For writers whose content has been solicited by OSV News Editors, including national and international freelance stories, Spanish content, columnists, content from diocesan partners, and more. 

Step-by-step instructions:

1. After navigating to osv.submittable.com, create an account (Sign Up). (Your username and PW are not the same as the OSV News system.)
2. Log in. Go to osv.submittable.com/submit and click your intended business from the choices:
   1. If you are letting us know that you have a story that you’re going to cover and seeing we might want to pick it up, click on OSV News Query.
   2. If you’re submitting a story/photos that has already been agreed upon, click OSV News Submissions
3. Enter in the information, including content you are submitting 
4. Hit Submit

For writers sending in pitches for OSV News to consider. 

Step-by-step instructions:

1. After navigating to osv.submittable.com, create an account (Sign Up). (Your username and PW are not the same as the OSV News system.)
2. Log in. Go to osv.submittable.com/submit and click your intended business from the choices:
   1. If you are letting us know that you have a story that you’re going to cover and seeing we might want to pick it up, click on OSV News Query.
   2. If you’re submitting a story/photos that has already been agreed upon, click OSV News Submissions
3. Enter in the information, including content you are submitting 
4. Hit Submit

Our Sunday Visitor serves Catholics at all stages of life as they walk the road of faith. Through thoughtful analysis, faith-filled commentary and inspiring stories, we provide clear answers to the questions people are asking. Our Sunday Visitor speaks the truth in a way that seeks unity in our increasingly polarized world. A trusted publication for more than a century, Our Sunday Visitor is an indispensable source of information and formation for Catholics who love their faith.   

Our Sunday Visitor at a glance

• Only weekly national Catholic newspaper in the United States; available in print, a digital edition, and online at oursundayvisitor.com.
• News and analysis through a Catholic lens
• Relevant and inspirational faith and catechetical content
• Faithful to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church
• Award-winning
•  Founded in 1912

Although the majority of our content is generated on assignment by our core contributors, we welcome and consider all freelance contributions, whether offered by query or unsolicited manuscript.

Here’s a quick summary of what we are looking for:

• Instant analysis on breaking news, reported through a Catholic lens. This content is different from the reporting found in secular media and provides an immediate, yet thorough and accurate, Catholic perspective for Web reporting. Word count: 500-1,000.
• News analysis — not merely news reporting — pertaining to the Catholic Church in the United States and throughout the world. Word count: Generally 950-1,100 (including sidebars), but occasionally run as short as 500 words or as long as 2,000 words.
• In Focus four-page pull-out section, which is at the heart of OSV. Planned many weeks in advance, the In Focus section takes a particular topic of contemporary interest and examines it thoroughly within a package of articles. In Focus sections comprise a package of articles totaling 3,000-4,000 words written by one or more authors. Please first send a query.  
• Features linked to the current events and trends of the day. Can range from weighty issues of belief to methods of enhancing one’s prayer life to a discussion of parish “best practices” in a given area of ministry. Also can include topics on family, media and Church history. Word count: 1,350.
• Essays on relevant issues of the day. Must have a point to make and succeed at making it succinctly, keeping the facts firmly in mind and avoiding a shrill, ranting or uncharitable tone. Word count: 500 to 750 words.
• Profiles of a particular person, place or organization that serves as an example of Catholic faith in action. Word count: 500 to 750.
• Conversation: Question-and-answer-format interviews with selected relevant personalities. Our interviews require an introductory paragraph or two that sets the background and the speaker’s credentials for the discussion that follows. Word count: 1,200.  
• Faith-based articles that take advantage of the “catechetical moments” derived from the daily headlines and the liturgical year.

All Our Sunday Visitor entries should be:

• Tightly written 
• Cleanly written 
• Timely 
• Objective 
• Instructive 
• Faithful. 

Here’s what we generally are not looking for:

• Articles written in the first person.
• Long, academic or preachy commentaries.
• Features with no real link to Catholic faith or sensibilities.
• Straight news reporting, especially on strictly local events.
• Articles designed to publicize a future event.
• Short stories, whether fiction or non-fiction.
• Poetry.

Things we’d rather not spell out….

Because not all of our would-be freelance writers are trained journalists, we must state the following criteria more clearly:

• Don’t plagiarize. All articles must be original work of the author. Its content must not have been previously published, in whole or in part, whether in print, broadcast, online, even by the author himself. If a piece has been so published and there is a compelling reason to offer it to Our Sunday Visitor, or if what is being offered is a version of a previously published article, this information must be divulged at the outset.
• Familiarize yourself with Our Sunday Visitor first. Every publication has its own unique “flavor” and style. Even the best writers’ guidelines can’t fully express the kind of voice, flow and format the editors are seeking. Read Our Sunday Visitor in print, on your tablet or smartphone, or via oursundayvisitor.com for several weeks to get a better feel for what we are trying to do.
• Follow the submission guidelines closely. 

Policies

• We generally try to respond within 4 to 6 weeks.
• We pay writers within 4 weeks of acceptance.
• We generally follow the Catholic News Service Stylebook  (available through www.cns.com) and the current Associated Press Stylebook. For scriptural citations, we generally use the New American Bible.
• We comply with the Fair Publishing Practices Code of  the Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada. We expect freelance writers to do the same. For a complete copy of this code, visit www.catholicpress.org.

