By S. Kalekar
These are themed non-fiction submission and pitch calls. Some of the themes are: lost and found – things forgotten, things remembered; education and environment; labor x tech; stories about November & December holidays; science and health; debut fiction; mental health and wellbeing; business and tech; paradox; obscure games history; solarpunk; heart; and place, climate, and justice.
Prairie Fire: Lost and Found – Things Forgotten, Things Remembered
Prairie Fire is a Canadian literary magazine, and they also welcome international submissions. They want creative non-fiction submissions (up to 5,000 words) on the theme, ‘Lost and Found: Things Forgotten, Things Remembered’ for their fall 2026 issue. “Our survival and growth have always depended on both. Memory helps shape who we are and how we understand our connection to others—personally, culturally, historically. Some memories bring comfort and joy; others are confusing, painful, even traumatic. Beyond individual experience, there are ancestral, familial, and collective memories that require unearthing, remaking, and re-examining. What has been buried? What has been reshaped over time? What needs to be remembered now, and what might need to be released?
We welcome work that explores the tension between holding on and letting go, and the ways remembering and forgetting shape healing, identity, and transformation.” They also say, “Sorry, poets and fiction writers, we have enough work on this topic in the queue that we do not require additional poetry or fiction for this issue. However, we are still accepting poetry and fiction for regular submission”. Prairie Fire pays CAD0.10/word up to CAD250 for prose, see payment rates here. The submission deadline for this issue is 4th May 2026. Details here.
Earth Island Journal: Education and Environment
Their pitch call says, “Earth Island Journal is seeking pitches for an upcoming special edition on education and the environment. Know of an incubation of environmental innovation? Censoring content that’s threatening the climate movement? Surprising impact of global heating on learning?” They have a detailed pitch guide on the theme, including, “we hope to explore the full range of issues related to education and the environment, including the ways in which our schools, universities, and other education programs are critical sources of knowledge and innovation in an era of mounting environmental crises; the increasingly fierce politicization of educational content and what that means for the climate movement; the rising threat that global heating and other environmental crises pose to learning; and more.
We are looking for on-the-ground reports as well as personal essays, reflections, and think pieces of varying lengths. We can offer a $500 flat fee for shorter pieces under 1,000 words; $750-$1,500 for longer reports and essays between 1,500 and 3,000 words; $500 for interviews; and $400 for book reviews.” The pitch deadline is 10th April 2926. Details here and here.
Rest of World: Labor x Tech
“Rest of World’s stories aim to connect the dots across a rapidly evolving digital world, through on-the-ground reporting in places typically overlooked and underestimated. We cover most of the countries outside the West, with a focus and presence in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America.” They have detailed pitch guidelines for this call, including, “In its third year, Rest of World’s Labor x Tech program, underwritten by the Ford Foundation, is tackling the changing nature of work at a moment of extreme upheaval. … Based on our experience in previous years, we’re looking to commission stories that reveal:
- How new technology is transforming existing industries in unique ways, and creating unexpected new pockets of employment
- How technology is leading to significant job gain, job loss, and government responses to those trends
- Whether we’re seeing large demographic shifts due to the adoption of new technology or the introduction of new industries
- How technology within the workplace is changing workplace dynamics
- How new industries and tools are changing workers’ incomes
- The expansion of the gig work model and the threats of automation”
They are commissioning reported stories of 800 to 1,000 words, and pay $1,000. They do not want stories from India for this call. Details here.
Poetry Foundation: Remembrances and This Be the Place columns
Poetry Foundation is looking for pitches (not submissions) for two of their prose columns, by poets:
— This Be the Place: In “This Be the Place,” poets explore the mysteries and meaning of a particular place. Subjects should be specific, personal, and unexpected (not your home or an entire city, for example, but somewhere in that city that matters to you). Essays in this series are generally 600-1,000 words.”
— Remembrances: “Essays in the “Remembrances” series pay tribute to poets who have died in the past year. Generally, they should be written by someone who personally knew the poet who died and can speak to them as a person (rather than just speaking about their poetry). Examples: Kevin Prufer on Russell Atkins and Philip Metres on Lev Rubinstein. We are open to exceptions, such as tributes for notable people who are not always thought of as poets, such as the piece we ran on Kris Kristofferson. Essays in this series are generally 1,000-1,200 words.”
They pay $700 for This Be the Place (700-1,000 words) and $1,000 for Remembrances (1,200-1,500 words). Pitching is via a form.
