The Bulletin Submission Guidelines
The Bulletin is published five times a year during the school year by the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers’ Association and has a circulation of approximately 5,000. Distribution is mainly to teachers in the province with the balance going to libraries, government officials and affiliated teacher organizations across Canada.
Our Writing Style
Articles accepted for publication are selected on the basis of their relevancy to our readers, originality, readability, interest level, soundness, timeliness and freshness of viewpoint. We are not looking for scholarly term papers or dissertation reports. We do not use footnotes or endnotes. Please cite all of your sources, using a journalistic style rather than a formal academic style.
Copyright
The author of the items(s) submitted will retain all copyrights. By submitting, the author gives permission for the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers’ Association to post their submitted work(s), if accepted, on the NLTA website. Unless otherwise indicated, materials used in The Bulletin may be reproduced or broadcast without permission.
News Stories
Contributions to the News (On Location) section of The Bulletin should be a maximum of 250 to 300 words. As much information as possible about the event or activity should be provided as well as quotes from organizers and/or participants and photos, if available (see section on submitting photos).
Feature Articles
Feature articles should be 1,000 to 1,300 words and should be on a topic of relevance or interest to teachers. Shorter feature articles are also accepted and should run approximately 550 to 600 words. A photo of the author must be submitted with the article as well as a brief bio stating name, job title, affiliation, information on your education, and any additional details you would like to share. Please supply complete contact information for yourself and co-authors (if any). In the case of co-authors, specify the order in which names should appear in the article’s byline.
Among the broad subject areas we cover are: professional development, research, technology, health and wellness issues, financial planning, teacher achievements, as well as viewpoints on various educational issues.
The editor reserves the rights to refuse feature articles that are not in keeping with the objectives of the Association.
Letters to the Editor
Letters to the editor must pertain to educational and/or Association issues or contain comments on an item previously carried in The Bulletin. Letters to the editor should be a maximum of 250 words; however, consideration may be given to longer letters if determined appropriate by the editor. All letters must be signed and contain a complete address and telephone number. The editor will agree to publish a “nom de plume” if the author prefers.
The editor and/or the editorial board reserves the right to exclude material that is libelous, offensive, or deemed inappropriate.
In Memoriam
Submissions to In Memoriam should be a maximum of 250 to 300 words and may contain a photo of the deceased. In Memoriams should be submitted within a timely manner – normally within the same school year (if possible) of the death of the teacher. Information may be included on where the deceased lived and taught, their education, accomplishments, community involvement and family information.
Resources
When submitting information for the Resources section of The Bulletin, please include a copy of the resource. If it is a website be sure to include the correct URL (web address). The information should include the name of the resource, a brief description, cost (if any), as well as whom to contract for more information or to place an order.
Calendar
Submissions for the calendar section of The Bulletin must contain the date and time of the event, location, brief description, deadlines for registration, as well as contact information including name, telephone, fax, email and website if available.
Photographs
Photographs are an important addition to news stories and feature articles and are welcomed and encouraged. We prefer an original photograph from a digital camera or from a certified processing lab. A photograph from an inkjet print is not usually high enough quality for offset printing.
Digital photographs should be supplied as .jpeg at 300 dpi/ppi resolution at the highest quality level ensuring that the dimensions of the photo be compatible to final print size (as close to 100% as possible). Please note: a 72 dpi/ppi original “saved as” a 300 dpi/ppi document is not the same quality as an original 300 dpi/ppi document. You cannot add quality to a low resolution original. DO NOT insert digital photos into your word processing file. If you are submitting printed photos, a good quality photo reproduces well.
Note: Be sure to include descriptive captions for all photos listing names and titles (if applicable).
Things to keep in mind when taking and/or submitting photos:
- attempt to be creative;
- show subjects at work rather than a group standing and looking at the camera;
- avoid groups of more than four people;
- if a group shot is absolutely necessary, try to avoid long shots of people standing, especially if subjects are different heights;
- photos in The Bulletin work best in horizontal format (vertical photos should be used for small “head and shoulder” shots);
- photo should contain good contrast (subject is neither too light nor too dark, with sufficient detail). This ensures best results when printing.
Advertising
Advertising copy is not accepted by telephone. All advertising materials and insertion orders should be sent to:
Noah Sheppard, Editorial Assistant, nsheppard@nlta.ca
Submission Deadlines
September/October: September 6
November/December: November 1
January/February: January 2
March/April: March 3
May/June: May 1
Contact Information
It is preferred that all submissions be e-mailed to Jennifer Tulk, Editor of The Bulletin, at jtulk@nlta.ca. If submitting by mail, please address to: Editor, The Bulletin, Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers’ Association, 3 Kenmount Road, St. John’s, NL, A1B 1W1. Submissions may also be faxed to 726-4302 or toll-free at 1-877-711-6582. Please be sure to include a contact name, school or business name, mailing address, telephone number and e-mail address.
No financial compensation is provided for submissions to The Bulletin. The Bulletin editorial staff welcomes feedback, including constructive criticism, to help us improve our newsletter. We look forward to your letters and comments.
