What makes our magazine stand out is that it is written by and for our members - your photos, your opinions, your experiences, adventures and advice.
If you would like to be part of it, please contact the Editor, Fiona McNicol, in the first instance to discuss potential submissions:
Scottish Mountaineer is published four times a year, being sent out to members in February, May, August and November. Editorial deadlines are roughly a month before publication date but, with the exception of late news, the content of each magazine is decided well in advance.
If you have an article article you'd like to be considered for publication, please contact the editor, Fiona McNicol, and keep in mind the following editorial deadlines:
February issue (Winter/Spring 2023) - Monday 9th January
May issue (Spring/Summer 2023) - Friday 7th April
August issue (Summer/Autumn 2023) - Friday 7th July
November issue (Autumn/Winter 2023) - Friday 13th October
While many of the articles are sourced from Mountaineering Scotland members, the Editor is always looking for feature articles associated with Scotland or the exploits of Scottish-based walkers and climbers from any source. We prefer articles which take a different look at our activities rather than straightforward descriptions of particular hill walks or climbs. A full length feature will be about 800 to 1500 words in length and be accompanied by a selection of 8-12 hi-res images. We also use photo features, where the emphasis is on the imagery; these features will still require about a dozen images, but with a more modest wordcount.
There are a number of regular features with contributions sought from members:
We are always on the look-out for quality photos of anything to do with mountaineering, climbing and hill walking, especially for the magazine cover. Photos should be clear and sharp and of sufficient resolution to reproduce in print. As a rough guide, this will be a file size of at least 2 MB and possibly higher. Files of this size can cause problems if sent through email and should be sent, after discussion with the Editor via a free service such as Dropbox or WeTransfer.
All photos are subject to copyright (even those taken off the web) and the sender of any photo must either be the copyright holder or have obtained permission for the use of the photograph in the Scottish Mountaineer. The assumption will be that photos are supplied for a single use (including online archive on the Mountaineering Scotland website) but submissions of ‘library’ photographs for general use will be most gratefully received.
Most book reviews are commissioned by the Editor from a pool of volunteers, but submitted book reviews should be approx. 250-300 words and be accompanied by a jpg image of the cover.
Mountaineering Scotland news in all our areas of work is covered in dedicated sections of up to 20 pages (mountain safety, access, conservation, mountaineering development and member services). These are supplied by our staff and volunteers. However, we will also consider up-to-date news and events in these fields from other associated organisations.
News items of general mountaineering interest are carried in the magazine as well as Mountaineering Scotland news. If you have an item you wish to appear in the magazine please either email to the Editor – neil@mountaineering.scot – or call the Editor to discuss. In most cases the Editor will write the article from information supplied. Photographs are again welcome, but not always necessary for shorter pieces.
The size of articles is not set in stone but, as a rough guide, a normal feature will be about two to four pages, with maybe as many as five pages for a major article. At roughly 6-700 words per page (plus pictures), that makes an average feature between 1200 and 2500 words. We would normally use one or two photographs per page and, with few exceptions, would ask that the author supplies these (with the relevant permission to use) along with the text. Photographs should be supplied separately from the text, NOT embedded in it.
We do not generally make any payment for articles or photographs used in The Scottish Mountaineer and rely on members of Mountaineering Scotland to contribute to their magazine free of charge.
Advertising is arranged by The Herald & Times Group. An up to date Media Pack can be obtained from Herald & Times Group direct.
Mountaineering Scotland Associate Members receive substantial discount on advertising rates as a benefit of membership.
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ClimbScotland is a registered trademark of the Mountaineering Council of Scotland Limited
Mountaineering Scotland is a registered trademark of the Mountaineering Council of Scotland Limited
