These are 25 themed submission calls in the 16 magazines listed here. Some of the calls are: on writing, back to school, teaching hard history, the fantastics, Queer life, community through tech, urbanism, wake and rebirth, Covid-19 and eating, and personal stories on nursing, health, or health care. A few specify deadlines but most do not, so writers may want to get their pitches in early. Many accept non-themed pitches/submissions too. Here they are, in no particular order. – S. Kalekar

Catapult: Three themes

This magazine publishes American and international narrative nonfiction. They are reading for three themes now.
— On Writing: Articles that talk about the work of writing, the writing life, the identity of being a writer, among others; up to 4,000 words;
— Queer Life: Queer writers examining the experience of what it means to be a queer person in the world today, up to 4,000 words;
— 15 Minutes: hybrid profile-essays that feature people of interest to the writers and often explore the subjects’ relationships to their communities, cultures—even the writers themselves. 
The deadline for these themes is 17 April 2020. Details here.

PTO Today Magazine: Back to School 2020

This is a magazine for leaders of parent groups (parent-teacher organizations) in America. They focus on parent groups serving students in grades K-8. Topics of interest include parent involvement, leadership, fundraising, group management and organization, playgrounds and education (see guidelines for further details on each theme). According to their media kit, they will run a special issue in August and the theme is ‘Back to School 2020’. Features run roughly 600 to 1,500 words, and the average assignment is 1,200 words. Payment depends on the difficulty of the topic and writer experience, not word count, and ranges from $125 to $500. They occasionally pay more for high-impact stories and highly experienced writers. Details here and here.

Teaching Tolerance: Teaching Hard History project

Their guidelines say, “Teaching Tolerance, a leading provider of anti-bias resources for K–12 educators, is seeking authors to create original works about the history and legacy of Indigenous enslavement in what is currently known as the United States as part of our Teaching Hard History project. We are particularly interested in centering the voices of Indigenous authors and working with authors who are either citizens of Native nations or of Indigenous descent.
Specifically, we are interested in publishing work appropriate for readers in grades K–5. All work will be published online in Teaching Tolerance’s free library of student texts.” See the submission call for further specific details on what they want in the pitch. Authors should feel free to pitch multiple pieces. Pay is $1/word. Details here.

Disegno: Summer 2020

This is a leading quarterly journal dedicated to long-form independent reporting and critical writing on design. They publish reportage, photoessays, profiles, critical discussion, interviews, reviews and roundtables. They cover design, architecture, fashion, urbanism, graphics and technology, and provide political commentary, academic analysis, arts photography and discussion of current affairs for a design-interested audience. The deadline for pitches for their Summer 2020 issue is 15 April 2020. They receive online pitches any time. Details here and here.

The Bare Life Review: The Climate Issue

The magazine publishes work by immigrant and refugee authors – from foreign-born authors living in the US, and writers living abroad who currently hold refugee and/or asylum-seeker status. And for the next issue only, they have amended the eligibility rules to include non-immigrant writers who have experienced displacement as a result of climate disaster. For this issue, they are reading work on the Climate theme. They accept non-fiction, fiction, and poetry – the work may, but need not, deal explicitly with issues of immigration, exile, or refuge. They welcome translations. American-born translators may submit work by eligible writers, but in such cases payment must be issued to the author. Pay is $750 for full-length prose pieces, $300 for accepted poems or shorter prose. They pay $100 for online non-fiction section, The Latest, which focuses primarily on memoir, criticism, and politics. The deadline is 1 June 2020 for the print issue, and ongoing for online submissions. Details here.

The Gay & Lesbian Review: The Fantastics

This is a bimonthly magazine targeting an educated readership of GLBT men and women. Their tagline is “a bimonthly journal of history, culture, and politics,” and they publish essays in a wide range of disciplines as well as reviews of books, movies, and plays. Features are 2,000-4,000 words, and reviews are 600-1,200 words. They also have interviews, artist profiles, and other columns. They accept both pitches and completed pieces. They have announced a new theme, which is ‘The Fantastics: Imagined worlds from Beardsley to Tolkien’. They are also accepting work on ‘The Social Network Revisited: What has changed?’; and ‘The Science of Sexuality: New findings and perspectives’. They also invite suggestions for topics. Pay is $100 for original feature articles. Details here.