(Poetry Foundation also runs Poetry Magazine; to submit to that, see their guidelines and submit via Submittable.)
Briarpatch Magazine: Labor
Briarpatch is a Canadian magazine of politics and culture, which offers reporting, insight, and analysis from a grassroots perspective. “Before you pitch a feature article, consider what it means to publish with Briarpatch. A national magazine based on Treaty 4 territory on the Prairies, Briarpatch has almost 50 years under its belt building strong analysis by and for the left in Canada. We work on de-centering whiteness, capital, and cis-hetero patriarchy by publishing stories that amplify voices, conflicts, and narratives of resilience from the margins. We strive to unearth the dynamics of political life and provide great fodder for political argument that will build a just, sustainable world.” And, “We are looking for investigative journalism, interviews, feature articles, narrative reporting, project profiles, comics and graphic texts, book reviews, and photo essays that are rooted in anti-colonial, anti-capitalist, feminist struggle.” They accept features and columns, and have detailed guidelines. During Fall 2026, they will publish the Labour Issue. The pitch deadline is May 11, 2026. They pay CAD150-350. Details here and here.
Room Magazine: No Canada
This Canadian magazine only accepts submissions from women (cis and trans), trans men, Two-Spirit and non-binary writers. “For Room 49.3 “No Canada,” we are looking for poetry, prose, and art that offers a critical or alternate lens in this time of sentimental patriotism. For local stories, national anxieties, mixed feelings, and alienated identities. For writing and thinking in conversation with dissenting voices past and present: #IdleNoMore, Gidimt’en Checkpoint, Black Lives Matter, #StopTheStack, No Arms in the Arts, #CanLit Responds, the Postal Workers’ strike. … In creative non-fiction, we hope to read researched essays that look outward and inward. Across genres, we would be very interested in multilingual and/or fragmented forms that refuse the colonial primacy of English-language work in Canadian literary journals.
International writers and artists: we welcome writing and art about borders, national identity, liberalism, liberation, and related struggles—from the psychological to the revolutionary—and we are especially keen on transnational thinking and Third World perspectives.
Underrepresented writers—including but not exclusive to women (cis and trans), trans men, Two-Spirit and non-binary writers who are Black, Indigenous, people of colour, queer, and/or disabled—are particularly encouraged to submit. We publish everyone but cis men; if you are a cis man, please do not submit.”
They have different submission categories for Canadian and international writers on their Submittable page. They pay CAD50 per page up to CAD200 for prose up to 3,500 words. They opened for submissions on 11th March, and will close by category when filled. Details here and here.
Everything is Fine
This is a Substack-based project. They have a detailed mission statement, including, “Everything is Fine* recognizes that the United States is on a rocket-powered path towards full-throated fascism**, blasting past constitutional/institutional safeguards at warp speed and dragging its people and the rest of the planet, kicking and shrieking, deep into the cold, dark space of techno-oligarchy, christo-fascism and environmental devastation.
While the future feels full of darkness and foreboding, we at EIF* are forced to admit: it’s also a fascinating time to be alive. Sure, it’s a morbid fascination, but fascinating nonetheless. Here you will find opinions, reported stories, essays, profiles and other desperate, shrill yawps into the void, chronicling some of the weirder moments in the United States (and elsewhere) in the second Trump term.” They also have a detailed pitch guide, including, “Everything is Fine* is a resistance substack focused on anti-fascism in particular, and progressive issues in general. … We’re looking for reported stories, opinions, profiles/interviews, and personal essays, of somewhere between 1200 and 2000 words. We pay $200 for an essay/opinion, $250 if there is original reporting, and $300 if there are original photos in addition to the reporting.” Please read the work they have published to get a sense of what they like. Details here.
Oregon Humanities: Revolution
They want non-fiction by Oregon residents only. The theme for their Summer 2026 issue is Revolution. “We’re looking for stories about radical or wide-reaching change in political, cultural, and natural systems.
This year marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and the ambitious and flawed experiment in republican self-rule that it announced. We’re taking this milestone as an opportunity to reflect on revolutions of all kinds. … What does revolution demand of the people who live through it? What does revolution cost, and what does it make possible?” They want all forms of non-fiction, including essays, journalism, criticism, and excerpts from forthcoming or recently published books. They accept drafts for personal essays, and pitches for journalistic or researched pieces (see guidelines). They pay $750 and $1,500 for works of 1,500-4,000 words. The deadline is 30th April 2026. Details here.
