magazine

Our State - Writer's Guidelines

P.O. Box 4552, Greensboro, N.C. 27404-4552
phone: (336) 286-0600, (800) 948-1409

Since 1933, Our State: Down Home in North Carolina has been the most comprehensive source of information on the people, places, culture, history, and folklore of North Carolina. The magazine’s circulation is about 145,000, 87 percent of which is in-state. We accept well-written, high-quality articles on subjects of interest to those who live in, visit, or simply love the Tar Heel state.

Approach and subject matter

• The editorial focus of Our State is life in North Carolina. We buy nonfiction articles that highlight North Carolina history, personalities, travel, arts and crafts, nature, adventure, culture, and nostalgia.
• We also expect any sidebars, captions, lists, and supplemental material (such as photos) to be considered part of the story.
• We expect thoroughly researched, original, literary-quality work.

Length

• Our average article length is about 1,500 words.

Submissions

• If you’d like to write an article for Our State, we ask that you send 1-2 paragraphs on each story query to editorial@ourstate.com or the address listed above. We will respond within 6-8 weeks.
• Please submit queries in written form; a resume and writing samples may be requested with first-time queries.
• Due to the volume of queries and “on spec” stories we receive, we cannot return unsolicited materials. Please do not send original copies.
• Once an assigned article has been completed, we prefer to receive articles by email, sent to the email address of the assigning editor. Microsoft Word documents or plain text files preferred.

Fact-checking

• Please list any specific books or reference materials when you submit your article. If there is other fact-checking information that you believe would be useful to us, feel free to make note of it with your article.

Artwork

• Any photography, illustrations, and artwork the writer chooses to submit are welcome and considered part of the story package and fee unless other arrangements are made during the original assignment. If your sources are sending art or photos directly to us, be sure they know the story's deadline.

Copyright and payment

• Unless otherwise indicated, Mann Media purchases First North American Serial Rights. Any editorial changes will be made at the sole discretion of the editors. Unless exceptions have specifically been discussed between editor and writer, we purchase first and exclusive rights to your story for 90 days from publication date. Occasionally, we choose to publish reprint articles or excerpts, but those exceptions will be identified as such in the magazine.
• Payment for articles is made on publication. Fees — usually between $350-$500 per article — will be agree upon at the time a story is assigned. Payment for published articles is made during the third week of the month in which the article appears.
• We elect not to pay kill fees for unsolicited articles. Kill fees may or may not be paid for assigned stories that are not used, at the discretion of the editor.
• Stories may be archived online, in their edited form, at www.ourstate.com.
• Our State stories may be repurposed by the N.C. Travel & Tourism website. We will notify writers and pay $150 for each story selected.
• Stories may be used by UNC-TV as the idea for a segment on “Our State,” the TV show, and writers will be listed in the show credits for having written the original article.
• When providing reprinted pages of the magazine, digital or print, Our State will notify the writer if significant alterations are made to the pages.

Deadlines

• All assignments (text and accompanying artwork, if any) are due to us by noon of the date assigned by the editor.

Sample issues

• Sample copies of Our State are $7 each. For a copy, please contact the circulation department at the address or phone number listed above.
• Each writer will receive one complimentary copy of the issue in which the article is published. These will be the only editorial comp issues distributed by us.
• For a copy of our photography guidelines, click here. For a copy of our editorial calendar, click here.

Editor, Our State
P.O. Box 4552
Greensboro, N.C. 27404
fax (336) 286-0100

revised July 2008