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.

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.

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.

Subject matter should always be relevant to underground exploration and it is expected that anyone writing for Descent has a good knowledge of caving. 

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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