Amateur
Entomologists'
Society

Bug Club Magazine Author guidelines

Bug Club Magazine cover - April 2006

Aims of the Bug Club Magazine

The aim of the Bug Club Magazine is to publish information of interest to young people. This may include engaging articles on invertebrates, caresheets, puzzles, jokes, event reports or tutorials on techniques. Human interest articles and a small number of poems are published as are pictures drawn by Bug Club members. Items can be accepted for the calendar of forthcoming events.

Submissions

The length of articles and notes is not fixed and may have any length from a single short paragraph to several pages. Technical terms and abbreviations should generally be avoided but when this is not possible they must be explained within the article (either when first mentioned or in a glossary at the end).

Good quality colour photographs and other illustrations are encouraged when they support an article. Please remember that colour plates are still relatively expensive and we can publish only a limited number.

Manuscripts should preferably be submitted by email in either rich text or Microsoft Word document format. Paper manuscripts should be printed double-spaced, single sided on A4 paper, with wide margins. Short handwritten items can also be accepted. Two copies of the manuscript and, where possible, two copies of any illustrations should be sent to:

The Bug Club Magazine Editor
The Amateur Entomologists' Society
PO Box 8774
London
SW7 5ZG

Email: bcm-submission@amentsoc.org

Copy deadlines

The Bug Club Magazine is published at the end of February, April, June, August, October and December each year. The copy deadline is the second week of the month preceding the publication month, for example: mid May for the June issue.

Additional notes

Articles and notes should be lively, accessible and as reader-friendly as possible. All articles should have a short, imaginative title.

Scientific names should be printed in italics or if hand written, underlined. Illustrations should be clearly identified on the back, using a soft pencil or adhesive label, stating the author's name and the figure number. Authors are encouraged to provide images for use on the front cover of the Bug Club Magazine. Photographs must be clear, good-quality colour or black and white slides or prints. Some high-resolution electronic formats (no less than 300 dots per inch; at a size of not less than 10 cm²) are also acceptable, and should be discussed with the Bug Club Magazine editor. All illustrations will be returned after publication. SI units must be used throughout the text, apart from casual remarks e.g. "A few miles further down the road we came across...". Acronyms and abbreviations should be kept to a minimum and, where used, must be spelt out in full on first usage. Nomenclature should follow the latest biological nomenclature. Your article must finish with your name as you wish it to appear in print, and your postal address. If you wish, you may also add an email address.

Please note, we do not pay for articles.

For inspiration please see examples of previously printed articles from the Bug Club Magazine.

If you are interested in placing an advert in the Bug Club Magazine we have published our advertising rates.