Website Editorial Handbook

Editorial Process

Abolitionist Futures aims to be a centralising repository of useful resources related to abolitionist politics in Britain and Ireland. The blog also acts as a home for news and updates for the abolitionist movement, discussion, debate and the development of ideas among organisers, and a platform for contributors to share their experiences and articulate their views. 

Content is solicited, received, managed, and scheduled by a small team of editors. 

Editors will work out timeframes for submitting and revising drafts with individual contributors as necessary. Editors will schedule publication of finished pieces with the aims of maximising views and keeping updates regular. This is tracked in the Website Content spreadsheet.

Material will be published to the blog. Where appropriate, certain pieces will also be featured elsewhere on the website, primarily the Resources page.

Our editing is intended to be a supportive process, in which contributors are helped to produce the best possible version of their work. It should not be a form of gatekeeping which creates obstacles to contributors getting their work published or which imposes normative standards where they are not appropriate. Editors will generally proofread and correct for spelling and grammar, though without inhibiting contributors’ distinctive voices. We will also offer comments on structure, tone, and argument where appropriate.

In addition to this standard editorial process, Abolitionist Futures also runs a writing group program in which anyone contributing to the website can circulate a draft for group discussion and feedback.

Where work does not fit with the ethos of the website but we think its publication has some value, we will aim to direct contributors to other platforms that might host it.

Content Guide

All material should be sympathetic to the broad aims and principles of abolitionist politics.

We will not publish anything which promotes or reinforces oppressive power structures or ideologies.

Beyond this, Abolitionist Futures does not maintain any strict line on issues of disagreement within the abolitionist movement and welcomes writing which engages in debate, dialogue, and critique.

Contributors are free to express themselves in whatever language they choose. In general, we encourage writing that is clear, jargon-free, and accessible.

There is no single imagined audience for this website. We will host material with different intended readerships — different experiences of the carceral system, different levels of familiarity with abolitionist politics, etc.

We will not knowingly publish information that is factually incorrect or deliberately misleading.

We avoid reproducing any copyrighted material for which we do not have permission, unless covered under the principle of fair use. We aim to give acknowledgements to those whose work we have borrowed from wherever possible.

Contributors can use any system of citation or referencing which they feel best suits their work. We prefer hyperlinks over in-text citations or footnotes where possible for clarity of presentation.

There is no maximum or minimum word limit.

Advice for New Writers

The above principles are designed to be as open and non-restrictive as possible, based more around defining what we won’t publish than describing what we will. For new writers, especially people who express an interest in writing for us but don’t have a firm concept for a piece, we offer this Guidance for Contributors.