OrigamiUSA publishes articles and diagrams in several venues: our annual convention book, The Origami Collection, our online magazine, The Fold, our print magazine, The Paper, and the free diagrams page of the website. This page tells you how to submit an article or diagrams to one of these publications.

Submission Requirements

The Paper

See The Paper here. Submission requirements:

For diagrams, PDF format is preferred, but we can handle most popular file formats. If you are sending an image file (e.g., a jpg), please make sure it is at a high resolution: 1275x1650 pixels, or equivalently, 8.5x11 in at 150 dpi or higher. If the print quality is bad at your end, we will not be able to improve the resolution at our end. Submissions are accepted on an ongoing basis.

If you have ideas for an article but want to discuss it before submitting, please contact the managing editor of The Paper at thepaper [at] origamiusa.org.

The Fold

See The Fold here. Submission requirements:

We welcome a variety of articles, including, but not limited to diagrams, videos, book reviews, convention reports, community origami group (COG) profiles, exhibitions, artist profiles, research and new techniques.

Published articles normally will be accessible only to current members of OrigamiUSA, but if you would like your submission to be open-access (accessible to anyone), please let us know.

We can accommodate a wide range of formats. Please contact the managing editor at thefold [at] origamiusa.org with questions. For diagram submissions, we request:

  1. Inclusion of accompanying text: what inspired the model, suggestion for type of paper, some information about yourself.
  2. A photo of the model.
  3. Diagrams in PDF or Adobe Illustrator format.
  4. For text embedded within figures, please use a plain, easy-to-read font for the benefit of non-native speakers. Either serif or sans-serif is OK; proportionally spaced fonts are recommended; please avoid cursive or other decorative fonts.
  5. Level of difficulty.

If you have ideas for an article but want to discuss it before submitting, please contact the managing editor of The Fold at thefold [at] origamiusa.org.

The Origami Collection

See The Origami Collection here. Submission requirements:

Submissions are accepted throughout the year. Please see these guidelines for submissions formatting.

Website Diagrams Page

See the website diagrams page. Submission requirements:

We are looking for designs with wide appeal, with a preference for simple to intermediate designs (though complex will be considered).

  • All submitted diagrams should be step-by-step vector artwork instructions (not photo diagrams) in a single PDF file.
  • Text should be in English.
  • Please include text crediting the designer and/or diagrammer by name, but do not include other information (e.g., links to other websites, QR codes, etc.)

Please look at the existing diagrams before submitting to get a sense of the style and level. If you would like to submit material for some other part of the website, please contact the website team at website [at] origamiusa.org and tell us what you're considering before submitting. Submissions are accepted throughout the year.

Submitting Your Work

Please log in to submit an article or diagrams. Your account will allow you to manage your submissions (e.g. change permissions, add/delete submissions, etc.)

If you already have a website account, you can sign in here. If you haven't created one yet, you can register a new web account here. After you've signed in, come back to this page (refresh it if you've kept it open) and you'll see the online submission link.

If you cannot submit your material online, you can mail hard copies to:

OrigamiUSA
Attn: Publications
15 West 77th Street
New York, NY 10024 USA

All submissions sent by mail must include a signed copy of the permission form available here for download:

Important: the link above is only for submission to our own publications. If you wish to submit a file for sale in The Origami Source, please read the guidelines for sellers and follow the instructions therein.

Copyright and Compensation

Since origami compositions are works of art protected by copyright (the folded work, the diagrams, and crease patterns), it is necessary for us to obtain permission for all usage. Further details on copyright may be found here.

If we publish your work, you will receive a complimentary copy of the publication it is used in (for The Paper and The Origami Collection) or two months free membership (for The Fold or the website diagrams page).

Questions and Contacts

Further information about submissions may be found in our Frequently Asked Questions about Submissions. If after reading that, you still have questions, please send your email to the publication you're interested in. You can contact the individual publications at the following:

  • The Origami Collection: publications [at] origamiusa.org
  • The Paper: thepaper [at] origamiusa.org
  • The Fold: thefold [at] origamiusa.org
  • The OrigamiUSA Website: website [at] origamiusa.org