Word is Out is a radical-democratic project: it provides a free space for discussion of ideas about political, social and economic issues affecting homosexuals, gay men, lesbians, transgenders, intersexuals, bisexuals and queers. The content of published pieces is not driven by the views of the editors or editorial reference group, but by what contributors freely offer to write.

Articles and book reviews must be well written and soundly argued. Word is Out especially seeks contributions from political and social activists. It is not an academic/refereed journal.

Word is Out supports freedom of expression and is opposed to any censorship of the Internet. An article, book review or commentary will not be rejected because the editors or editorial advisory group disagree with its politics, per se.

Types of contributions accepted

Word is Out publishes 3 types of material: • articles of an analytical nature on contemporary issues; • commentaries, which are responses to a published article addressing the substantive issues it raises; and, • reviews of books (both non-fiction and fiction) written or published from Australasia, Oceania, east, southeast and south Asia.

We do not publish fiction, poetry, plays, film scripts, recipes, news items, events listings, or reviews of films, art exhibitions, plays or other performances, or any piece that includes photos or graphics (in part or in whole). We do not publish articles that are basically textual analysis of fiction, films, etc.

This journal is not a variant of or an alternative to literary, cultural studies, history or queer studies journals, whether offline or online, and we do not publish articles that are more appropriate for such journals.

We appreciate that ‘contemporary’ is a contingent concept: as a rough guide, we will not publish pieces where the substantive matter or predominant focus predates 1980.

We do not publish contributions that have been published in another journal or book, whether online or offline.

Legal issues

We will not publish anything that we regard as libellous or defamatory.

We expect the writer to respect the copyright of any material they use. In preparing an article, contributors should take all care not to breach copyright in material produced by others. Quoting song lyrics, for example, is not acceptable without written permission of the entity holding copyright; likewise with quoting poems. However, if a contributor uses quotes from fiction writers, playwrights or novelists, and correctly acknowledges the source, and the use of their text is for fair research or comment, then it is safe. If in doubt, we ask writers to seek written permission from the copyright owner, or not to use it at all.

Copyright with individual contribution will rest with the contributor. If contributors authorize reproduction of a piece after it is published in Word is Out, we request that they do so on condition that reproduction includes a statement that the piece was first published in Word is Out (including issue number and date).

Opinions expressed in bylined articles are those of the writers and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the publishers, editors, or the editorial reference group.

Handling submissions

The editors will take all care to handle a proposal and contribution promptly and professionally.

The editors reserve the right to not accept or to not publish a contribution for any reason whatsoever, at any point, and accept no liability for not accepting or publishing it.

All submissions received will be treated as unconditionally assigned without compensation for publication purposes and are subject to the editor's right to edit, comment, and (re)title.

The editors will take the submission of a proposal for publication as an indication that the contributor has read the guidelines for contributors and has accepted (consented to) them.

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This page updated 4 September 2002.
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