Submissions
Work that matters now and belongs in the record.
The Menorah Journal is considering submissions for VOLUME L · NO. 1 — SHAVUOT 2027. We welcome original work that helps readers understand Jewish thought, life and culture through scholarship, argument, observation, literature, visual art or another form suited to the subject.
A broad Jewish journal, not a narrow academic one
The journal is not limited to academic scholarship. Some subjects call for scholarship. Others are better served by reflection, firsthand knowledge, conversation, literary work, visual storytelling or close observation. The standard is not the form a piece takes, but what it gives the reader.
Contributors need not share one religious, cultural or ideological outlook. The Menorah Journal is interested in work from across Jewish life and in placing different communities, traditions and points of view in the same publication. Publishing an argument does not mean that the Journal endorses it.
Five questions guide our editorial review.
A submission does not need to answer each question in the same way, but strong work usually gives us a clear reason to say yes to all five.
Is it interesting?
Would a curious reader who was not already researching the subject want to keep reading? A worthwhile subject should be presented in a way that invites people into it.
Is it substantive?
Does the piece leave the reader knowing or understanding something they did not before? It should offer enough evidence, experience, argument or insight to justify the reader's time.
Is it readable?
Can an educated reader outside the author's immediate field follow the piece and remain engaged without sacrificing accuracy, rigor or complexity?
Does it illuminate Jewish life?
Does it reveal something meaningful about Jewish history, culture, identity, ideas, traditions, personalities, communities or contemporary experience?
Is it worth preserving?
Would the piece still be worth encountering years from now as an account, interpretation or expression of Jewish life in this period?
What we publish
The journal's subject matter is intentionally broad. We are interested in work that has a reason to appear in a serious Jewish cultural journal rather than simply a reason to exist online.
Subjects
Jewish thought, religion, history, literature, art, music, culture, public life, biography, institutions, communal life and the Jewish experience broadly understood.
Forms
Essays, scholarship, criticism, literary nonfiction, interviews, translations, poetry, visual art, photography, cultural observation and other forms suited to a journal of Jewish thought and life.
Length
Most prose submissions will fall between approximately 1,500 and 6,000 words. Longer work may be considered when the subject warrants it.
Originality
Original, unpublished work is preferred. If a piece has appeared elsewhere, has been adapted from earlier work or is simultaneously under consideration, please disclose that in the submission email.
Format
Submit a Word document or PDF. Include the title, author name, a short biographical note and any relevant professional, academic or communal affiliations.
Rights
Publication rights and terms are addressed with the author upon acceptance. Please do not submit material for which you do not control the necessary rights.
Scholarship when the subject calls for it
Specialized knowledge is welcome, but academic formality is not a requirement. Scholarship should serve the subject rather than become a barrier between the subject and the reader.
We value work that is accurate, intellectually serious and readable. A piece may make an argument, preserve a firsthand account, revisit a historical record, introduce readers to a person or institution, examine a cultural development or capture a conversation taking place in Jewish life now.
How to submit
Send the manuscript or proposal to submissions@menorahjournal.com . Please use a subject line beginning with SUBMISSION: followed by the proposed title.
Volume L · No. 1
Shavuot 2027
Submissions and proposals are now being considered.
submissions@menorahjournal.com Submit by Email