©2023 Friends Publishing Corporation
Friends Journal follows the Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition, (CMOS-17) and the American Heritage College Dictionary, 4th edition (AHD), except as noted in this style sheet.
Quaker style guides are published by Barclay Press, Pendle Hill Publications, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting and Friends General Conference. They each differ from our style on various points but can be useful for comparison or reference.
General-interest style guides include Dictionary.com, The Guardian, ProPublica, Buzzfeed, and Wikipedia.
Progressive style guides include: GLAAD (LGBTQ), National Center for Disability and Journalism, A Progressive’s Style Guide, An Introduction to Content Warnings and Trigger Warnings, Conscious Style Guide, Style Guide for Reporting on Indigenous People.
Academic degrees/fields of study: In abbreviations, use no periods: PhD, MA, etc. (CMOS list here). For capitalization, follow CMOS: academic subjects are not capitalized unless they form part of a department name or an official course name or are themselves proper nouns (e.g., English, Latin). Use abbreviations in author bios. In Milestones, use full title uncapitalized (bachelor’s) instead of abbreviation (CMOS 8.28).
Addresses: follow CMOS 10.34 (16th edition). Note: no periods in PO Box.
Apostrophes: (1) Decades: 1940s = ’40s—note direction of apostrophe. (2) Age: “He’s in his 80s.” (no apostrophe). (3) With “Friends”: use apostrophe only if you cannot substitute “Quaker” in the sentence (“Friends” is an adjective like “Presbyterian”). Exception: Friends’ Central School.
Assumptions about FJ readers: Writings should not be based on an assumption that all FJ readers are Quakers and that they know about Quaker orgs like AFSC, FGC or Pendle Hill.
Art captions: Artist, Title, year. Size, medium (e.g.: Sasha Chavchavadze, No Words. 12" x 24", archival pigment print on Canson)
Bios: Maximum word count around 50. Have any links at the end use “Website:” or “Contact:” if it’s an email. If the link is to something else (e.g., Twitter) then just name the platform.
Block quotations: If a quote is longer than four lines, it should be set as a block quotation (indented).
Capitalizations: As per CMOS 8.61, the full names of committees and deliberative bodies, departments, and offices are capitalized. Adjectives derived from them are usually lowercase, as are many of the generic names for such bodies when used alone. Examples: Ministry and Council Committee; the committee. Philadelphia Yearly Meeting; yearly meeting. Bucks County Health Department; county health department. Pacific Yearly Meeting Annual Sessions; annual sessions. Roles should be lowercase, e.g., clerk, treasurer, board member. The CMOS blog covered some of this in 2015.
Capitalization of divinities: In general, capitalize words that mean God (Spirit, Inner Light, Light), even Truth in cases where the context has that noun standing for God. Defer to author when unclear or when they might be using in a nontheist context.
Cities/States: Where location is obvious, state or province may be omitted, but err on the side of clarity. With “Philadelphia,” usually include state. States and Canadian provinces are abbreviated in Milestones, departments that are not features, and author credits, but they are given in full in feature articles (D.C. is an exception). Commas are used both before and after the state. Abbreviations are not postal abbreviations: Alaska, Ala., Ark., Ariz., Calif., Colo., Conn., D.C., Del., Fla., Ga., Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Ill., Ind., Kans., Ky., La., Mass., Md., Maine, Mich., Minn., Mo., Miss., Mont., N.C., N.D., Neb., N.H., N.J., N.M., Nev., N.Y., Ohio, Okla., Ore., Pa., P.R., R.I., S.C., S.D., Tenn., Tex., Utah, Va., Vt., Wash., Wis., W. Va., Wyo. Adapted from AP and CMOS 10.28, which have simplified older postal codes (e.g.: “S. Dak.” is now “S.D.”). In Forum, we spell out Canadian provinces and only include countries for letters from outside the United States and Canada; use town and country (note: UK, not England).
