FALL 2025 \/\/ Founders \/\/ PITCH DEADLINE: MAY 15<\/p>\n
The United States is a young and idealistic country that sits at a crossroads, especially as the geopolitical order shifts. What do we want the next 250 years to look like? What do we keep of our past, what do we evolve, and what do we jettison? What are our values? What do our communities mean? What agency do we have? With our political dysfunction, are entrepreneurs the answer, or does giving them too much power put us on a path toward a plutocracy? What does it mean to build instead to tear down?<\/p>\n
We are not afraid of heterodox thinkers, long pieces, or essays and articles about complicated or nuanced issues that need more research and good faith discussion<\/a>. It\u2019s okay not to know the answer, but please have a good question!<\/p>\n We are not interested in pieces that shame, blame, or grandstand. We\u2019d like to see pieces that open up conversations rather than shutting them down, and if you need touchstones, try reading \u201cThe Smug Style of American Politics<\/a>\u201d and this New York Times opinion piece<\/a> from a social justice activist on outrage and cancel culture.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re a conservative, get in touch. There are fellow libertarians here. Some of us are pretty progressive. None of that preclude us from wanting to hear what you<\/em> have to say.<\/p>\n WHAT WE\u2019RE LOOKING FOR:<\/strong><\/p>\n Fiction<\/strong>, including experimental fiction and erotica, is welcome. Please send pieces of 500 to 2,000 words.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Personal essays or articles<\/strong> for our \u201cSwitchbacks\u201d section that relate points of inflection in a person\u2019s life that have taken them to an unexpected and new place.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Cultural criticism and think pieces<\/strong> of 500 to 3,500 words. You can write about big issues, movies, TV, books, art exhibitions or anything else that has sparked a good idea. We\u2019re particularly interested here in exploring the media and meaning crises, and ways to understand the current culture war.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n TONE & STYLE<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s okay to have a distinctive voice! But we\u2019re also looking for writers who will largely forgo snark, condescension, bullying, point-scoring, self-serving virtue signaling, etc., and will instead try on for size some finesse, awe, grace, wit, and humility. It\u2019s okay to have questions and not answers. Ideas and issues are complicated, and they take time to unwind.<\/p>\n We\u2019re also looking for people who aren\u2019t afraid to write a piece even if people within their bubble might disagree with it. Two great examples are here<\/a> in The Atlantic <\/em>and here<\/a> in Seattle\u2019s Weekly, The Stranger<\/em>. Both are written by hardcore liberals who are willing to call on other liberals to be more rigorous with their arguments.<\/p>\n Be wild, be funny, be weird, be contrarian. The worst we can say is \u2018no.\u2019<\/p>\n COMPENSATION<\/strong><\/p>\n This is a volunteer-run project, and it\u2019s a barn-raising in every way. Printing bills are expensive. But we know your time is valuable and that art isn\u2019t free. That\u2019s why we\u2019ve got a subscription-based model and we don\u2019t give our content away online.<\/p>\n We typically give honorariums of $25 to $100 depending on the piece and its length, as well as for artwork contributions that illustrate articles. Longer, solicited profiles or articles will be compensated at 10 cents to 20 cents per word, to be determined at the time we agree on a proposal and consult our current funds. If there\u2019s a piece that absolutely needs to be written but would require more time and research, we\u2019re willing to look into grants that may fund the work; we are a fiscally-sponsored project of Cultureworks in Philadelphia, and can accept tax-deductible contributions.<\/p>\n *If you are suffering from financial hardship and can\u2019t afford a single issue at $15, you may send an email to editor@rootquarterly.com and we\u2019ll work something out.<\/p>\n\n