Editorial Submissions / Guidelines

Yoga Journal covers the practice and philosophy of yoga. In particular we welcome articles on the following themes:

1. Leaders, spokespersons, and visionaries in the yoga community;
2. The practice of hatha yoga;
3. Applications of yoga to everyday life (e.g., relationships, social issues, livelihood);
4. Hatha yoga anatomy and kinesiology, and therapeutic yoga;
5. Nutrition and diet, cooking, and natural skin and body care.

We encourage a well-written query letter outlining your subject and describing its appeal. Query before submitting an article. E-mail to queries@yogajournal.com.

Due to the high volume of queries received, we regretfully cannot respond to each one. If we are interested in your story idea, an editor will contact you within six weeks.

We encourage you to read an issue of Yoga Journal carefully before submitting a query. Please keep in mind our editorial department's three E's: Articles should be enlightening, educational, and entertaining. Please avoid New Age jargon and in-house buzz words as much as possible. Features run approximately 2,000 to 3,500 words. Departments run 1,000 to 2,500 words. Yoga Diary is 250 words (for more on Yoga Diary, see below). We do not print unsolicited poetry. We consider everything except a direct assignment to be submitted on a speculative basis. When an article has been assigned, we will contact you and then send a contract specifying terms and deadline.

Yoga Diary is a first-person story of 250 words that appears in our front-of-the-book Om section. A Yoga Diary tells about a pivotal moment in the writer's yoga experience. This is the only feature for which we accept unsolicited manuscripts instead of queries. If you would like to share your transformational story and submit a Yoga Diary for our consideration, please e-mail your 250-word submission (pasted into the message body) to queries@yogajournal.com. Specify Yoga Diary in the subject line.

For all queries, indicate the availability of photos or artwork in your query letter or with your article. (Pertinent, high-quality photos can enhance an article's desirability.)

Payment varies, depending on length, depth of research, etc. We pay within 90 days of final acceptance.

Manuscripts may be sent to Edit Department, Yoga Journal, 475 Sansome St., Ste. 850, San Francisco, CA 94111. Include your name, address, phone number, and word count on the title page. Also include a concise, two-sentence tagline identifying yourself to our readers.

We cannot be held responsible for loss or damage to unsolicited manuscripts or artwork. We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts by e-mail or fax. Make sure all photos are marked with a brief descriptive caption and the photographer's name and address. Due to the volume of queries we receive, we regrettably are unable to respond to each one individually or to verify that we have received your query.

For further information, call Yoga Journal at (415) 591-0555.