Colons: follow CMOS 6.59-6.65 (16th edition)
Commas: (1) City and state: “in Philadelphia, Pa., . . .” (comma before and after state). (2) In a series: “red, white, and blue” (comma before the “and”). (3) With dates: “April 19, 1945, . . .” (comma before and after the year)—but no commas if only month and year are stated: “March 1962.” (4) With “Jr.”: no comma: Martin Luther King Jr.
Dates: Use cardinal (May 5, 2010) rather than ordinal (May 5th, 2010). See CMOS 9:32. Centuries should be spelled-out and lowercase (e.g., “twenty-first century”), see CMOS 9.33. Wikipedia has interesting guidelines on Old Style vs New Style dates (effective after 1752 in England)
Ellipses with quotations: FJ uses the “three-or-four-dot” method to indicate omissions in quotations (see CMOS, 15th ed., §11.57–61) and does not permit the “three-dot” convention that is described in §11.55–56. FJ requires that text including quotations be readable as full sentences, employing words in [brackets] or words outside of the quotation to complete sentences where necessary. FJ does not use ellipses at the beginning or end of quotations unless required for clarity. FJ will alter capitalization within quotations to improve clarity so long as it does not distort the meaning of the original.
Epigraph: Set roman, no quotes. Citation in italics, starts on same line, preceded with an em dash with no space.
F Bombs and obscenities/expletives/profanities (aka curse words): Are they needed? If yes, are they so needed that they need to be spelled out in black ink across thousands of issues? If not, redact them out with the first letter followed by a single em dash, i.e. f—.
Forum: Where letters refer to published articles, columns, or other letters, give author and title and specify the month and year of articles referred to. (Example: “Quaker Quest” by Mary Jo Clogg, FJ Feb. 2007 or “Quaker Quest,” FJ Feb.) Abbreviate month according to CMOS 10.40 first column (Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr., June, July, Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec.). For articles published in the same year as the current issue, the year is omitted. For articles printed online before the print issue list both (FJ Jan. online; Mar. print.)
Gender language: Use gender-neutral language for persons of unspecified gender. This may be difficult, but re-wording often helps. Minimize the use of “he/she.” We have historically avoided “they,” “their,” and “them” for singular subjects, but we’re recognizing it’s becoming more acceptable and are using it on a case-by-case basis.
Generations: CMOS 8.4.2 says to lowercase except for ones starting “Generation”: the me generation, baby boomer(s); boomers; baby busters, the MTV generation, the millennials, but Generation X, Generation Y, Generation Z.
GI Bill: No periods, following CMOS 10.4’s general guidance.
God and Jesus: (1) God: nouns and pronouns clearly denoting God (e.g., “You”) are capitalized; adjectives are not. (2) Pronouns denoting Jesus are not capitalized. Also for Allah. When Jesus is used as a possessive the name has an apostrophe-s (e.g.,: Jesus’s adherents) as per CMOS 7.16 and to the consternation of Strunk and White who loved the Jesus exception so dearly that they put it on the page one of Elements.
Headline style: Use headline style for article titles as explained in CMOS 8.157. Want help?: see https://capitalizemytitle.com/. When there’s a hyphenated word or phrase, follow CMOS 8.159 and capitalize any subsequent elements unless they are articles, prepositions, or coordinating conjunctions (e.g., “Screen-Weary and Lonely.”).
Identities: Avoid describing people according to one aspect of their identities; consider using the identity as an adjective: “enslaved person,” “immigrant parents” (UIowa’s DEI program has a good style guide on immigration).
Job titles and Awards: CMOS says don’t capitalize job titles, but do capitalize departments.
