need to provide a short one paragraph bio, written in third person. At this time we are printing photos of our featured authors, so you may be asked to provide a head and shoulders photo of yourself as well.

Terms: One-time rights.  Turning Wheel has an international audience, so we are asking for more than North American rights.  After publication in Turning Wheel, copyright returns to the author. At this time payment is two copies of the issue, and a discounted rate for additional author copies upon request. Sample copies are available from the BPF office for $7. Contact:

Buddhist Peace Fellowship

PO Box 3470

Berkeley, CA 94703-9906 USA
Tel: 510-655-6169
E-mail: turningwheel@bpf.org