Write For Us

We use outside services to check submitted material for evidence of AI usage and plagiarism. The Authors Guild has a useful document, “AI Best Practices for Authors.”

Friends Journal does not accept articles written by AI programs like ChatGPT and Grammarly or with AI features integrated into word processor programs such as Google Docs and Microsoft Word. No computer-aided writing tools should be used for anything but minimal spell-checking or grammar correction.

We also do not use or accept AI-generated images.

General Submission Guidelines

Many issues of Friends Journal are set aside for specific themes. Every 18 months or so we poll readers and dream up ideas for future issues (you can see the current list on our submissions page).

We also keep four issues a year open: no theme and no expectations. Most of our unsolicited articles go into a “General Submissions” list that we hold for these issues. Sometimes a choice is easy: we’ll get a blockbuster article that we know we just have to print. But just as often we’ll run some quiet piece of Quaker life that is offered to us without regard to our schedules.

The first bit of advice is to give our editorial submission guidelines a good once-over. The introduction to what we’re looking for is instructive.

We prefer articles written in a fresh, non‐academic style. Friends value an experiential approach to life and religious thought. Our readers particularly value articles on: exploring Friends’ testimonies and beliefs; integrating faith, work, and home lives; historical and contemporary Friends; social concerns and actions; and the variety of beliefs across the branches of Friends.

You should also study our tips for writing for Friends Journal. This is our list of the most-common pitfalls for incoming submissions—problems like length, structure, and tone.

The next thing to ask when writing or pitching an article to us is “why Friends Journal?” There are very few places where someone can write on the Quaker experience and see their work published. This scarcity weighs on us as we select an open issue’s mix. Authors don’t need to be Quaker, but the piece should have a strong Quaker hook. We’re not above doing a control-F on a submission to see how many times “Quaker” or “Friends” is mentioned. If it’s just a tacked-on reference because you’re shopping a piece written for another publication, it probably won’t work for us.

When you’re ready to send us something, please use the Submittable service so that we will have all of your information on file. “General Submissions” is the category for material that we consider for non-themed issues.

Link to share: Writing for General Submissions

March 2026: Gender and Sexual Identities (due 12/22/2025)

Issues of gender and sexuality remain some of the most hotly debated among Friends today. Acceptance of same-sex marriage has been one of the fault lines over which a number of U.S. yearly meetings have split in recent years. Debates over transgender issues have roiled Quakers in Britain. Among some branches of Friends, the very discussion of LGBTQIA+ issues is strongly discouraged. Distrust over motives have derailed many opportunities for dialogue across the branches of the Quaker family tree. 

And of course, there are forces outside Friends that are threatening queer rights in general and scapegoating trans individuals in particular. 

There are also, as always, individual stories unfolding in real time: Friends still coming out of the closet, dealing with the joys of being visible and the heartbreak of non-affirming friends and family: the human dramas of identity and belonging. 

We look at all this in our March issue. What are some of the ongoing struggles for acceptance among Friends? How do we bridge communities despite such strong disagreements? What are we doing to protect and ally ourselves with vulnerable communities? What joys and sorrows do we experience?

Friends Publishing Corporation, publisher of Friends Journal, welcomes and affirms LGBTQIA+ people and is committed to respectful Quaker dialogue that connects and deepens the spiritual lives of our audience..

May 2026: Friends in Latin America (due 2/23/2026)

It is with great joy and enthusiasm that we share with you that in May 2026, Friends Journal will dedicate a special edition to Friends in the Americas. This will be a unique opportunity to listen to, learn from, and celebrate the multiple expressions of the Quaker faith in Latin America and the Caribbean, a mosaic full of stories, testimonies, and perspectives that enrich the global Quaker family. 

We would like to invite all Friends in Latin America to participate by writing for this section, and also warmly welcome those who have not yet heard of Friends Journal. Our intention is to open a space that reflects the diversity of Friends’ experience on the continent, both for our Spanish-speaking audience and for our English-speaking audience who wish to learn more about and delve deeper into the development of Friends in the new continent. 

Some of the topics we are excited to explore include: 

Literature, history, and roots of Friends in Latin America 

How did Friends come to Latin America? What accounts survive of Friends’ early missions, Bible institutes, seminaries, or theological training schools? Identity and Practice: What do Friends believe in your country? How do they worship? What makes a community recognizable as Quaker when its cultural and spiritual expression is so diverse? How is Friends’ theology understood and lived in the Latin American context? Have Friends written in Latin America? What contributions have they made to global Quaker thought? Latin American Friends communities and missions around the world. Also, tell us about your monthly and annual meetings, churches, Quaker pastors, as well as the local or international institutions that journey alongside your community. 

Social Transformation 

What stories exist about the Quaker presence in education, healthcare, peace, and justice? How have programs like AVP (Alternatives to Violence) been experienced? How have Friends responded to the challenges of social, political, and economic injustice in their countries? We also believe our international audience will be especially interested in: The experience of Quaker women pastors in Latin America and women’s leadership in communities. The dialogue between evangelical Quaker traditions and missionaries on the continent. Stories of friendship and collaboration between Friends in Latin America and Friends in North America. With this edition, we hope to build bridges, broaden horizons, and give a voice to those in different corners of the Americas who continue to listen and respond to the Spirit of God.