Monthly meeting names: The standard forms are, for example, “Lancaster (Pa.) Meeting,” or “Providence Meeting in Media, Pa.” when the name of the meeting and city location are not the same. Exceptions: Central Philadelphia (Pa.) Meeting; Friends Meeting at Cambridge (Mass.); Friends Meeting of Austin (Tex.); Friends Meeting of Ocala (Fla.); Friends Meeting of Washington (D.C.) [not Florida Avenue Meeting]; Friends Meeting of New Orleans (La.); Middletown (Bucks County, Pa.) Meeting or Middletown Meeting in Langhorne, Pa.; Middletown (Delaware County, Pa.) Meeting or Middletown Meeting in Lima, Pa.; Stony Run Meeting in Baltimore, Md.; Fifteenth Street Meeting in New York City. Consider including “Friends” when the name of a meeting doesn’t reflect a place or location (city, street address of meeting, geographical feature, region/area name, etc.) and then list the city: University Friends Meeting in Seattle, Wash.; Community Friends Meeting in Cincinnati, Ohio; Laughing Waters Friends Preparative Meeting in metropolitan Minneapolis–St. Paul, Minn. Exception for “First Friends” as in Indianapolis First Friends Meeting.
Month abbreviations: Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr., May, June, July, Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec. (CMOS 10.40).
Names of persons: Use first name and last name for every person at first occurrence and at isolated later occurrences. Last name alone can be used when there are frequent occurrences. Often the use of pronouns can remove the awkwardness of repetition. In instances where the context clearly calls for it, first name alone is permissible. Honorifics, including Dr. and Prof., are omitted, but Rev. is sometimes kept.
Numbers (CMOS): Spell out one to ten; use numerals from 11 upward. But: use numerals in a mixed list (see CMOS 9.7) and spell out when the first word of a sentence (CMOS 9.5). The word “percent” is always written out, and always preceded by a numeral: e.g., “2 percent.”
Photo/Artwork Attribution: Generally just use name in italics, can use “Photos by...” with name if there are multiple pics.
Pronouns: Follow the subject’s preference (including for author bios where someone wishes to include pronouns immediately following their name). Refer to the subject by the preferred pronoun (e.g., “they”) and trust the reader to make sense of it, even if it takes a little more mental processing at first. This approach has the advantage of normalizing whatever pronoun is used, rather than drawing attention to it explicitly. While this is an evolving point of style in our style guide, “they” as a gender neutral singular pronoun has been in use in English for centuries. See also this style guide for gender-inclusive writing.
Ordinal/Cardinal numbers: as per CMOS 9.46, 9.53, etc., spell out ordinal numbers if one hundred or less, e.g., thirty-seventh year, 322nd session.
Organizations and educational institutions: Omit the article “the”: e.g., “American Friends Service Committee” and “University of Ohio.” In Milestones, list schools using current full name. If it was a very different name then, list as former name, with current full name in parentheses.
Skin color: Avoid the use of food to describe skin tones. See the Writing with Color guide on this topic.
Suicides: Do not use the term “committed suicide.” Instead use “died by suicide,” “completed suicide,” “killed him/herself,” or “ended his/her life.” See ReportingonSuicide, AFSP, NAMI. Consider including contact information to National Suicide Prevention Hotline.
Titles: As per CMOS: books, movies, television, radio, and podcast programs are capitalized and italicized; songs, poems, manuscripts, unpublished transcripts of speeches are set in roman type, capitalized, enclosed in quotation marks.
U.S. spelling: As per CMOS 7.3, we should change edit for U.S. spellings and punctuation in articles (e.g., colour to color, period within closing quotes). Spelling and odd capitalizations should generally be maintained in quoted works, see CMOS 13.7 for specifics.
Website: When a site is being used as a publication name, capitalize and italicize, and no http or www (e.g., Blogher.com, Friendsjournal.org). In print, use full domain for major website sections (/submissions, /studentvoices) but short URL for article links. Always capitalize the F for Friendsjournal.org or Fdsj.nl and Q for QuakerSpeak.com. When being used in a reference, italicize and do not use “http://” and only use “www” if necessary (not all sites have it). (N.b.: we’re in contradiction of CMOS 14:11 in much of this). Don’t stress too much about all this. Set usernames (e.g., Twitter) in roman.
Yearly meeting abbreviations: spell out in full for first mention, followed by relevant acronym for subsequent mentions. Try to avoid needing to abbreviate, when must use FWCC’s list (e.g., Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (PhYM) vs. Pacific Yearly Meeting (PacYM)).
