The Foreign Service Journal, December 2007

H appy holidays! Once again it’s time for my periodic invitation to take advantage of the many opportunities to contribute to the Journal . Each issue features a focus section examining various facets of an issue related to the Foreign Service or international relations. This month, for instance, we examine the man- agement challenges chiefs of mission (and all Foreign Service personnel) face in coordinating with overseas representatives of non-foreign affairs agencies. As always, we have put together a range of commentaries and analyses from a variety of per- spectives, both from within the Service and beyond it. You will find a list of the focus topics our Editorial Board has identified for the coming year (sub- ject, of course, to revision) on p. 19. As you can see, most of these themes relate directly to Foreign Ser- vice professional and lifestyle issues, so I hope many of you will consider sharing your insights and expertise. Do note, however, that because of our lead time for publication, and the requirement for Editorial Board approval, we need to receive sub- missions at least three months (and preferably longer) prior to the issue’s release date. Thus, we have already lined up authors for the January and February issues, but there is still time to submit manuscripts for later months. Submissions should gen- erally be between 2,000 and 3,000 words, though shorter pieces are always welcome. If those choices don’t grab you, or if you feel we have not devoted enough space to a professional con- cern or functional issue, please con- sider writing a feature article (also in the 2,000-3,000 word range) about it. A new department we’ll be intro- ducing is FS Heritage. As its name suggests, this periodic feature is intended to spotlight key events in the history of the Foreign Service and diplomats whose names many of us know only from history books or the halls of State. (The first article will be about Loy Henderson.) Our annual fiction contest con- tinues with the same rules that ap- plied this year: Entrants are restrict- ed to one story of 3,000 words or less, which must be e-mailed to Business Manager Andrew Kidd at kidd@afsa. org no later than March 1. We will publish the winning story (selected by the FSJ Editorial Board) in our July-August 2008 double issue, and the other top stories during the fall months. For more details, see the ads in upcoming issues, or contact Andrew directly. We invite those of you who expect to publish a book between now and next fall to send us a copy (along with promotional materials) for inclusion in our annual compilation of recently published books by Foreign Service- affiliated authors, “In Their Own Write.” Sept. 1 is still the deadline for inclusion in the roundup, which will again run in November. For more information, contact Senior Editor Susan Maitra at maitra@ afsa.org . Share Your Insights We take seriously our mission to give you “news you can use” — e.g., information about how to advance your career; tips on dealing ef- fectively with the bureaucracy at 18 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 7 L ETTER FROM THE E DITOR B Y S TEVEN A LAN H ONLEY There are many ways you can share your insights in our pages. Let us hear from you.