The Foreign Service Journal, January 2005

directly to Foreign Service professional and lifestyle issues, so I hope many of you will consider sharing your insights and expertise on them with your col- leagues. Please note that because of our lead time for publication, and the requirement for Editorial Board approval, we need to receive submissions at least two months (and preferably longer) prior to the issue’s release date. Thus, we have already lined up authors for the February and March issues, but there is still time to submit manuscripts for later months. If those choices don’t grab you, or if you feel we have not devoted enough space to a professional concern or functional issue, please con- sider writing a feature article (generally 2,000-3,000 words long) about it for us. We hope those of you with a more literary bent will enter our annual summer fiction contest (now in its tenth consecutive year). Please note that entrants are restricted to one story of 3,000 words or less, which must be e-mailed to Journal Business Manager Mikkela Thompson at thompsonm@ afsa.org no later than April 1. For more details, see the ads elsewhere in this issue or contact Mikkela directly. On a related note, we invite those of you who expect to publish a book between now and the fall to send us a copy, along with promotional materials, for inclusion in our sixth annual compilation of recently published books by Foreign Service-affiliated authors, “In Their Own Write.” Note that Sept. 1 is the deadline for inclusion in the roundup, which will run in November. Our Reflections department features short com- mentaries (approximately 600 words long) based on personal experiences while living or traveling over- seas. These submissions should center on insights gained as a result of interactions with other cultures, rather than being descriptive “travel pieces.” Don’t forget that the monthly AFSA News section offers many different ways for members to share their expe- riences, thoughts and con- cerns regarding professional issues. For more information, contact Journal Associate Editor Shawn Dorman at dorman@afsa.org. Finally, let me invite you to share your reactions, posi- tive and negative, to what you read each month. Just bear in mind that, as with all periodicals, the briefer and more focused your letter is, the more likely we’ll be able to print it in full. Please note that all submissions to the Journal must be approved by our Editorial Board and are subject to editing for style, length and format. For information on how to submit a column or article, please contact us at authors@afsa.org an d we will be delighted to respond. (Please note the new e-mail address.) For other inquiries — letters, changes of address, subscriptions, etc. — e-mail us at journal@ afsa.org. Let us hear from you.  Steven Alan Honley is the editor of the Foreign Service Journal. An FSO from 1985 to 1997, he served in Mexico City, Wellington and Washington, D.C. J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 5 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 7 There are many ways you can share your insights in our pages. Let us hear from you.