Yearly meeting names: When two yearly meetings share the same name, the branch should be placed in parentheses, i.e., Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative). Note that Ohio Yearly Meeting doesn’t need this, as the Conservative yearly meeting is the only one currently using that name.
Term Comment/meaning/example
A.D. and B.C. Substitute C.E. and B.C.E. (common era; before the common era)
a.m., p.m. lowercase, with periods (CMOS 9:38) (was: small caps, no periods)
advices (as in “queries and advices”) lc unless referring to a specific set of advices
African American no hyphen, even as an adjective (the same for other so-called “hyphenated Americans”)
AFSC use for American Friends Service Committee after first reference; not preceded by an article
al-Qaida FJ uses this spelling
American substitute United States or North American (noun) or U.S. (adjective) in most contexts; okay to use in subsequent mentions if the country has been clearly established
Americans substitute “people in the United States,” “U.S. citizen,” “U.S. American” or simply “people,” as appropriate in most contexts
antisemitism/anti-Semitism We have traditionally used hyphen, capital “S.” As of 2019 there is growing sentiment that it should be spelled antisemitism, argued by groups such as the Intl Alliance of Holocaust Remembrance (PDF), the Board of Deputies of British Jews and others. Hyphenless is the norm in academic circles; hyphenated in publications. Wikipedia omits the hyphen and has a usage note; AHD allows either spelling. UNESCO, ADL, the government of Israel, and the New York Times retain the hyphen and capitalization of the S.
antinuclear no hyphen; see CMOS 15th ed., p. 307 for list of prefixes forming closed compounds. Generally: no hyphen except if the combined word would be confusing (anti-intellectual, extra- alkaline).
antiracism/antiracist no hyphen
antislavery no hyphen
antiwar no hyphen
as way opens a quaker idiom; “way” is lc
attender a person who attends a Quaker meeting more or less regularly but is not a member
Bible Follow CMOS 10:44 through 10:45. If abbreviation is needed, use longer one listed there.
biblical lc as adjective
birthright Friend Avoid this phrase except in some historical contexts; instead, use “lifelong Friend,” “Friend since birth,” or the like
Black uc when used to denote racial identity. In prior style sheets we’ve had lc, with recommendation to replace with African American.
blog lc, abbrev for weblog; also “to blog”
Brown similar to Black, uc when used to denote racial identity.
CO abbrev. for conscientious objector after first reference; pl.: COs
catalog not catalogue (but see dialogue)
changemaker one word
childcare one word
church lc when talking about a particular place and but uc when talking about a denomination (the Episcopal Church; an Episcopal church; an Episcopalian). See CMOS 8.97 and 8.96 for examples.
Christocentric one word
Civil Rights Movement capitalized contrary to CMOS
co- check American Heritage Dictionary first and follow this hyphenation guide from CMOS: coequal, coauthor, coeditor, coordinate, cooperation, coworker, plus cofounder, cohost, costar, cowrite, but co-op, co-opt. Additionally FJ hyphenates co-chair, co-clerk, co-anchor, co-parent.
committee capitalized if formal name, lowercase if generic; see Capitalizations, above.
conscientious objector spell out for the first use, then may use abbreviation CO
coronavirus/COVID See CMOS Shop Talk. In early 2020, we used “COVID-19” but dropping the “-19” became common.
craftsman use artisan or craftsperson
Cross as a Christian concept, uc, but lc as a physical representation, such as a piece of jewelry
counter-recruit use hyphen
Daoism use the modern, phonetic spelling with an uppercase D
decision making no hyphen as a noun; see CMOS-15 p.303: “Noun plus gerund” (also: problem solving, record keeping), but use hyphens when an adjectival phrase
dialogue not dialog (but see catalog)
discipline lc for generic books of discipline; uc where referring to a specific discipline (same for faith and practice): “For its discipline, Great Valley Yearly Meeting uses Faith and Practice of New England Yearly Meeting of Friends; most yearly meetings publish their own faith and practice.”
divine lc as adjective (except in phrases like “Divine Presence”), uc as a noun (“the Divine”).