Chicken Soup for the Soul: Two themes
They want non-fiction prose and poetry. They have detailed guidelines as well as several suggested topics for each theme. Two of their upcoming themes are:
— Stories about November & December holidays: (“Please submit your true stories about the entire December holiday season, including Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Boxing Day, and New Year’s festivities too. Remember that these holiday titles do make wonderful gifts for everyone on your list!”). Deadline: 1 May 2026
— Miracles, messages from heaven & angels (“We are now accepting stories for another book about unexplained happenings and occurrences. Stories about miracles, angels, messages from heaven, premonitions, amazing coincidences and other unexplainable but good events! … We are looking for powerful, astounding, stories that will make people say “wow” or give them chills. This book is for everyone, whether religious or non-religious.”). Deadline: 15 May 2026
They have other themes listed too, with later deadlines. Chicken Soup for the Soul pays $250 for works up to 1,200 words. Details here and here (also see other tabs on this page, including FAQ)
Poets & Writers: Debut Fiction; Agents
They publish articles of interest to emerging and established literary writers. They publish News & Trends, The Literary Life Essays (on the more contemplative aspects of writing, ranging from creative process to the art of reading), The Practical Writer (advice and how-to articles that offer nuts and bolts information about the business of creative writing), and features of 2,000-3,000 words – articles, essays, profiles, and interviews regarding American literature. According to their section for advertisers, for July/August 2026, the issue themes are Debut Fiction and Agents (see Upcoming Issues and Deadlines here). They do not publish fiction, poetry, or reviews. They accept pitches as well as articles on spec (see guidelines), and take 4-6 weeks to respond to queries or manuscripts. Details here (themes) and here (writers’ guidelines).
Refractor: Science and Health
Refractor is a new magazine and they want pitches from science writers. Their editor’s pitch call says, “I’ll be leading a new science and health publication called Refractor. It’s a spin-off from New Atlas with a new editorial approach. We’ll be launching very soon and as Founding Editor I’m calling out to all science writers keen to pitch. At this stage I’m open to a spectrum of stories, from short, focused news pieces to longer, exploratory features. Everything in the spectrum of science is fair game (biology, geology, history, psychology, space, medicine). Refractor will have no set house style but instead we’re looking for unique, human voices. The northstar is a mix of journalistic rigour and compelling storytelling. Get in touch with me to chat about rates (they vary depending on scope) and ideas.” See the pitch call here.
AAW: The Margins – Creative Non-fiction
“The Asian American Writers’ Workshop is a nonprofit dedicated to publishing and amplifying Asian diasporic literary culture. The Margins is our award-winning magazine of arts and ideas dedicated to charting the rise of the Asian American creative class through essays, interviews, and creative writing.
We publish: 1) original creative writing, including poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and interdisciplinary work; 2) essays on literature and politics by sophisticated thinkers who can speak to a general audience about race, gender, sexuality, immigration, postcolonialism, pop culture, and diaspora; 3) reportage about immigrant communities in the United States by narrative storytellers who can set a scene with rich imagery and descriptive detail.” They’re open for creative non-fiction till 30th April; “The Margins is open for creative nonfiction submissions, with a particular interest in lyric essays and pieces that incorporate historical and/or cultural analysis. We’re also interested in essays that play with genre, such as zuihitsu and flash essays.” They pay $60-450 for essays up to 3,500 words. Details here (see the relevant category) and rates here. They also accept pitches, for which there is no deadline; details here.
(They are also open for a residency, and applications are due 13th April 2026; details on their Submittable.)
(Submissions have also opened for creative non-fiction for Brick Magazine, which pays CAD $65–720 for works up to 5,000 words; and for fiction, non-fiction, and poetry for Cutleaf, which pays $100-300 for creative non-fiction of up to 6,000 words; submissions for both magazines are open until filled.)
AAW: The Margins – Open City
The Margins, the magazine by the Asian American Writers’ Workshop, is seeking journalism pitches for work on Asian immigrant and Muslim communities. They have a detailed pitch guide for this section, including, “The Margins seeks pitches and submissions to Open City, its journalism section devoted to chronicling the pulse of Asian America. Through articles, features, interviews, and profiles, Open City covers Asian immigrant and Muslim communities with an emphasis on social, racial, and gender justice issues.
While Open City previously focused on the lived stories of Asian communities in the boroughs of New York City, we are now eager to accept pitches about communities in cities and towns all over the United States. We also welcome internationally reported stories.
We are looking for shoeleather reporting, hybrid essays, personality and place profiles, features, narrative storytelling, and more.” They pay $60-450, see their rates here. The pitch call for Open City is here.
The Public Source
The Public Source is a Beirut-based media organization that publishes journalism and critical commentary from the left. “We write deeply and critically on vital issues from local perspectives, in the service of public interest and in solidarity with Global South publics.” See more in their About Us page. “The Public Source invites writers from Lebanon, Palestine, and across the Global South to submit pitches and full-length drafts, in English or Arabic, on the latest escalation of the ongoing imperial war on our region. … Presently, we are only accepting works that chronicle, analyze, document, or contextualize the current U.S.-Israeli aggression, waged with the complicity of Arab vassals and the military endorsement of Western states — from the standpoint of our joint struggle from Palestine to Iran.
We are looking for rigorous, well-sourced work — journalistic, historical, or investigative — that is grounded in anti-imperialist and anti-colonial commitments on Lebanon and the region. We are also interested in photo essays, testimonies, and interviews that allow us to make sense of this moment.” According to the pitch call/thread, “It’s an open call until the war on Lebanon ends.” They pay $175-1,000 for writing; also, “Rates may vary based on a writer’s circumstances and the level of difficulty involved in producing a piece. Journalists working on the frontlines receive compensation that exceeds the listed rates.” See the pitch call here and here, and their general pitch guide is here.
Slate: Business and Tech
An editor at Slate has issued a pitch call; “I’m looking for ambitious features and personal essays for Slate’s Business & Tech section. I’m interested in stories about the surprising ways tech and business are reshaping our lives, work, and culture. Strong characters, deep reporting, and big ideas always welcome. …What are the strange, surprising, or overlooked ways tech and business are reshaping everyday life? Who are the people living inside those changes? How has YOUR life been changed through the lens of tech and business? No story too weird.” And, “Typical features run 1,200–2,000 words. Rates are generally $500–$800 depending on scope (sometimes more, sometimes less). Can offer more for ambitious stories and reporting. No deadline—pitch whenever.” The pitch call / thread, with examples of stories the editor has assigned, is here.
Slate: Health and Science
An editor for Slate is wants “pitches for health and science features from journalists and writers! … A good Slate feature changes how the readers understand the world, makes them feel something, and is impossible to put down. Here’s a stand-out example of a reported Slate feature—if you’re a fun + skeptical science journalist who has a weird, big idea you’re dying to report out, maybe Slate is the perfect home for that piece: https://lnkd.in/e784ngFM And here’s a standp-out feature-length personal essay—if you’ve had a once-in-a-lifetime (or maybe, once in many lifetimes!) experience you want to write about, I’m an editor who will handle it with great care (and make sure it’s packaged beautifully!): https://lnkd.in/e9D9MAtX”. See the pitch call here.
Happiful: Mental health and wellbeing
An editor is looking for pitches for Happiful, a mental health and wellbeing magazine. “Firstly, if this is your first time pitching me, or Happiful | Certified B Corporation®, please do take some time to read about the magazine and the work we do. But by way of a quick introduction, Happiful is an independent monthly print & digital magazine. Our entire publication is devoted to mental health and wellbeing, and we’ve won multiple awards for the work that we do. We publish work that is bold, uplifting, visionary, and inspiring. What am I looking for in pitches?
Features that explore a niche of mental health and wellbeing in a fascinating way.
Stories about incredible on-the-ground work, told in a narrative, emotion-led way.
Interviews and insight from experts, artists, activists, and figureheads.
Beautifully written, concept-driven features that explore wider ideas and philosophies linked to mental health and well-being. I’m also open to collaborations, art features, and proposals that may be a bit out there. A couple of things we don’t cover: travel, weight loss, products or commerce”. See the pitch call here.
Rough Cut Press: Speed
They publish work from the LGBTQIA community, and have occasional themed submission calls. Send short poetry or prose of up to 650 words on the Speed theme. Pay is $25. The deadline is 27 April 2026. Details here (see ‘what we look for’) and here.
i Paper: Parenting, relationships & friendship
An editor for the UK-based news outlet, The i Paper, is commissioning reported pieces: “I’m now assistant features editor at the i Paper … I’m looking for reported pieces on housing & strong first persons exploring parenting, relationships & friendship. Please do pitch me!” See the pitch call / thread here.
