Thank you for your interest in writing an article for the the ABA Banking Journal and/or its website at aba.com/bankingjournal.
Audience and Appropriate Topics
The ABA Banking Journal is the flagship magazine of the American Bankers Association. We welcome submissions on all topics relevant to banks of all asset classes, charter types and ownership structures. Our bimonthly print magazine circulates primarily among CEOs, C-suite executives and business line leaders at banks nationwide. Our topics include lending (commercial, consumer, real estate, agricultural), retail banking, compliance, risk management, cybersecurity, insurance, bank operations, asset-liability management, tax and accounting issues, technology, wealth management, payments, policy issues and economic trends. We prioritize stories that interview bankers or that feature bankers’ perspectives.
Parameters
Articles must be educational and non-promotional. If they mention the author’s company or any of the company’s products or services by name within the text, such mention should be very limited and used for reference only, not for promotion. (For example, an author might cite a survey conducted by his company but not describe his company’s product as a solution to a business problem.) Articles will be edited and, in some cases, rewritten for clarity, style and brevity. Articles must be original to the ABA Banking Journal. If the article is based on a previously written article or on a speech, it must be reworked so that it sounds like fresh material. The article cannot have been published previously in another banking industry publication. The final headline is determined by the editor.
Digital or Print
Authors may submit articles for print publication or for digital publication only. Articles accepted for print publication will also be posted on the ABA Banking Journal‘s website. Articles accepted for digital publication may be published in print as space and content allow.
Length of Submissions
Guest articles for the ABA Banking Journal may run between 500 and 2,000 words. If submitting for print consideration, please keep articles to 550 words (1 page) or 1,100 words (2 pages). No word count for digitally published articles is specified.
What Contributors Receive
There is no payment for contributed articles. However, the magazine will give the author a byline and publish a brief identification of the author and the company that he or she represents. The identification will appear at the end of the article. The author will receive a copy of the magazine in which the article appears. Authors are invited to link to the article on personal websites, corporate websites and social media platforms.
Author Agreements
Each author will be required to e-sign a standard author agreement that acknowledges that the material submitted is authentic, and grants ABA the proper permissions to publish such article. The agreement, however, does not change copyright, which is maintained by the author or authors. View a sample author agreement.
Queries/Story Ideas
If you are interested in submitting story ideas for consideration, please use this form to supply a two- to three-paragraph summary or outline of the proposed story. Due to the volume of submissions, we may not reply to all queries. Please allow up to two weeks for a reply.
Issue Due Dates
We have a long lead time for print submissions. Please submit queries for the relevant issue by the date below.
January/February – Sept. 1 of previous year
March/April – Nov. 1 of previous year
May/June – Jan. 1
July/August – March 1
September/October – May 1
November/December – July 1
No minimum lead time is required for digital-only submissions.
Illustrations and Footnotes
Authors are encouraged to suggest graphic illustrations to accompany articles. Charts, graphs, and checklists should be clean and complete. A professional artist will design these as exhibits, but format and content should be clearly presented. Footnotes are not included in the ABA Banking Journal; any citations should be made informally in the text.
Editing
ABA reserves the right to reject any manuscript submitted for publication whether solicited or not. All first-person references and references to the author’s organization, products, or clients may be deleted at the editor’s sole discretion. The editor will also edit for brevity and clarity and will edit to fit the publication’s editorial style and length requirements. The ABA Banking Journal uses the Associated Press Stylebook with some exceptions. Please use the active voice and avoid unnecessary jargon. Writers should always strive for brevity and clarity.
Author Credits
Authors should provide a brief biographical statement—including current position and contact information—for publication with the article. Photographs do not accompany feature articles.