Friends meeting prefer to “monthly meeting” when talking generically about a Quaker congregation (“I took the question to my monthly meeting”) but not when other formal bodies are used (“she was active in her monthly, quarterly, and yearly meeting”). If “monthly meeting” can’t be substituted throughout the article then explain the term on first use. Examples: “Friends meeting (called ‘monthly meetings’ because its members hold business sessions once a month, though worship typically takes place at least once a week)” and “a monthly meeting (so-called because its members hold business sessions once a month)”
Friends/People of Color 2020-07 We’ve been lowercasing. Considering uppercasing, as it is a specific demographic. For now, defer to author.
Earth/earth uc: the whole planet (as astronomical body); lc: dirt or ground. Also lc: or generic non-astronomical, metaphorical uses like “care for the earth” and “down to earth” (sun and moon are also lc in these non-astronomical contexts); see CMOS 8.139.
earthcare one word; uc for the department category
eBook For consistency sake, we have been printing this as lc “e” uc “B.”
email lc, no hyphen
emergency room, ER spell out for the first use, then may use abbreviation
Evangelical uc when referring to a branch of Quakerism
f/Friends Both Quaker and non-Quaker friends; use sparingly
First Day uc
First-day school hyphenated, uc-lc
Friend-in-residence hyphenated, also artist-in-residence, etc.
Friends’ see guidelines for apostrophes, above
Friends Journal in italics
gathered meeting Quaker term for a powerful meeting for worship (also “covered meeting”)
Gathering uc for annual Friends General Conference Gathering after first reference
Gospel lc as per CMOS and Barclay Press except for specific books
Great Separation uc
healthcare one word
heaven lc as per CMOS 8.108. Also: kingdom. Most sources agree formulations like “kingdom of God” should stay lc.
Hicksite uc when referring to specific branch of Quakerism. Also: Hicksite-Orthodox. In “Hicksite schism,” lowercase schism.
Historic Peace Churches uc (Friends, Brethren, and Mennonites)
homeschooling one word; also: to homeschool (verb); homeschoolers
human rights not hyphenated, even as adjectival phrase
info informal use of “information”; avoid use in features
Indigenous uc when used to denote a people
Internet uc
Koran use Qur’an
lay on the table Quaker term: to carry over from one business meeting to the next
leading, leadings Quaker parlance for divine inspiration(s)
LGBTQ Spell out in first use in article: Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer. Do not use “transgendered.” More more nuances, see GLAAD’s “Media Reference Guide” with its glossary of terms.
Liberal uc when referring to a branch of Quakerism
lifestyle correct spelling
Light Uppercase
listserv substitute listserve
mankind substitute humankind, humanity, or other equivalent word
Mass uc as religious service. This seems a bit inconsistent seeing as we don’t capitalize meeting but Chicago 8:110 allows it.
meeting lc unless part of proper name of a specific meeting
meeting for worship lc
meetinghouse one word; lc unless proper name (exception: Arch Street Meeting House)
meetingroom one word
memorial minute lc
minute of exercise Quaker term: a personal statement by a clerk of a yearly meeting at the close of its Sessions
monthly meeting substitute “Friends meeting,” see that entry.
Mr., Mrs., Ms., Miss avoid these altogether
naïve use umlaut over i (an exception to AHD)
Native American generally preferred to “Indian,” but some groups prefer the latter; preserve the usage of a knowledgeable writer
Nayler, James preferred spelling is Nayler, as opposed to Naylor
nondenominational one word, no hyphen (as found in American Heritage Dictionary)
non-Friend use hyphen; likewise non-Quaker
non-governmental as in non-governmental organization (NGO)
nonprofit one word, no hyphen
nonreligious one word, no hyphen
nontheist(ism) no hyphen
nonviolent no hyphen, also “nonviolence,” etc.
online one word, no hyphen
“out-Quaker” use quotation marks and hyphen
p., pp. use these abbreviations for single and multiple page references, respectively
pagan, Paganism uc when referring to the modern-day organized group/movement or to an individual who identifies as such, e.g., "He's been a Pagan for 15 years." Also: Neo-Pagan and Neo-Paganism (uc for both words and use a hyphen). lc when referring to its pre-20th century non-movement forms, i.e., biblical quotes about the pagans.
