Editor: Thomas W. Flynn
Associate Editors: John R. Shook, Lauren Becker
Managing Editor: Andrea Szalanski
Columnists: Arthur Caplan, Richard Dawkins, Edd Doerr, Shadia B. Drury, Nat Hentoff, Christopher Hitchens, Wendy Kaminer, Tibor R. Machan, Tom Rees, Katrina Voss
Senior Editors: Bill Cooke, Richard Dawkins, Edd Doerr, James A. Haught, Jim Herrick, Gerald A. Larue, Ronald A. Lindsay, Taslima Nasrin
Contributing Editors: Roy P. Fairfield, Charles Faulkner, Levi Fragell, Adolf Grünbaum, Marvin Kohl, Thelma Lavine, Lee Nisbet, J.J.C. Smart, Thomas Szasz
Ethics Editor: Elliot D. Cohen
Literary Editor: David Park Musella
Assistant Editors: Julia Lavarnway, Julia Burke
Permissions Editor: Julia Lavarnway
Art Director: Christopher S. Fix
Production: Paul E. Loynes Sr.
Chair: Richard K. Schroeder
Board of Directors: Kendrick Frazier, Dan Kelleher, Angie McAllister, Richard K. Schroeder, Edward Tabash, Jonathan Tobert, Leonard Tramiel
Chief Executive Officer: Ronald A. Lindsay
Executive Director: Thomas W. Flynn
Director, Campus and Community Programs (CFI): Lauren Becker
Director, Secular Organizations for Sobriety: Jim Christopher
Director, African Americans for Humanism: Debbie Goddard
Vice President of Planning and Development (CFI): Sherry Rook
Director of Libraries (CFI): Timothy Binga
Communications Director: Michelle Blackley
Database Manager (CFI): Jacalyn Mohr
Staff: Pat Beauchamp, Ed Beck, Melissa Braun, Shirley Brown, Cheryl Catania, Eric Chinchón, Matt Cravatta, Roe Giambrone, Leah Gordon, Jason Gross, Adam Isaak, Lisa Nolan, Paul Paulin, Anthony Santa Lucia, John Sullivan, Christopher Szczygiel, Vance Vigrass
Executive Director Emerita: Jean Millholland
Free Inquiry (ISSN 0272-0701) is published bimonthly by the Council for Secular Humanism, a nonprofit educational corporation, P.O. Box 664, Amherst, NY 14226-0664. Phone (716) 636-7571. Fax (716) 636-1733. Copyright ©2011 by the Council for Secular Humanism. All rights reserved. No part of this periodical may be reproduced without permission of the publisher. Periodicals postage paid at Buffalo, N.Y., and at additional mailing offices. National distribution by Disticor. Free Inquiry is indexed in Philosophers’ Index. Printed in the United States. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors or publisher. No one speaks on behalf of the Council for Secular Humanism unless expressly stated.
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Free Inquiry publishes articles explaining the principles of secular humanism and supporting those living out its ideals. It explores the contributions of science as they increase our understanding of the world and our ability to improve it. It also examines the damage done by ignorance, intolerance, and superstition. The readership includes scholars, researchers, and lay readers with diverse backgrounds. In addition to articles, Free Inquiry publishes a very limited amount of poetry.
Free Inquiry considers only original articles that have not been published elsewhere, either in print or electronic form. Exceptions to this policy include book excerpts, articles previously published in foreign publications with little or no U. S. readership, or by special arrangement with the editors. Authors must not submit an article to any other publication, printed or electronic, while Free Inquiry is considering it. Multiple submissions (articles submitted to several publications simultaneously) will not be considered for publication. The editors may at their discretion reject a previously-accepted manuscript if they discover that a submission has been published previously elsewhere. Please note that online publication (blog, newsgroup, Facebook, etc.) is considered previous publication under this rule.
Write clearly and simply; assume an intelligent general audience. All submissions are judged on the basis of interest, clarity, significance, relevance, authority, and topicality. Space is at a premium. There is a limit of six thousand words for Articles and one thousand six hundred words for Departments.
Once a manuscript is tentatively scheduled, copy- edited, and typeset, proofs are sent to the author. Corrected proofs should be returned within 5 work days. Make suggested changes only on galleys. Do not retype the submission. Keep changes minimal.
Like most magazines, Free Inquiry cannot guarantee publication of submitted articles. But we do guarantee careful consideration of each article submitted. Unless otherwise agreed, copyright will be transferred to Free Inquiry upon publication.
We maintain a journalistic rather than technical tone, so in-text notes are discouraged. Numbered in-text notes are not permitted; nor are APA-style parenthetical references (Smith 1990a, 21). As a small number of in-text notes are occasionally necessary, one such reference is permitted per finished page, in every case marked with an asterisk pointing to a footnote on that typeset page. In general, authors are encouraged to insert reference information into their text in plain English ("As Smith asserted in her 1990 Title ..."). Most references should be placed at the end of the article in a list titled References, Further Reading, or Recommended Reading. Format is Author-surname, Author-given-name. Title [or, if an article, "Title"] (City: Publisher, Year). End-of-article notes may not include page numbers.
Submissions should include the author's mailing address, daytime phone number, and email address. Send to: Thomas Flynn, Editor, Free Inquiry, P.O. Box 664, Amherst, New York, 14226-0664. Articles should be submitted as three sets of 8-½ x 11” hardcopy with double-spaced type. In addition, the hardcopy should be accompanied by PC-readable electronic media such as CD-ROM or thumb drive. We take no responsibility for media readable only by Apple Macintosh series computers. Hardcopy submissions unaccompanied by media will be considered only by advance arrangement with the editors. PDF files, HTML files, Microsoft Works files, Appleworks files, or files produced by Quark Xpress, Adobe InDesign, or Microsoft Publisher are not acceptable for submission.
Figures and graphs should be in high quality camera-ready form, or in any common electronic graphics format. Please do not send Quark XPress, Adobe InDesign, or Microsoft Publisher files for use as graphics.
Electronic photos are acceptable if in the editors’ judgment their resolution is sufficient. Hardcopy photos are also acceptable. Photos may be black and white or color.
Free Inquiry publishes selected letters to the editor which are 300 words or less and pertain to previous Free Inquiry articles. Send submissions to Andrea Szalanski, Letters Editor, Free Inquiry, P.O. Box 664, Amherst NY 14226-0664 or email to freeinquiry@secularhumanism.org. Letters intended for publication must include your name, address (including city and state), and daytime phone number for verification purposes only. Not all letters can be published; letters may be edited for clarity and content.
FREE INQUIRY publishes a limited amount of poetry in most issues. The magazine seeks unpublished original poetry that is lyrical and enlightening, and compatible with our magazine’s secular humanist focus. We consider poetry of any kind: formal to free-verse, traditional to experimental. Poems should be accessible without being pat, compelling without being preachy, and shortish rather than longish. We generally publish several poems per issue, depending on space.
Poems (no more than three per submission) should be sent hard-copy and accompanied by a PC readable CD-ROM or thumb drive. Please include a brief cover letter and mail to the following address:
Austin MacRae, Literary Editor
Free Inquiry
P.O. Box 664
Amherst, NY 14226-0664
Submissions may also be sent in the body of an e-mail to amacrae@centerforinquiry.net.
FREE INQUIRY
P.O. Box 664
Amherst, NY 14226-0664
Phone: (716) 636-7571
Fax: (716) 636-1733
The transnational secular humanist magazine
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