Hang Gliding & Paragliding Magazine
Editorial Submission Guidelines

The U.S. Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, a membership-based non-profit organization, promotes the safe enjoyment of hang gliding and paragliding. To that end, the association publishes a monthly magazine, Hang Gliding & Paragliding, which includes news and information about the association and its activities, as well as entertaining features on all aspects of free flight.

We encourage contributions from all writers and photographers interested in sharing their flying-related articles and images. Our readers are knowledgeable, enthusiastic participants in the sports of hang gliding and paragliding and we therefore require well-researched, well-crafted articles of interest to the free-flight community. All article submissions should include photographs or illustrations, or information about where we can find such supporting photography/artwork.

All articles should be original works, and we give first preference to authors and the works for which we receive first-time publishing rights. (See Editorial Contributors' Agreement online for complete contractual terms of submission). PLEASE DO NOT SUBMIT WORKS THAT HAVE BEEN SIMULTANEOUSLY SUBMITTED TO OTHER PUBLICATIONS.

Contributors may send queries, or completed manuscripts, for any of the various departments and sections within the magazine. The most likely areas for writers to contribute are:

Pilot Briefings (News pilots can use)

News articles should focus on specific items of interest to the hang gliding and paragliding community. Product reports and business news items are welcome and encouraged, but they must be concise and consist of useful information. All news items are subject to editing for length and content focus - excessive advertising within news stories will be removed or the article will be pulled. Articles for this department should be 300 to 500 words in length, and if possible, all submissions should be supported with accompanying photographs or artwork.

Pilot Profiles/Club Profiles

This section seeks to bring more attention to the membership of the U.S. Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association. We will consider all suggestions for subjects for these profiles. Ideally, individuals being profiled should be leaders of their local community and/or strong contributors to the national flying community. Pilots who excel in any aspect of their sport are also worthy of consideration for this section. All hang gliding and/or paragliding clubs and USHPA chapters are eligible for inclusion in this section. Profiles of clubs should focus on the club's membership, the club's activities and function, and the local flying sites maintained and supported by the club.

Pilot profiles are typically 800 to 1500 words. Club/chapter profiles may run 1200 to 2000 words.

Feature Articles

Feature articles may be technical articles designed to help pilots improve their flying skills, or "entertainment" stories that convey the joy and wonders of free flight. First-person "flying adventure"-type stories are especially desired. These can range from descriptions of flying vacations or local fly-ins to a chronicle of a great day at your local home site. All feature articles will be considered.

A letter of query is the preferred way to submit article ideas. The query letter should provide a brief summary of your article idea, including information about any supportive photography you may have. All feature articles should either include photographic support, or have some recommendations for where we can find photographs to accompany the text.

Feature article manuscripts may run 1200 to 3000 words. All submissions are subject to editing, though writers will be consulted about substantial edits. Writers may include suggestions for headlines and article titles, but the final title/headline will be decided by the editor and art director based, in part, on its fit within the page layout and design.

Please send questions and queries to: editor@ushpa.aero.

Photography

Photographs may be submitted in a variety of formats:

FILM - Film accepted only with prior approval from Editor.

DIGITAL - The recent growth of popularity in digital cameras creates both problems and opportunities for photographers. The biggest "problem" occurs when images are captured at a resolution too low to be useful in print publications. In order for a digital photograph to be properly rendered in a printed magazine, the image should be captured at 3-megapixel resolution or better. The basic rule for digital photography is the higher the resolution, the more useful the image. Please use the highest resolution setting on the camera when taking the pictures, and the lowest compression setting. Digital pictures can be provided on Zip disk, CD-ROM, or uploaded directly to the USHPA contributors FTP upload site.

All photographs must include the name of the photographer and any recognizable people within the photos. The information sent with the photos should also include the location of the image, the subject's information (name, site, event, etc.), and if possible the specifics of the media used (such as film type, camera type, special set-ups and so on). Please make sure that data-back cameras are set to no-date mode.

Questions should be directed to editor@ushpa.aero

Last revised: May 2008 - NG/RAB