Palestine–Israel Use en-dash. Also for related
pastoral uc when referring to a specific branch of Quakerism, e.g., "Pastoral Friends." lc when using as an adjective, e.g., "pastoral care," "pastoral yearly meeting," and "Friends who are pastoral"
peacebuilding one word
peacemaker one word
Pendle Hill Use “Pendle Hill study center in Wallingford, Pa.” or similar for first reference, “Pendle Hill” subsequent.
percent one word; spell out; also, see “Numerals” above.
poetry, quoting in text Use slashes with a space on each side to show line breaks. For more than three or four lines, set as a block quote
pre-K pre-kindergarten
president lc, except for U.S. President, unless preceding a name
PTSD post-traumatic stress disorder. Going with journalist sources which hyphenate rather than medical which use “posttraumatic”
“Quakerese” =Quaker parlance; use quotation marks
Quakerly uc; also Quakerliness; but see “unquakerly”
Quakerspeak (as generic phrase): no quotation marks
QuakerSpeak Our video project; also: QuakerSpeak.com. Use web address in Forum references, italicized with no comma before the date (i.e., QuakerSpeak.com Dec. 2022).
quarterly meeting lc unless part of proper name of a specific meeting
Qur’an correct spelling; closer to phonetic transliteration than Koran
recreational vehicle, RV not necessary to spell out for the first use, abbreviation is all caps, no periods
Religious Society of Friends’ When possessive it gets just the apostrophe, see CMOS 7.20
résumé use accents
same-sex marriage preferred term by mainstream style guides; not “same-gender”
Scripture(s) uc
Society of Friends substitute “Religious Society of Friends” in most contexts
singer/songwriter use slash, not hyphen
Spirit uppercase
Taoism use the modern, phonetic spelling Daoism
teenager one word
television, TV not necessary to spell out for the first use, abbreviation is all caps, no periods
Temple uc only when referring to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem
testimony(ies) lowercase, including each word (simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality, stewardship, service)
that/which always use “that” in a restrictive clause
UK United Kingdom (no periods)
UN United Nations (no periods)
Underground Railroad uc when referring to historic original of nineteenth century
universalism lc
Universalist uc
unquakerly lc (like unchristian), but un-Friendly
URLs try not to divide; when dividing, put punctuation on lower line; omit “http://”; may be surrounded by < > or ( ) if needed for clarity
U.S. adj., use periods (spell out United States as a noun)
USSR no periods
web lc; also, website (one word), webpage (one word)
White uc when used to denote racial identity (new as of 2019)
Wi-Fi uc with a hyphen
Woolman Hill Use “Woolman Hill retreat center in Deerfield, Mass.” or similar for first reference, “Woolman Hill” subsequent.
Word as in, Word of God: uppercase
wordsmithing Quakers lingo for over-polishing the wording of minutes
workcamp one word
World Wide Web uc when written in full, but lc "web" (see above and CMOS 7.76)
worship sharing hyphenate only if adj. (same for worship group)
worshiping one p
yearly meeting lc unless part of proper name of a specific meeting
[h2]To Be Broken and Tender
[h3]By Margery Post Abbott, illustrations by Brian Drayton. Friends Bulletin Corporation, 2012. 242 pages. $29.50/hardcover; $15/paperback. Free download at www.wherever.com.
[h4]Reviewed by . . .
[Normal text]Review
[h4]Reviewer bio . . .
QuakerBridge Media of FGC, 2011.
Pendle Hill Pamphlets (number 420), 2012.
Pendle Hill Publications, 2008.
I like George Fox’s piece (“Headaches While Writing My Journal,” FJ Jan. 2012) but I take offense at his conclusion. (Note: the year is not needed if published in current year). Also: “QuakerSpeak.com” and "FJ Oct. online” for online features.
