The editors at Architectural Record welcome the submission of your work for consideration. Because we enjoy the largest circulation of any architecture publication in the world, we receive a considerable volume of unsolicited work. However, we review every project submitted and offer a broad range of opportunities for publication. Below are recommendations on how to submit materials.
First read the magazine and study its various parts, so you understand what kinds of stories we run. We recommend reading a year’s worth of issues since many special sections and themed issues occur on a semi-annual or annual basis. If you wish your project to be evaluated as a general feature, make sure it ranks among those you’ve seen in recent issues of RECORD. Keep in mind that internationally only 100 projects per year make it to the pages of Architectural Record. It is better to be realistic at the outset than disappointed by unfounded expectations. You can direct your project to any of the editors listed under contact us, who will make sure the project is reviewed.
Editors use a roundtable format to review projects. The materials you send are passed from person to person and we discuss each project's design characteristics, and possible story angles. Thus, high-quality color copies of professional photography, labeled with your name and address are favored forms of presentation. Please provide enough images to make a comprehensive presentation. Binders like those typically used for award submissions, with a cover letter, narrative, and fact sheet, is an especially good format for viewing. Include a self-addressed, stamped envelope if you want your binder returned to you.
In sending graphic materials, please avoid oversized formats, because they are hard to handle without being damaged. Do not submit projects by e-mail. Electronic images sent via e-mail or CD are difficult to share in the roundtable reviews because they must be printed out, a time-consuming process. Also, large megabyte files sent over e-mail are problematic for us.
We will not consider material that is submitted to several publications simultaneously, with the exception of books for review, exhibitions, news, and products. In committing a project for publication as a feature, we will request exclusive first publication among our U.S. competitors.
We do not publish unsolicited manuscripts. We also discourage materials written by second-party ghostwriters or PR firms. Please also note that if you send materials unsolicited, we cannot be responsible for their condition, acknowledging their receipt, or returning them. The vast majority of feature articles in this magazine are staff written or commissioned to known freelancers. Pieces submitted by outside authors are rarely used.
Try to present the reasons your project should be of interest to our readers, and clearly present your ideas in a short, direct narrative—avoid flowery, inflated descriptions—the project will speak for itself. Target your inquiry letter by explaining why your submission should interest our readers, explaining where you think your story or project might fit in. Remember that projects must be current or recently completed. We are constantly on the lookout for good material to fill the regular sections of our magazine, such as Record News, our monthly Building Types Study, practice issues, and our technology sections.
Record News
Was your firm awarded a commission that is newsworthy? Are you breaking ground on an interesting building or opening one soon? Are you managing a major competition? If so, direct your press materials to the news editor. New work must offer an interesting storyline—what is it that makes your particular building stand out? Please note that RECORD does not publish personnel changes or information about office relocations.
Building Types Study
Each month the magazine and Web site feature projects of a certain type. If you wish to submit your project for consideration in one of these building categories, direct your inquiry to the individual whose name is referenced on our Web site’s Editorial Calendar. Please submit projects for potential publication six months in advance of the date the building type is to be published.
Product Briefs
If you are a manufacturer of building products and have an interesting product to showcase, you should direct your inquiry to the products editor. If possible, product submissions should be sent three months prior to introduction to the market. Priority is given to previously unpublished products. We accept press releases via e-mail and regular mail. For e-mailed releases, please send only low-res images or a link to high-res images and include the text as both an attachment and in the body of the e-mail. For regular mailed releases, include a slide, transparency, glossy color photo, or CD with high-res images with a labeled color printout of the product(s). Please include a short release (no longer than a page) describing the product’s characteristics and advantages. Please make it clear on the press release where and to whose attention reader service inquiries should be directed. We ask publicists who wish to follow up on the status of their materials to do so via e-mail and not by phone.
Technology, Lighting, and Digital Practice
If your project has used building technology, lighting, or digital technology in a particularly interesting way, you may direct your inquiry to the editors who oversee those areas. These people are identified by title on our Web site under contact us.
Residential and Interiors Quarterly
Record Houses and Record Interiors are published once a year; in subsequent quarters special themed sections on residential and interior design supplement these features. Contacts for these sections are identified by title on our Web site under contact us.
Additional Inquiries
Letters, Robert Ivy, rivy@mcgraw-hill.com
Books, Clifford Pearson, pearsonc@mcgraw-hill.com
Web-exclusive material, jenna_mcknight@mcgraw-hill.com
If the project is accepted for publication, the editor will let you know what is expected for production purposes. Projects need to be professionally photographed and drawings need to be converted to EPS illustrator Vector files. For publication, we require a minimum of 300 dpi, 4 by 5 inches minimum-sized images and drawings with no tones, no furnishings, and no labels, Mac compatible—no CAD files please. Include scale and directional arrows. Clear, well-exposed photos of models also print well. For Web site publication, the editors will let you know what is expected.
Mailing address:
Architectural Record
Two Penn Plaza
New York, NY 10121-2298
Lastly, thank you from the editors.
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© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved
© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved