Submissions and Contributions 

 

General Guidelines

 

Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis and published under the following columns: News, Opinion, Insight and Narratives of Asia. 

Our articles are further sorted into various topic categories such as Economics, Business, Politics, International Relations, Technology, Security, Culture, History, Environment, Public Health, Religion and Education. 

Each of the columns comes with its own style and format.

News: 

This is our current affairs column which aims to condense, summarise and explain recent events in Asia in short, succinct pieces. The purpose is to break down complex events into a format which is easier to understand and inform the audience of recent events. 

Opinion: 

This is our column for individual commentaries on current affairs. It aims to shed light on a particular issue of interest and it can be representative of both personal views or a general standpoint. 

Insight: 

This is our column for longer, lengthier pieces that delve deep into a particular event or issue in Asia. Issues discussed as part of Insight can be general timeless events or ongoing continuous events. 

Narratives of Asia: 

This is our very own society podcast which accommodates an alternate approach to news and current affairs. 

Narratives of Asia aims to drive representation and encourage discourse by giving individuals the voice and platform to share their personal experiences and discuss social issues with their peers on a more casual platform. 



Submissions Process 

 

Submissions are made via our Google Form

Submitting a written article 

Aware that some are first-time contributors and others are experienced writers, we have opened up two submission routes to cater to your experience. Both of these sections can be completed on the Google Form.

For first-time writers, use these guiding questions as a starting point to tell us about your piece:

  • Introduce your article in one sentence. 

  • What are the main topics/points you want to cover in the article?

  • What is the purpose of your article? 

For more experienced writers:

  • Send a 250 word pitch/brief summarising your article via our Google Form.

Your pitch will then be reviewed by the Publications team, allowing for 2-3 working days of response time. Once approved, an editor will get in touch with you to communicate on deadlines, areas to further develop, and answer any questions you may have. Once all edits are resolved, your article will be scheduled for posting.

Contributing to Narratives of Asia (Currently Inactive)

You can contribute to our podcast, Narratives of Asia, in two ways.

  1. Contribute discussion topics by responding to our monthly call outs on social media and society newsletters to have your topics added to our prompt sheet.

  2. Comment on our Facebook and Instagram posts if you are interested in being a guest on our upcoming podcast episodes! 



Our Expectations

 

  • Consider using subheadings in longer articles, and images/infographics to complement.

  • Any multimedia elements (eg. images) sent as JPEGs with credits.

  • Reference using hyperlinks embedded throughout the text, no bibliography.

  • Include translation for terms in foreign/native language.

  • Our articles are accessible to all UCL students and our readership extends beyond the Asian community. Assume readers have minimal understanding of the topic and contextualise topic thoroughly.

  • Avoid jargon and keep sentences succinct.

  • Write in an engaging tone.



Support and Guidance

 

Membership of our virtual Writers’ Group is automatic upon the submission of your first article. You will be invited to workshops where you can meet and exchange ideas with other writers passionate about current affairs in Asia. Alternatively, if you are unsure of whether you would like to contribute regularly but would still like to attend our meetings and workshops, feel free to join our group here. 

*Attendance is not obligatory and you are able to opt out of the group at any point. However, you must be a member of Asiatic Affairs (Remote or Full) to become a member of the Asiatic Affairs Writers’ Group.

Our editors are here to support you with your writing. Communicate with them any issues you have along the way. If you are looking for inspiration, check out our Prompt Sheet for a list of potential topics and also browse through our website for more article ideas. 


Contact Us

 

For general enquiries email us on su.asiaticaffairs-society@ucl.ac.uk or contact us via any of our social media platforms. 

For more specific enquiries relating to Publication, submissions and contribution guidelines, contact the Publications Officer at jan.miller.23@ucl.ac.uk. 


Join our mailing list for monthly updates on society announcements, latest articles and upcoming events. You will also be able to find details of the next Writers’ Group workshop via the newsletter.