Writer Guidelines
M
ONDAY DEVELOPMENTS MAGAZINE (MD) provides in-
depth news and commentary on global trends that affect
relief, refugee and development work. It features the latest
information on the work of InterAction members around the world
and keeps readers up-to-date on legislative action in Congress
that could impact U.S. foreign assistance to poor countries. Mon-
day Developments also describes new resources for relief and
development workers, professional growth opportunities, upcom-
ing events and international employment opportunities.
General Information: Monday Developments welcomes unsolic-
ited submissions on topics of interest to our readers. We will also
respond to queries on whether a given article or topic is of interest,
and can give writers guidance on how to proceed. Unfortunately
we cannot offer payment for accepted articles. Authors are pro-
vided with a complimentary copy of the printed issue in which
their article appears.
Audience: MD’s primary audience is professional staff and board
members of U.S.-based NGOs engaged in international relief and
development. Government officials, members of Congress, multi-
lateral agency staff, southern NGO leaders, media, university pro-
fessors and students and job-hunters also read MD.
Core themes include: sustainable development, disaster relief,
refugees, environment, women, policy, communications, and
news on our members' activities. MD also aims to cover other
key topics including: southern NGOs, hunger, health, HIV/AIDS,
education, grassroots constituency building, human rights-based
approaches to development, youth, country-specific overviews,
ethical standards, non-profit sector issues and volunteering. MD
includes news and commentary on rapidly changing global events
that affect international humanitarian work.
Content and Style: Monday Developments articles are written
in a clear, accessible, journalistic style. Writers should strive to
capture the most interesting, relevant and current aspects of their
story. First-time contributors should think about writing as they
would to an intelligent friend who may not be familiar with the
subject, but is likely to care very much about it.
All articles should begin with a “catchy” lead paragraph that
makes the reader want to know more. This can be done in
many ways: tell one individual’s compelling personal story; use
a provocative quote; summarize a new trend; give a “real life”
example of an abstract theory; or put a theme into historical
context. Whenever possible, use direct quotes from individuals
whose opinions the reader will respect or who are of interest to
the reader. Incorporate the comments or viewpoints of southern
NGOs whenever possible.
Be sure to mention any planned follow-up to the story: future
meetings, upcoming reports, resolutions or recommendations.
When possible, stories should end with the name and contact infor-
mation (usually email or phone) of a contact person for those wish-
ing further information. Please also provide relevant Internet URLs.
Articles will run with bylines—writer’s name, organizational affili-
ation and email address should be included with the submission.
People are much more likely to read stories that have pictures.
We encourage writers to submit photographs or other illustrations
to go with their story. Illustrations need to be of high quality and
camera-ready. Photos should be high-resolution (300 dpi minimum
and at least 3” x 5” size) and must be submitted electronically.
While we understand that many contributors wish to promote
their organization’s programs and initiatives, please bear in mind
that your submission should read more like a news story, and less
like a press release or promotional piece. Please focus your sto-
ries on the compelling, overarching issue that is being addressed,
and incorporate your organization’s projects in an accompanying
sidebar if necessary.
Article submission does not guarantee inclusion in Monday
Developments Magazine. InterAction reserves the right to reject
submissions for any reason.
Some additional pointers:
• The article should focus on what is most exciting, innovative,
unusual or controversial about the subject you are writing
about.
• The article should be succinct—do not quote numerous people
saying the same things.
• Avoid bureaucratic and official language, which is often found
in government and UN documents, official summaries of con-
ferences, etc. Try to rephrase the main points in direct, newsy
language.
• Try to include a variety of perspectives and people. For exam-
ple, be sure to include the voices of southern participants when
possible.
• On matters of journalistic style (e.g., whether a person's title is
capitalized), please consult the Associated Press Style Manual,
readily available in bookstores. MD will in almost all cases use
AP style, which tends to be less formal than, say, U.S. govern-
ment style.
• Be careful about attribution. When using quotes that originally
appeared in a newspaper, TV news story, etc., give credit to
that source. Try to work attribution gracefully into the story [e.g.
"...Shah told The New York Times February 14]. When taking
information from Web sites or other Internet resources (emails,
newsgroups), credit the source. Avoid plagiarism—when in
doubt, give attribution.
• Please include contact information or a web site URL so read-
ers can get involved or find out more about it.
• Abbreviations and acronyms—spell out the complete phrase or
name the first time it's used. Not everyone knows what MBFR
stands for. There is no need to spell the full name of NGO.
Length: Please be concise.
1-page article: approx 800 words
2-page article: up to 1600 words
Longer articles require approval from the managing editor.
How to submit:
Please send your submission to Chad Brobst, Manager
Editor at cbrobst@interaction.org. Articles should be sent as
an MS Word document. We will normally edit for conciseness
and style.
Phone: 202.552.6548
Fax: 202.729.6748
Email: cbrobst@interaction.org
04/10
MONDAY DEVELOPMENTS MAGAZINE www.mondaydevelopments.org