Cleaning Docs for Production: a list of common problems in author documents that should be cleared before files are shared with Production.
Term Explanation
blueline finished magazine sent back by the printer for final proofing (formerly in blue ink)
drop cap oversized initial letter of an article or at the beginning of a paragraph later in the article
final proofs the laid-out printed text in the stage just prior to finals; all ads should be in place
finals the final printed text as it is sent to the printer; no longer used by the printer except as a guide; an electronic file accompanies the finals
galleys text run out in columns in layout software, usually leaving the middle column blank to give space for corrections
mechanicals older term for finals
paper-clip accident misplaced papers tucked behind unrelated ones
pull-quotes short extracts of text in larger print in a block to draw the reader into an article; the text need not conform exactly to the text in the article
run out (verb) to prepare text as galleys in a layout program
widows In galley copy, the last line of type in a paragraph must have at least one word plus at least part of a second word. If not, it is circled, and the typesetter will adjust spacing.
Useful Keystrokes
Em dash: — shift-option-hyphen (no space on either side)
En dash: – option-hyphen (used for numeric ranges, see CMOS 9.60; and for en dash as “to” see 6.78)
Typically start with a one-paragraph introduction to the person. Interviewer questions in bold. Names of interviewer/interviewee(s) in bold italic; first use is spelled out, subsequent uses are initials with no periods.
Headlines: Use sentence case (for news items, except online).
Language and tone: Strive to use neutral, unbiased language when reporting on stories in the News section. Facts should be presented in a clear and logical manner, communicating the most essential information early on and less-important supporting material later in the piece.
Names of persons: Similar to above general guidelines. Upon first mention of a person, use full name then last name only for subsequent mentions (unless in a quote). For longer pieces where it would benefit the reader, okay to use first and last names for later mentions.
Quoting people and text: Every quote and attribution should be its own paragraph.
Unlike other sections of the magazine (i.e., feature and department articles), the News section follows slightly different rules for block quotations. If the quote comes from a person speaking about or commenting on some issue, it should remain in quotation marks as part of the running text. If the quote comes from a written formal/prepared statement (including via email) or other published material, it should follow the four-line rule for block quotes, as detailed above in the general guidelines.
Editions: We occasionally review subsequent editions of noteworthy titles. The edition is identified in the headline of a review (where the style is non-italics): spelled out and put in parentheses following the title and subtitle. Further descriptions such as “Revised and Expanded” may be mentioned in the body of the review if appropriate. Example: On Living with a Concern for Gospel Ministry (Second Edition).
Listing prices: put the list price, not the "sale price." The list price is the suggested retail price set by the publisher. Include prices for hardcover, paperback, and eBook versions where available (can include paperback version if available less than three months from issue publication date).
Names of persons: Similar to above general guidelines. Upon first mention of an author, editor, or illustrator, use full name then last name only for subsequent mentions. Not true for names of characters. Honorifics, including Dr. and Prof., are omitted, but Rev. and Father are sometimes kept. Degrees and religious abbreviations after names—PhD, MD, LSW, SSJ (Sister of Saint Joseph), OFM (Order of Friars Minor)—are omitted.
Numbers referring to parts of a book: As per CMOS 9.26, numbers referring to pages, chapters, parts, volumes, and other divisions of a book, as well as numbers referring to illustrations or tables, are set as numerals. Pages of the front matter are usually in lowercase roman numerals; those for the rest of the book are in arabic numerals.
Publishers: Examples: QuakerBridge Media of FGC, 2011. QuakerPress of Friends General Conference, 2017. Pendle Hill Pamphlets (number 420), 2012. Pendle Hill Publications, 2008. Quaker Institute for the Future (Focus Book 11), 2018. Christian Alternative Books (Quaker Quicks), 2019.
Format for opening line: Technically not a full sentence, and generally it will look like this:
Last Name—First Name M.I. Last Name, [age at death], on [death date: Month DD, YEAR], [cause of death], at [Location] in [City, State abbreviation].
