Sophia welcomes original essays and translations. We look for penetrating material that is well-researched and objective, and that is grounded in one or more religious tradition. All articles must be directly related to a traditional theme or an aspect of traditional civilization. We welcome articles that look at contemporary issues from a traditional perspective.
We do not publish articles that have been published elsewhere. We do publish articles that were published in a foreign language and that are being printed in Sophia for the first time in English.
All material should be written in clear, grammatical, and fluent standard American English. We are willing to consider submissions by authors for whom English is not a primary language, but they should be checked carefully by a reader who is fluent in English before they are sent to us.
We very rarely consider poetry submissions.
Sophia publishes both short and extended reviews of books. Reviews longer than 1,000 words and/or reviews which take a book as a basis for an article thematically related to the book in question are published in the Review Articles section.
Submission Guidelines
1. Length
Articles: 1,000-5000 words
Book Reviews: approximately 500 - 1,000 words
Letters for Readers' Forum should be no longer than 500 words.
2. Query Letter
Please send us a one-page letter describing what you propose to write about. We will let you know if we are interested, or we may suggest a different approach or subject, so please wait for our reply. If the idea fits into our editorial plans, you will be given a deadline to submit a finished manuscript. Assignment of a deadline does not guarantee acceptance or publication of the article; it only means that we are interested in your idea and would like to pursue it.
If you are a "new" writer to us, please include some information about yourself, including any relevant education, experience, or publication credits you might have.
3. Preparation of copy
Typewritten, double-spaced, on standard white letter-size paper (8 1/2" x 11"), with wide margins at top and bottom. In the upper left-hand corner of the first page of your article, please type the following information:
If endnotes are used, they should be as complete as possible: include the author's name, book or article title, translator or editor (if applicable), city of publication, name of publisher, date, and page numbers.
4. Electronic submissions
Sophia accepts material submitted on disc or via e-mail attachment, providing we responded positively to a prior query. It must be in an IBM-compatible format, preferably Microsoft Word. Your biographical information should be included in the same document as the article. Include your last name in the file name.
Upon acceptance we will request your disk or email file. If you are sending us a word processing file or disk copy, please try to keep the formatting as simple as possible.
5. Biographical Information
On a separate page, include a brief (1-3 sentence) biographical description of yourself. Please relate the description to the subject matter of the article.
6. Return Envelope/Postage
Article is to be accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed return envelope, #10 or larger. Manuscripts without SASE will not be returned.
7. Mailing
Mail articles to:
Sophia
The Foundation for Traditional Studies
P.O. Box 370
Oakton, VA 22124
USA
8. Rights
The author grants Sophia the right to use an article in all substantially complete versions of a single issue of our journal. All other rights are retained by the author.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
Please see the home page of our website: www.sophiajournal.com for Sophia's mission statement.