We expect competent, vividly written prose—fact or fiction—that has high entertainment value for a very sophisticated audience.

Manuscript length depends on subject. If you need 12,000 words to tell the tale, then do so. But if you can tell the story in 3,000 or even 1,500 words, then be kind to yourself, your readers, and our editors. We reject many manuscripts that are well written but just too long. And manuscript length has nothing to do with pay. Note that we do not consider previously published material. We do, however, occasionally run prepublication book excerpts. To get a feel for what Gray’s publishes, review several back issues. Note that we do not, as a rule, publish “how to” articles; this is the province of our regular columnists.

EDITORIAL NEEDS
Gray’s is published seven times a year, including three themed issues: the Fly Fishing Edition (April), the Upland Bird Hunting Edition (August) and the Expeditions and Guides Annual (December). Because 90 percent of our readers are bird hunters and 85 percent are fly fishers, we’re always looking for good fly-fishing and upland-bird-hunting manuscripts for these issues and throughout the year, but don’t confine yourself to these themes. Other subjects of interest include:

    •    Waterfowl
    •    Turkeys
    •    Small Game
    •    Big Game
    •    Unusual Quarry (feral hogs, etc.)
    •    Foreign Adventures in exotic locales
    •    Yarns—tall tales or true

POETRY
We publish one poem per issue, with the exception of the Expeditions and Guides issue. Our tastes in poetry are sufficiently eclectic to consider practically anything, though we prefer poems shorter than 1,000 words.

FEATURES AND YARNS
Features may be fact or fiction, hunting or fishing, long or short, and at least 1,500 words. We rarely publish eulogy pieces, but if you’re convinced—heart and soul—that yours is superior, we’ll certainly take a look. Yarns are just that—campfire tales, fact or fiction, and should run from 750 to 1,500 words.

EXPEDITIONS
These are travel pieces, pure and simple, and can be to places as exotic as Mongolia or as down-home as Missouri. We want you to take our readers hunting or fishing someplace interesting and bring the place to life; the story and the writing are at least as important as where you go and what you caught or shot. Our Expeditions and Guides issue typically runs four or five of these and each regular issue always has one. Expeditions articles run between 2,500 and 3,000 words; we’ll also need a short sidebar detailing the specifics of getting there. We do not publish expeditions pieces without quality photographic support accompanied by clearly descriptive captions for each image (see below for photographic requirements). We occasionally publish in Expeditions and Guides travel features that are unaccompanied by photography but never in a regular issue.

MANUSCRIPT REQUIREMENTS and PAYMENT
We do not buy stories based on queries; we consider only complete manuscripts. You can submit your manuscript via either e-mail or regular mail. Either way, please include a cover letter that states whether the story is fact or fiction. If sending regular mail, please include an SASE if you want your manuscript returned, and at least state your e-mail address to where we can direct our reply. Our mailing and e-mail addresses are listed below.

We pay from $600 to $1,250 for features, based on quality, not length; yarns average $300; poems, $100. We pay $50 to $300 for photographs. For Expeditions pieces, we pay $850 plus $75 per picture published. All payment is made upon publication.

All submissions are on speculation, even if you receive a positive response to a query. We urge multiple submissions, but if you sell a piece we’re holding, please notify us immediately so we don’t build an issue around your feature only to find it unavailable.
We do not pay kill fees.

REPLY
We read every manuscript. About 10 percent get a positive reply. About one percent is printed. You will normally hear from us in 10 to 12 weeks. We choose an issue’s offerings about eight to twelve months before publication. If you are aiming at a specific issue, your manuscript should be in our hands at least six months prior to that.

RIGHTS
We buy modified North American serial rights. These are, specifically:
    •    The right to publish your article in one issue of Gray’s Sporting Journal.
    •    The right to publish your article, if chosen, on our Web site for the duration of that issue’s stay on the newsstand.
    •    The right to use brief quotes and/or images from the magazine in promotional programs related to Gray’s Sporting Journal.
    •    All other rights for material printed in Gray’s remain with the author/creator.