Examples:
Order for listing survivors: (1) husband, wife, or partner (with name); (2) mother and/or father (with names); (3) children/stepchildren (with names, respective spouse’s name goes in parentheses, do not list sons and daughters separately); (4) godchildren (with names if given); (5) grandchildren (no names); (6) great-grandchildren (no names); (7) siblings and siblings-in-law, may list separately as brothers and sisters if given as such (with names, respective spouse’s name goes in parentheses); (8) nieces and nephews (no names); (9) aunts and uncles (no names); (10) cousins (no names); and general f/Friends who miss him/her/them dearly. Use your best judgment to differ from this list if you feel the given information calls for a change in order or protocol.
Categories: Organizations select a category (from the eight available) upon submitting to the column in Submittable, but ultimately it’s up to editorial where each one will appear (using best discretion based upon the organization’s work and mission).
Dates: Years are generally not necessary as most of the content should be very recent (within the last six months) and omission helps stay within word-count limit (225 words per organization). Years should be included for clarity and when part of a name or title. (This is contrary to Forum where we include the year if it’s referencing an issue published in a year other than the current year.)
Email addresses: No email addresses are allowed in the column. An organization’s main website is always listed under its name in the column—this serves as the way for readers to learn more or contact the organization.
Events: Brief mentions of annual/biannual gatherings, retreats, and events are permitted, even when they will occur in the future (must be a regular occurrence or part of regular programming). Otherwise mentions of one-time or special upcoming events are not permitted in the column, as this would fall under advertising (suggestion to direct the submitter to FJ’s advertising opportunities as appropriate).
Formatting: No bold or underline text allowed, and no bullet points or block quotes, all of which would make one entry stand out from the others. Italics are permissible for publication titles, foreign words, etc. (must be implemented on our end because it’s not possible in Submittable’s submission form). Opt for short paragraphs to help break up the text for quick and easy reading.
Fundraising appeals: No mentions of fundraising allowed, except for the launch of a capital campaign, which can be included once.
Names of persons: Similar to above general guidelines. Upon first mention of a person, use full name then last name only for subsequent mentions. Not true for names of characters. Honorifics, including Dr. and Prof., are omitted, but Rev. and Father are sometimes kept. Degrees and religious abbreviations after names—PhD, MD, LSW, SSJ (Sister of Saint Joseph), OFM (Order of Friars Minor)—are omitted.
Names of courses/workshops/lectures and the like: These tend to have fancy names that don’t necessarily fully convey the content that was covered, and they sometimes have a marketing/catchy/cheesy feel. To be more helpful to the reader, try rephrasing without the official/public name.
Passive voice: While usually avoided in writing, passive voice is applied frequently in this column to allow for minimal use of pronouns and transform any suggestions addressed to the reader (explicitly or implied) into neutral statements.
Pronouns: Avoid the use of “we” and “us” language, and instead use the words “it/its” to represent the organization, or “they/them/their” is appropriate if referring to an organization’s board of trustees or other group of people. Also avoid using “you,” which suggests speaking directly to the reader; rather reframe the sentence from a command to a passive statement.
Websites and webpages: An organization’s main website is always listed under its name in the column. Unique webpage mentions are allowed if the URL is short, simple, and part of the organization’s main website (also consider saying in a general way without the URL: “More information can be found on the website.”). Also allowed is mentioning a website that differs from the main website if it’s unique to the organization’s work and owned by the organization. Examples:
We follow a standardized format for meeting listings; see below example and notes. Meetings are encouraged to include all desired information while keeping this style guide in mind. We will edit content for style consistency.
CITY-Name of Friends Meeting. Unprogrammed meeting for worship 10:30 a.m., First-day school 9 a.m. 123 Any Street, City, ST 12345. Call: (555) 123-4567, email: meeting@gmail.com. www.quaker.org/meeting.
Notes on elements:
Please send proposed additions/revisions to Martin Kelley (martink@friendsjournal.org)