Submission Guidelines

Letters to the editor

Length

150 words is long in print, though it looks short on your notepaper. This is a maximum: the length we can fit depends on many factors, including the space available each week, the complexity of the subject and the extent to which it is a subject which has already been discussed. We cannot consult writers about the cutting of their letters.

Response

We cannot respond to unused letters to the editor, explaining the reasons for their non-use. Nor can we print dialogues in the letter columns, with writers serially responding to one another's responses to their letters or articles.

Clarity

When handwriting, please ensure that your letter, including your name and address, are clearly legible. We cannot use an e-mailed letter unless a postal address is included. The rules on anonymity are as given for articles.

Is The Friend the right place?

As a Quaker journal, it is worth thinking about the relationship between the letters columns and our Preparative and Monthly Meetings. While The Friend is a useful place for airing thoughts and views, longer-term consideration of serious issues has to take place within our Meetings for Worship for Business. It is also worth remembering that writing to The Media (including The Friend) is rarely a best first step when we see things going wrong: have you first taken up the matter with those responsible?

Further information is available on the following topics:

Payment & Copyright
Report writing
Articles
Reviews
Poems
Letters to the editor
Obituaries