We always notify our valuable contributors when we make any secondary use of their material. This is typically limited to our Web site, where each month we run a sampling of the issue’s feature stories, photo essays, and columns. Note, however, that we do not consider exact reproduction of the magazine page as secondary usage.

SUBMITTING MANUSCRIPTS
We accept manuscripts via e-mail. Please save your files as either Word document (.doc) or Rich Text Format (.rtf) files. Some of the new versions of MS Word save files initially as .docx files, which we cannot open. If you cannot figure out how to save your manuscripts as either .doc or .rtf files, simply paste the manuscript into the body of the e-mail.

Send e-mail to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , and state "gray's manuscript" in the subject line.

Or you could mail it, but reply times are considerably slower. Mail to Russ Lumpkin, GSJ, One 10th St, Ste 380, Augusta, GA 30901.

PHOTOGRAPHY GUIDELINES
Gray’s is perhaps best known for its stunning photographic essays. We accept photographic essays as stand-alones or as part of a story mix. We publish only previously unpublished photographs. Please send a good selection of original images. We prefer digital photographs (see our requirements below), but we also accept slide film. If slides, please send a large selection of original images mounted in slide sheets, marked with the photographer’s name and an identification number on the slide mount. Include an inventory list with your submission. Identify all people, dogs, and game. Write captions for scenes that require some explanation. Include your name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address. Gray’s is not responsible for unsolicited submissions or the safety of submissions not in our possession. Safe care of submissions in transit to and from Gray’s is the responsibility of the carrier.

DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY
Here are out recommendations for submitting digital images.

1.) Use the highest megapixel camera available to you.

2.) Shoot in .RAW if possible

3.) Save images as either .RAW or .TIFF format. We also accept hi-resolution .JPGs.

4.) If your camera has various RGB options, select the "Adobe RGB" option.

5.) If your camera has Processing Parameters, select the Parameter that provides baseline settings, which apply NO adjustments to the image.

6.) Send a color thumbnail contact sheet of all images, and make sure the file name of the contact sheet matches the file names on the disc. Contact sheets expedite the photo-editing and evaluation process.

PHOTO ESSAY SPECIFICATIONS
We are looking for essays of stunning quality, focusing on angling and hunting. Please send a large selection of original photographs. Include an inventory list with your submission. Organize your submission with the notion of telling a story complete with every aspect of a hunting or fishing adventure.
 
When you submit a photo essay, you must include pertinent details regarding:
• the species being hunted or fished,
• the location,
• the time of year,
• any unique information about the area,
• any unique information about hunting or fishing for this species, especially as it pertains to the area or time of year,
• and the name, address, phone of guides, lodge or company used.

INSIDE FRONT COVERS
Wildlife studies may be considered for the inside front covers of Gray’s, but we’re also looking for the offbeat, quirky, or just plain impressive. Photographs submitted for consideration as inside front covers must be vertical.

PAYMENT
Payment for photographic essays is made upon publication and is subject to negotiation with the art director. The inside front cover pays $250. All submissions are on a speculation-only basis—even if you receive a positive response to a query.



PUBLICATION DATES 2008
February/March
February 1
Late-season Hunting, Fishing, Travel, Turkey Hunting

April
April 1
The Fly-Fishing Edition

May/June
May 1
Summer Fishing, Hunting

August
August 1
The Upland Bird Hunting Edition

September/October
September 1
Hunting: Birds, Small Game, Big Game

November/December
November 1
Big Game Hunting, Waterfowl

Expeditions and Guides Annual
December 30
Expeditions and Guides: Travel Only

Mail manuscripts and photo submission to
Russ Lumpkin
Managing Editor
Gray’s Sporting Journal submissions
PO Box 1207 Augusta, GA 30903


Shipping Address (best if including slides)
Russ Lumpkin
Gray’s Sporting Journal submissions
1 10th St
Suite 380
Augusta, GA 30901

E-mail
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
(Please state “Gray’s manuscript” in the subject line)

(706) 823-3538 • Fax (706) 823-3641

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