Event & ChiMe Submission Guidelines

ChiMe welcomes and invites contributions from members. The Editor will determine if and when a contribution is published. All contributions are subject to editing. Submissions must include the name, address (postal and/or e‑mail) and phone number(s) of the contributor.

Opinions expressed in ChiMe and online publications are those only of the contributors. Mensa has no opinions.

Material will be published anonymously if requested, if the contributor's identity is revealed to the Editor. Copyrighted material will not be published without permission from the copyright owner.

Other Mensa publications may reprint ChiMe material provided credit is given to the author and source. Non-Mensa publications must contact the Editor for reprint permission.

Phone numbers for the Editor, Activities Bulletin Editor, and Advertising Manager can be found in the latest edition of ChiMe.

• Deadline: The first day of the month preceding the cover month.
• How to Send: Electronic files are preferred. E‑mail the file to Editor@chicago.us.mensa.org . Send typewritten submissions, at least a week before the editorial deadline, to the ChiMe online typist listed in the latest issue of ChiMe.
• File Format: Send short articles and letters as plain text. Longer articles may be attached to e‑mails. Please spell check, proofread, and correct your submission before sending.
• Length: The maximum length of articles is 750 words; notices, 300 words; letters, 200 words. Lengthy submissions may be serialized.
• Graphics: The formats for graphics are .tif or .jpg files. Photos should be scanned at 300 dpi.

• ChiMe Deadline: The first day of the month preceding the publication month.

• Notify Activities Editor of an Event by either:

  • filling out our CAM Event Form, or
  • sending an e‑mail to our Activities-Editor@chicago.us.mensa.org  with the same information required for ChiMe (below).

  All submitted events appear on Meetup and our website. Events submitted prior to the ChiMe deadline will appear in the newsletter.

  Required:
  • event title
  • date
  • day of week (helps catch errors with date)
  • time
  • location
  • contact information (e-mail and/or phone — neither will be publically displayed on the website)
  • brief description (may be 300 characters, but 200 or less is preferred) including GOB information, if appropriate.
  Optional:
  • RSVP deadline as well as whether one cannot RSVP on Meetup because you are not a member or that’s your preference
  • how to identify the group in a public place (i.e., look for the yellow balloon, meet in lobby, etc.)
  • cost
  • how to get advance tickets, especially if required
  • pet(s) in residence
  • smoking policy (assumption is that there is no smoking so if allowed, please indicate this)
  • what to bring (i.e., side dishes, snacks, BYOB, chairs)
  • maximum number of attendees
  • new members’ Invitation Link if using our Discord server
  • channel in which to meet if using our Discord server
  • photo of yourself to be displayed as the host (see our Event Contacts)
  If your description is long, please consider also submitting an article about your event to our editor(s) at Editor@chicago.us.mensa.org  and in your brief description to the activities editor include: "See article elsewhere in ChiMe." The deadline for an article is on the 1st of the month preceeding the publication month. See above for restrictions in terms of length and format.
• Changes/Cancellations: Should you need to cancel or change an event and it is past the deadline (defined above), please notify our Executive Committee and Activity Editor by e‑mailing them at ExComm@chicago.us.mensa.org, Activities-Editor@chicago.us.mensa.org . This will ensure that our webdesign team and both the Meetup and weekly event e‑mail list adminstrators get notified promptly.