Guidelines for Contributors to Descent magazine

Our policy always has been, and always will be, that this publication is ‘written by cavers, for cavers’. We recognise the importance of contributors; without you, there would be no Descent.

We will usually not print anything that has already been published elsewhere, either in print or online, so please make sure anything you send is an original article.

For long articles (features), please contact us with your idea prior to submission. We welcome all material relating to underground exploration. The responsibility to obtain permission for use of material lies with the contributor, not the editor/publisher. Please ask permission before submitting other people’s material, e.g. photos to accompany an article, and respect other people’s copyright. We reserve the right to edit any submissions however we deem appropriate, whether as part of the normal editing process or for reasons of space.

Please send all files separately and do not embed images within the text. The ideal submission is an emailed Word document, with photos/surveys sent as separate attachments. We accept paper submissions for written articles and surveys, but please send photos digitally. At Stalactite Publishing, we use PCs, so if sending from a Mac please ensure there is cross-platform readability.
Please note: we are not able to publish every article that is submitted to us. We can also never guarantee the specific issue in which an article or photograph will feature.

In General: Descent is here to entertain as well as to inform, so – whatever you’re writing about – make it interesting! Write in an active, rather than passive, manner. As an example: ‘The squeeze was passed and a further 50m of vadose passage was added to the overall length of the system.’
is significantly less gripping than:
‘After fighting our way through the awkward squeeze, we were rewarded with a tall, winding vadose passage that continued for 50m.’
If you are the sole author of the piece, it is usually preferred for you to write in the first person, but with multiple authors it generally makes more sense to use the third person.

Deadlines are usually given for news items and it is essential that you stick to them. Our schedule is tight and does not allow room for articles that arrive after the deadline for contributors.

Features tend to be from 1,000 to 2,500 words and should be accompanied by several photographs of good quality. Please send all files separately and do not embed images within the text. When a person, or caving club, is mentioned for the first time within an article, please use the full name. Thereafter, abbreviations/nicknames can be used if preferred.

Regional news: If you have short pieces for our regional news section, please contact the relevant regional correspondent. Contact details for our regional correspondents can be found on the inside front cover of every Descent, or you can get in touch with us and we’ll send you the details.

If sending surveys, please include a north arrow, date, scale, a grade for the survey, a correct grid reference and names of those involved in surveying. Please do not send surveys as JPEGs, as these tend to have poor definition.

Maps can be included, but cannot be copied or traced from existing maps, such as Ordnance Survey maps. If you submit a map, it is up to you to meet copyright requirements, and the editor/publisher cannot be held responsible for anyone not following this.

Grid References should be included whenever possible. British locations, using Ordnance Survey grid references, should include: the two grid letters, followed by a space, then an even number of digits, separated by a space. For example, the grid reference for Gaping Gill is written as SD 75120 72690.

References are not always required; but if you wish to include them, please follow the house style. This is usually to number the reference using a superscript in the text – although (Author, year) may also be used – then list the references at the end of the piece in the following format:
[if from a book] FAMILY NAME, First name. Year. Book title, publisher, ppxx
[if from an article] FAMILY NAME, First name. Year. ‘Article title’, publication title, Vol. xx (issue number), ppxx

Photographs are usually required for every article, other than short news pieces. We also publish high quality images on the front and back cover, and occasionally inside the magazine, that are not necessarily linked to an article. We are always happy to receive high quality photographs that you would like to see published in Descent, even if not accompanying an article.
Please send your photographic files with useful names, make sure that the photographer’s name is credited – and if you are not the photographer, that you have their permission for their photo to be used – and provide a detailed caption, including the full names of the people, cave, passage or area. If naming a person in a photo, you must obtain their consent.
Please send photographs as full-size files, not as files that have been reduced in size. WhatsApp and social media messaging services tend to reduce image quality a great deal, usually resulting in photographs that are not fit for publication, so please do not send us images that you have received via this method.
To promote Descent, we often post photos online, including on social media. We will assume that we have permission to do so with all photos that are submitted to us, but if you would prefer for your images not to appear online, please let us know.

Sending large files: Please use an online file transfer service, such as WeTransfer.

Obituaries: We recognise that this is of course an emotive subject, but please note that there is a 400-word limit on obituaries unless in exceptional circumstances. Obituaries should focus on the contribution to the caving world of the person in question and should be accompanied by a photograph, ideally of the subject caving. Please contact the editor before writing or sending an obituary.

Permission: It will be assumed that permission has been obtained to publish material, or name people, by the contributor. If permission has not been obtained, the responsibility lies solely with the contributor, not with the editor/publisher.

AI: We support the rights of artists to produce work and we will not accept anything that we believe has been put together through the use of Artificial Intelligence.

As with everything else, if you have any further questions please contact us.