The Legislator (Summer Edition 2023) Criteria and Submission Guidelines

Theme - Powering Forward: Continuing Our Rich Legacy

NBCSL appreciates your interest in writing for The Legislator. We welcome and encourage unsolicited articles from our legislative membership and national corporate partners so that we can highlight the work you do for the benefit of NBCSL members and their constituents.

Articles submitted MUST:

  • Be an opinion piece that is focused on issues that have implications on a national level and have relevance to Black state legislators.
  • Be no more than 750 words in length (excluding title and author information) and must contain all contact information including the author(s)’ name, title, organization, address, and phone number.
  • Be submitted electronically in MS Word to Courtney Green courtney@nbcsl.org and cc: Atiba Madyun atiba@themadyungroup.com with RE: Legislator Magazine Article in the subject line to be reviewed.
  • Include at the top of the document the following: a) article title, b) name of author(s), and c) organization(s) of the author(s).
  • Include a brief bionote (i.e. 1-2 sentences describing who you are and the work you do) at the end of your submission, so that it can be printed should your article be published.
  • Include graphics with a 300 dpi resolution if photos are to be used. Graphics must be in tif or jpeg formats and authors must have full right to photos. Graphs and charts in Word format will also be accepted.
  • Include headshot of the author(s) of article
  • If you have specific photos you’d like to include to go along with your article please include

REVIEW PROCEDURES

  • The editorial team reviews all articles and will confirm receipt within 48 hours. Receipt notices will also contain the current status of your article’s submission.
  • Please note: It is the discretion of the editorial team and the NBCSL’s executive team to make all final article decisions.
  • Before inclusion, articles will be edited to improve clarity, flow, grammar, and consistency, as deemed necessary by the team. During the layout process, the graphics team may re-format charts and pictures submitted for space and magazine context.
  • Once the Legislator has been produced, authors will receive an electronic copy of the magazine.

COPYRIGHT & TERMS

It is important to note that submission of an article to The Legislator indicates an agreement to the terms below:

  • The author hereby grants NBCSL, the right to publish and re-publish the submitted material, in whole or in part, in any form of media now known or hereafter developed, and to also use it for promotional purposes.
  • NBCSL’s rights herein granted include the right to edit, revise, abridge and/or condense the material, to reprint the material in the Legislator or on NBCSL’s website, to change the title as necessary.
  • The author retains the full rights to the published project, photographs and/or artwork.
  • Author warrants that he/she is the sole author and owner of the material, that it does not infringe any existing copyright that it contains no libelous or unlawful matter and that the author has full power to grant the rights granted hereby.

Important Submission Dates!

  • Article Submission – April 21, 2023
  • Review of Article Artwork Completed (CRT Members Only) – June 2, 2023
NBCSL Magazine Advertising Pricing and Guidelines (277 downloads)