Appalachian Trail Stories
Author's Kit

What do I write about?

You may submit any original stories about the trail; things that happened to you, things you witnessed happening to others. Please no stories based only on hearsay unless they are told as "trail legends." You may submit poetry or prose, original song lyrics (name the tune and acknowledge the artist), fiction (please identify it as such), historical works (name sources), mythology, thru hike planning assistance, a special story about something magical or wondrous that happened to you on the trail.

On the technical side, you may write about the birds and plants along the trail, trail geology, facts and figures, statistics and figures. You may write about the people who live along the trail, trail angels, the evolution of the trail over the years, or practically anything AT related.

Use your imagination. If you are not sure what you want to write about it going to be accepted, send me mail and ask me first.

Please don't just send me your unedited, 180 page daily journal. Yawn. I'm sorry, but the daily ranting of a tired, smelly, hurt, food-obsessed thru hiker is not what people want to read about. I may agree to publish one or two entire daily journals in each volume of the book. I'm not going to publish 25 daily journals, OK? Keep it interesting.

If your work has been published before, please include a copy of the release from the former publisher that allows for republication, or a copy of your contract for review.

Who owns the copyright?

All works submitted will remain the copyrighted work of the author. The act of submitting a work for consideration of publication automatically releases that work for publication in a volume - current or future - of Appalachian Trail Stories (also known as the book). Any other use of the work, unrelated to publication or promotion of the book, will not be undertaken without express written consent of the author. Your work will not be published until you have been notified of it's acceptance, and you have acknowledged that notification. Email will suffice as both notification, and acknowledgement of notification.

You may not retract your work after it has been accepted for publication. You may, however, reject any modifications suggested by the editor, and in effect cause your work to be rejected. This will cancel your agreement with the editor, and your work will not be published.

In other words, you have granted a non-exclusive write for your work to be published, and you may publish it yourself by other means if you so desire, within the limits of the contract. Your work may be edited, however you have the final say as to whether those edits are acceptable to you.

Please carefully review the Author's Contract before you submit your work and make sure you don't have any issues or questions with it. It is intended to protect your work, as well as our combined investment in the book, and not intended to hamstring you or prevent you from profiting from your efforts in any way.

Format for submission

You may send hand-written works in as well, but be forewarned, if I have to type them in myself, there will be a significant delay (depending on the length of the work) and you may be bumped from this edition of the book just because your work is not in electronic format.

Any physical correspondence should be sent to:

Please be sure all correspondence is clearly marked, identifying you as the author and originator, and including complete return address information.

All submissions must include your legal name, your full address, phone number and social security number. In order to pay you, I must also report the payment to the government. The payments you will receive as a result of a successful distribution of the book will be sent as royalty payments, and all taxes will be your responsibility. You will not be considered an employee of Appalachian Trail Stories, Ltd. If you are a non-US citizen, please bear with me and send me what you normally would provide an employer. I will be working on the details for foreign payments as time goes on.

NB If you wish to publish your work and not be paid a royalty when it's published, you may skip the identifying information above, however you must include a statement with your submission that clearly states you expect no financial return for your efforts. There is a place on the contact for this release of funds, and you will need to sign this as well.

About the Author

• Name
• Trail Name
• State/Province/Country of residence
• Thru hiker or section hiker
• 2000 Miler? Yes, When. No, how much have you hiked
• Other significant hiking experience
• Significant experience or education relating to your submission In other words, if you write a piece on identification of songbirds all along the trail, please indicate your experiences in this area, training, expertise, etc.
• Any other publications, books, or magazines where you have been published (letters to the editor don't count).
• Photograph - specifically, for the website. Can be sent digitally, or US Mail.

If you need any additional information, please visit the Frequently Asked Questions, and if that still does not answer your question, send mail to editor@trailstories.com.

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