Thank you for reading Our Sunday Visitor. If you would like to respond to an editorial, article or letter you've read in the publication, we welcome your submission here. Letters must be concise, with a maximum of 300 words, and are subject to editing. Your name, address and telephone number must be included, although anonymity my be requested.

This area is for writers who are submitting manuscripts that have been solicited by the editors of Our Sunday Visitor. Thanks for your submission!

If you are submitting a query or unsolicited manuscript, please do so on this page.

Book Author Guidelines 

General Guidelines for Book Queries: You may submit a query letter, and if our editors consider your topic a fit for our current publishing plans, we will be in touch to request your manuscript and proposal documents. Please be aware that we do not accept submissions that have been simultaneously submitted to other publishers. We do our best to respond within 8-10 weeks of initial submission of a query letter. May God bless you and your work for his Church!

What should I know about OSV?

OSV is the country’s largest not-for-profit Catholic publishing company. It was founded in 1912 by Father John Noll to “serve the Church.” Today, OSV publishes a newspaper, periodicals, religious education materials, pamphlets, and books. We publish about 40 new titles a year while maintaining a robust backlist.

We publish our books in two seasons: spring and fall. The bulk of our sales are to distributors (web and print), bookstores, parishes, schools, and individual consumers. Our primary audience is North America. A copy of our book catalog can be obtained by writing to OSV Book Marketing Department, 200 Noll Plaza, Huntington, IN, 46750, or emailing books@osv.com.

What kinds of books are of interest to OSV?

We are particularly interested in the following categories:

• Spiritual Growth, Devotionals, and Prayer Books: Books that accompany readers on their spiritual journey and offer unique, practical insights for growing in friendship with God, especially through prayer and the sacraments
• Scripture: Books from experts about how to read, understand, pray, and apply Scripture, as well as Bible studies
• Marriage, Parenting, and Family: Books that reflect on the nature of marriage and practical books on marriage prep, parenting, and Catholic family life
• Biographies: Informative and inspiring biographies of saints and other key figures in the Church's history
• History: Informative, unique histories related to the Catholic Church, especially in the United States
• Faith and Culture: Books about the intersection of faith and contemporary culture
• Evangelization, Apologetics, and Catechetics: Books that help readers explain, defend and share the Faith with others
• Parish and Pastoral Ministry: Books that help pastors, leaders and parishioners conduct parish life more effectively, and books that can provide comfort and guidance for Catholics seeking help and healing in times of difficulty

We are also actively seeking submissions for our children’s book imprint, OSV Kids. We consider board books for infants and toddlers, picture books for younger readers (ages 3 - 6), short chapter books for middle grade readers (ages 7 - 10), and works of interest to tweens and young teens.

We do not publish fiction or poetry.

Why should I publish with OSV?

OSV is dedicated to publishing books that accompany Catholics on their walk with God, wherever they are in their faith journey. We are always interested in partnering with authors who can join us in our mission to serve the Church by serving her individual members. We reach a national Catholic audience through our many periodicals, and we continue to be a trusted resource for Catholics who want to know, live, and love their Faith more fully. We take our mission seriously, and we hope you will consider joining us in our efforts to serve the Church.

The Deacon is a bimonthly magazine that serves permanent deacons and deacon candidates as they serve the Church by helping them foster intimate communion with Christ the Servant. Through a cultivation of the interior life, which leads to effective ministry, The Deacon contributes to the mission of the Church by making present the totus Christus (the “whole Christ”) to the world. 

The Deacon seeks to build a community of men on fire for the diaconate through quality content that forms, informs and inspires. 

Radiating joy, The Deacon is a trustworthy resource that accompanies deacons, deacon candidates and deacon directors as they live out, learn about and support diaconal ministry.

The Deacon accepts submissions of articles that seek to form, inform or inspire deacons, deacon candidates or deacon wives; that emphasize the cultivation of the interior life for deacons; and that builds community within the diaconate. 

Please submit only one article at a time and ensure that it is in its final form. Review drafts are not accepted. Thank you.

We accept submissions at the following lengths: 600 words, 1,200 words, 1,500 words, and 2,000 words (our In Focus, written on one topic with multiple components). Payment varies based on length.

Regarding submissions:

The Deacon is a magazine dedicated to the diaconate. Because of this, its content has a specific focus. Consequently, we only print those submissions that speak of the deacon’s relationship to, identity in, and mission with Christ the Servant. This focus on Christ the Servant gives the diaconate its distinctive contribution to the life of the Church and, because of this, is the only content suitable for publication. In this regard, it’s not enough for a deacon to submit an article describing his ministry. He must submit it describing how his own diaconate, his own understanding of Christ the Servant, is expressed in that ministry. 

In addition, submissions must be:

• Relevant to the diaconate, containing a specific angle for that demographic
• Faithful to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church 
• Well-written and well-edited
• Crafted with a charitable tone
• Original in content (not plagiarized) 
• Not previously published, either in print or online

Things to know:

•  Please include at the bottom of each article a short, one-sentence bio.
•  Please include at the top of each submission your preferred mailing address as well as your email address.
• Writers are paid upon publication
• We generally follow AP and Catholic News Service Style (found at catholicnews.com)
• We do not accept poetry or fiction
• The Deacon is published six times a year