The Stacks
“The Stacks is now open for pitches & paid writing! I’m looking for writing on obscure games history, art history, sex/gender, and more”. They pay CAD50-150. See the pitch call here, and their pitch guide Is here.
Lucky Jefferson: Paradox
Lucky Jefferson is a “literary and arts organization that publishes social change”. For the upcoming issue of their print magazine, they want non-fiction (up to 1,000 words), hybrid work, fiction, and poetry on the Paradox theme. “What happens when you look closely at the strangeness of daily life? Paradox is an exploration of the everyday. It is a place where curiosities, absurdities, social tensions, and impossible what‑ifs sit side by side. It is a way of looking closely at the bizarre logic of our all‑encompassing reality and translating that attention into writing or art.
Inspired by the work of our Summer 2022 Literary Illustrators, this issue invites you to examine the contradictions that shape daily life and respond with work that questions, unsettles, delights, or reveals something true.” They pay $25-35 for writing, and the deadline is 3rd May 2025. Details here (see the relevant category).
In a Flash: Heart
In a Flash is a Substack-based literary magazine and they publish one piece of themed flash non-fiction a month. For April 2026, the theme is Heart. Send a creative non-fiction piece of up to 500 words on this theme. And, “We’ll also spotlight the author with a Q&A section.” They pay $25, and the submission period for each month’s theme is from the 1st to the 15th of that month. Do not send work outside of the reading period. Details here (general guidelines) and here (theme for this and upcoming months).
Hungry Zine: Food Fight
Hungry Zine wants submissions for Canadian writers only. “For Issue 09 we want your stories of food and rage, recipes for resistance, and the food futures you’re fighting for!
Food is inherently political. It can be wielded as a tool of rebellion or a method of warfare. Pies have been known to find their way into the faces of unsavoury political figures, talking heads have suggested millennials stop eating avocado toast if they want to buy a house, and “eat the rich” has become an anti-capitalist rallying cry.
Food is love, care, and support. But it is also petty, angry, and ugly. The daily battle of deciding what’s for dinner and which in-laws you’re spending the holidays with. Food can be a source of anger or a result of dysfunction: a meal gone awry, a fraught family recipe, the ever-increasing cost of groceries. Food fights can be slapstick, reckless, childish, wasteful, messy, spontaneous, and well-organized. What recipes fuel your resistance? How do you cook for a crowd? Which foods would you sling at whom and why?
We are looking for essays, interviews, poems, illustrations, photography and we always love to see a piece accompanied by a recipe! For this issue, we’d also love to receive profiles of people, organizations, campaigns, and initiatives that inspire you in their fights.” The issue will be launched in autumn. They pay CAD50. The submission deadline is 30th April 2026. Details here and here.
Solarpunk Magazine
They want fiction, non-fiction, and poetry on Solarpunk. They have detailed guidelines for non-fiction, including, “we’re interested in reviews, interviews, reports, articles, essays, and general audience-aimed overviews of academic papers relevant to solarpunk. Tell us about some cool science or technology that’s going to help us rewild the world, remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, or clean up our agricultural act. Weave us the stories of real people who are up to amazing things or of real projects that are underway to help create the world we want to live in. Give us a critical review (of a work, a set of works, or a topic) that rises high enough for a view of the forest as well as the trees. Stake an interesting claim and then convince us that you’re onto something. The possibilities are broad. Interesting is important. Thought-provoking is encouraged. So is keeping it kind. And, again, relevance to solarpunk is key.” Apart from general Solarpunk work, they are also reading submissions on Solarpunk Horror during this submission window. They pay $100 for non-fiction of 1,000-2,000 words; payment for fiction is $0.08/word and for poetry, it is $50. The submission deadline is 14th April 2026. Details here.
Terrain.org
They accept work on place, climate, and justice. Submissions for non-fiction (up to 5,000 words) and fiction are open till 30th April 2026. Poetry submissions are closed. They accept other formats as well, including interviews and videos. ARTerrain and Letter to America submissions are open and are accepted year-round. Writers are paid $50. Also, “All accepted submissions by writers of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, women, and/or other marginalized communities whose contributions explore place particularly in the context of social, environmental, or climate justice are considered for our annual Editor’s Prize of $500 per genre.” (There is no separate submission process for this prize.) Details here and here (see the relevant category).
S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.