SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
The Bell Tower is an interdisciplinary undergraduate journal of Christian thought. Each submission should align with the whole of the journal’s mission and vision.
If you have any questions please contact us by emailing us at belltower@hope.edu or by filling out this form.
LENGTH AND STYLE
- Submissions should be no more than twenty-five pages in length. This page count presumes 12-point Times New Roman font, double-spaced, with 1-inch margins.
- The Bell Tower adheres to The Chicago Manual of Style for style guidelines and uses Chicago’s Notes and Bibliography system for citations. While we will consider pieces submitted in other styles, we prefer submissions to adhere to Chicago style. Authors who opt to submit pieces in another style should be prepared to convert their citations to Chicago style during the editing process.
WHO CAN SUBMIT A PIECE?
- Current Hope students
- Hope alumni who graduated from Hope within the last four years
- Current undergraduate students from other institutions, though preference will be given to Hope students
- Student-faculty co-author teams, though preference will be given to pieces written primarily by a student and secondarily by a faculty member
In addition, please note the following:
- We consider each piece individually and do not employ staff writers.
- Faculty interested in submitting work should inquire further by emailing belltower@hope.edu. Please note that our publication of faculty work is highly selective and limited.
- Allow three weeks after submitting a piece for us to read and review it. After three weeks, you may follow up with us by emailing belltower@hope.edu.
CHRISTIAN IDENTITY
Every piece we publish rests securely in a Christian worldview, integrating distinctively Christian thought throughout its whole.
We will consider pieces…
- written from an unambiguously Christian perspective
- attentive to the implications of Christian faith for some aspect of life or study
We will decline pieces…
- hostile to Christian faith
- unconcerned with Christian faith
- written from the perspective of another religion
- written from an atheistic perspective
- written from an unorthodox perspective
The Bell Tower understands the fundamental tenets of Christian faith to be those outlined in the Nicene Creed and the Apostles’ Creed.
ECUMENCIAL CHARITY
Every piece we publish holds Christian conviction with integrity while also recognizing the variety of perspectives held by faithful Christians on a range of topics. The reality of ecumenism should not encourage diluted Christian faith, but it should move all Christians to a posture of humility, respect, and grace.
We will consider pieces…
- truly committed to Christian teaching and simultaneously gracious toward those from other traditions
- cognizant of faithful Christian positions which may differ from the position articulated within the piece
- effective in recognizing the range of positions held among Christ’s people while also maintaining a particular position with thoughtful integrity and kindness
We will decline pieces…
- so broadly accommodating as to be ambiguous in Christian commitment
- unwilling to acknowledge a variety of positions regarding secondary elements of doctrine
ACADEMIC MATURITY
Every piece we publish engages the intellect with sincerity, maturity, and care.
We will consider…
- research papers
- essays reflecting intelligently and faithfully on a topic
- visual art accompanied by a reflection of 150-300 words
- poetry
- short fiction
- book reviews
We will decline pieces…
- primarily testimonial or emotional in nature
- focused primarily on news or current events
- comprised of more polemic than careful, charitable scholarship