“All of life and all of our humanity in its many dimensions come from God and we are called to glorify God in all these dimensions. God is already at work in all of life, but Hopkins’ statement calls us to see and attend to God’s many ways. Sadly, our busyness, and sometimes our excessive focus on “doing for God,” prevent us from seeing and savouring the myriad signs of God’s work.
Sometimes we are also captive to an unbiblical view of what it means to be human. The art historian Hans Rookmaker would ask his students, “Why (to what end) does God save us?” His wonderful answer was, “To make us fully human!” Similarly, the early church father Irenaeus says that “The glory of God is the human person, fully alive!” This is not a call for sinful indulgence, but it is a call to become fully ourselves in the very best sense of the word. Indeed, it is as we become ourselves that we image God and enhance his reputation in his creation.
TBP aims to embody the myriad ways in which Christ plays in our lives.”
Most of our issues of The Big Picture centre on a theme, such as craft or economics, but our magazine is eclectic. We encourage submissions on any topic relevant to public theology and Christian living. A first draft of your article must be submitted for consideration by the deadlines that we publish here, though we encourage you to submit earlier if possible.
Themes and Dates for Submission and Publication for Issues 12-14:
Issue 12: Education – Submission date: 22 November 2024; Publication date: February 2025
Issue 13: Health & Wellbeing – Submission date: 18 March 2025; Publication date: May/June 2025
Issue 14: My Town, My City – Submission date: 26 June 2025; Publication date: August/September 2025
We welcome our readers’ contributions to our magazine. If you have an idea for an article and would like to check its suitability for publication please use the “Suggest an article” link at the end of these guidelines. If you have already discussed the article with us or if it is already written, please use the “Submit an article” link.
Please take note of the guidelines listed here.
The preferred word count of a full page of TBP is 500 words. It is ideal that you aim to write articles that are 500, 1000, or 1500 words in length, including footnotes and 40-word author bio. For those who have been invited to write a feature article, 2000 words is ideal.
We have some flexibility to increase the density of the typesetting by 10-15% or to accommodate articles that run over onto a half-page, so do not let our word limits be too much of a restriction on your creativity, but be aware that articles of awkward length may be subject to editing.
We generally publish feature articles by invitation. If you have an article that exceeds 1500 words, we may nevertheless be able to accommodate it or publish it in another of our publications. Please fill in the “Suggest an article” form and we will discuss it with you.
Short is good! We welcome contributions even shorter than 500 words in the form of a great recipe, a poem, a short film review, a book notice, etc.
Although TBP issues tend to have a core theme, articles that do not reflect the theme are welcome.
Since KLC is based in Cambridge, articles may be edited to conform to UK English.
We use footnotes for references rather than bibliographies, which should be formatted according to the Chicago Style. (Refer to the Concordia University Summary of SBL Style Guide.) We discourage the use of footnotes for other reasons, such as the inclusion of additional information. Rather incorporate the information into the main body if it is necessary or dispense with it if is not.
Please include a title for your article, and provide an author bio of no more than 40 words.
Authors are welcome to submit images to accompany their articles, and artists and photographers may submit stand-alone images for publication.
If a photograph is submitted, we need written permission from the photographer to use the image, and permission from each person in the photograph to use their likeness (if the subjects are persons).
Please upload images in the appropriate part of the submission form. JPEG or PNG format is preferred. Please ensure that the images are at least 1000 pixels wide. (Google “How do I find the pixel width of an image?” if you are unclear how to find this value.)
Supply any information that should appear in a caption (such as a title or an image credit).
Rather submit an image that is too big than too small, and do not crop the image unless it is to remove information that you’d like us not to publish.
Please note that we do not guarantee that the images will be used and we reserve the right to add images to your article at our discretion.
Musicians and performing artists are welcome to include links to music clips and videos that are hosted online. Please send us the URL where your media can be found and we will embed it in the digital version of the magazine. We will attempt to provide link information in the print version too, though this is not always feasible.
Your submission will be edited and proofread several times before publication, and the final piece may be altered for length or clarity. Your article may be returned to you at least once to resolve queries before publication.
An article submitted for a particular edition will not necessarily appear in that edition and may be kept in reserve for a future edition. Articles received after a submission deadline will similarly be kept in reserve. Please note that we do not guarantee publication of articles submitted.
Thank you so much for your contribution to our community and our magazine. To submit an idea for consideration or a finished article, please follow the relevant link below and fill out the form to which it leads. You will be asked to run through a checklist to assist you in conforming your article to our guidelines.
If you are submitting work, this will be done via the upload portal in the form itself. If you experience any problems with the process, please email it@kirbylaingcentre.co.uk for assistance.
The Kirby Laing Centre for Public Theology in Cambridge. Charity registered in England and Wales. Charity Number: 1191741
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