Though many articles in Arms Control Today (ACT) are solicited by the editors, we do also welcome unsolicited submissions.
We strongly recommend that potential authors submit a detailed outline and/or abstract of a proposed article before submission. This provides the editorial team an opportunity to work with authors on their submissions and to solve problems in the early stages of the review process.
To ensure that your submission is appropriate for ACT, please familiarize yourself with the magazine, its guidelines, as well as past articles on related topics. (If you have previously submitted an article, please review the guidelines again as they are revised periodically.)
Feature Articles
ACT welcomes submissions on topics in the field of international arms control and disarmament, including nuclear proliferation, strategic weapons reductions, missile defense, chemical and biological weapons, missile proliferation, and conventional arms exports. Proposals for articles on other topics also are welcome. Feature articles should stimulate debate and offer constructive policy suggestions. ACT articles are not purely academic discussions or journalistic accounts; we seek articles that detail and analyze a current policy problem and propose appropriate means for addressing it.
Feature articles should ideally range from 2,500-4,000 words, including endnotes, but not charts, graphs, or other supporting material.
Our readership includes experts and non-experts; articles should be written so that they are of value to both groups. Avoid jargon and unnecessary technical detail; if used, they should be explained on the first reference. Avoid cluttering the article with abbreviations and acronyms.
"New Voices" Essay Series
As weapons of mass destruction dangers evolve and expand, a new generation of thinkers and doers is needed to help develop ideas and solutions to eradicate the threat, now, and in the years ahead. We invite scholars, think tank analysts, activists, and other experts who are 35 years old or younger and who have not previously been published in Arms Control Today to submit article proposals for possible publication as part of our "New Voices" essay series. Women and people of color, who have been underrepresented in national security debates, are especially encouraged to forward proposals, but anyone with a good idea will be considered. ACT welcomes submissions on topics in the field of international arms control and disarmament, including nuclear proliferation, strategic weapons reductions, missile defense, chemical and biological weapons, missile proliferation, and conventional arms exports. Ideas should be submitted either as 300-word pitches or as completed drafts in the range of 1,000-2,000 words. They should be accompanied by the author's resume.
Book Reviews and Our “Looking Back” Series
ACT book reviews cover relevant titles in the field of arms control; they run in alternate issues. Book reviews are essays; although they should summarize the arguments and style of the book that is being reviewed, they need not restrict themselves to that. They should avoid jargon and unnecessary technical detail. Potential authors should model reviews on those previously published in ACT and/or the style in The New York Review of Books.
ACT also publishes an occassional “Looking Back” essays that recall and reflect on a significant past arms control decision, event, or milestone. These articles often consider the current policy situation and contextualize it within the larger legacy of important treaties, conventions, nuclear tests, etc. Potential authors should consider pegging the article to an anniversary (particularly the fifth, tenth, etc.) of a major arms control event. "Looking Back" essays are generally in the 2,000-2,500 word range.
Letters-to-the-Editor
ACT welcomes letters from readers in response to current events or articles in previous editions. Letters are limited to 500 words and may be edited for space.
How to Submit
Submissions and letters-to-the-editor may be emailed to [email protected]. In the subject line, please indicate what type of submission you are attaching. Our goal is to decide within a month of receiving a submission whether we will accept it. If you need a quicker response, please let us know.
If an article is accepted for publication, it undergoes a multistage editing process. The amount of time is dependent on a number of factors, but you should expect this part of the process to take about three weeks.
Complimentary Subscription
Authors of an accepted feature article, book review, "New Voices," or “Looking Back” piece will receive a one-year professional digital subscription to Arms Control Today as well as four copies of the edition in which their submission is printed.