Kanstellation Magazine 4: Community Through Tech: Digital Fingers, Digital Roots, Digital Families

Their guidelines say, “In times of crisis, certain parts of us are put on hold, and other pieces may begin to come into play. Families crop up where they need to, communities fill new space. One thousand pairs of hands clap in unison and you step onto the narrow flap of sun-starved balcony for one of only a handful of times. … Our digital selves are never met with solitude; our digital selves are held by others’ digital arms, nets that buoy us when, otherwise, we might feel most alone. Many of us live online. We are the internet, an uprising of webpages tugging and turning us into new formations. What are we making with it, with each other? … Issue 4 of Kanstellation asks for reflections around the theme of what digital families and communities mean to you. How do you express and define your selves within and through the digital roots you’ve found or inherited?” Apart from essays (1,200-1,800 essays, send up to two essays), they read creative non-fiction, fiction, and poetry. Please note that their pay rates have changed. They now pay $30 for all submissions, and the reading period for this issue is 20 April to 4 May 2020. Details here.

Are We Europe: Four themes

This is a themed, quarterly publication and they commission articles and photo series from young journalists in Europe. The focus is on in-depth, long-form journalism that captures the theme of each issue. They are not interested in hard news, but rather in original, well-researched background stories that shed light on the most important issues in Europe today. They are accepting pitches on four themes.
— The Silver Lining: solidarity stories in times of crisis
“Fear can be paralyzing, but it is also a motivating force. The Covid-19 health crisis has sparked a wealth of constructive and positive responses across Europe and the world: from neighbors organizing food delivery for elderly residents, to local communities lobbying for better workers rights and social initiatives raising money to cover residents’ rent payments. Our next print and online issue gathers European stories of solidarity, creativity and compassion in times of crisis. … there is a need for stories that highlight the human, the personal, the inspirational and the compassionate. How can we take advantage of this crisis and build a better society once the worst of it is over? What lessons can we learn to better protect the economy, revamp our education systems, and address existing social cleavages?” They want pitches for stories (photography, long-reads, short stories, infographics, audio-stories). The pitch deadline is 15 April 2020 for this issue.

— Sports: what do they mean to individuals, societies and nations?
“This summer, we’re diving into the relationship between sports and identity in Europe. From the bread and games performed two thousand years ago in the Roman Colosseum, to bridge and cricket invented by English aristocrats to kill boredom, to new sports such as blo-ball … sports have always meant more than just entertainment: they imbue us with a sense of purpose. … We want to examine how sports play a role in reinforcing local, regional or national identities across Europe, as well as answer the question: Why are we so crazy about sports? Our aim is to capture what sports mean to individuals, societies and nations, and to paint a picture of the immense variety of folkloric, bizarre sports traditions that exist on the continent.” Possible topics include: The aristocratic roots of sports in Europe; Gender identity in sports; The psychology of sports fans; and Stories of bizarre / unknown local sports trends.

–– Climate: which people, places and policies are finding real solutions to the climate crisis?
“The profound urgency of climate action is clearer than ever—especially in Europe, where, perhaps more than anywhere else, we have the technological capability and the sprouting seeds of a mentality shift. At the same time, despite making the most ambitious global commitments and plans for a Green Deal, European societies are far from meeting the challenge. What will it take to move away from fossil fuels towards renewable energy and sustainability? …we’re urging journalists from all over the continent to report on the solutions to the climate crisis while not losing sight of the ugly. Using the power of #SolutionsJournalism, we can avoid being trapped between techno-optimism and end-of-the-world narratives.” Possible topics are: A visual guide to decrypting greenwashing; Why words matter: the power of declaring a planetary “emergency”; Nuclear energy: a temporary solution?; and Why grid management is the beating heart of the renewables revolution.

— Colonialism: does European identity linger beyond its geographical borders?
Their guidelines say, “we’re inviting contributors to tell their post-colonial story. The postcolonial experience is essentially a personal story within so many of us. What have we not yet heard about the impact of colonialism? Does European identity linger beyond its geographical borders? How do we deal with the pain and darkness that colonialism left behind in what are now many third-world nations, and is white guilt really of any use? … To this day, issues of inequality and injustice are far from being resolved, and in many cases taboo. Colonialism left a significant mark on both the colonizers and the colonized. European language, culture, economic, political and social structures have been molded into so many countries, which have ‘creolized’ their own adaptation. At the same time, Europeans have integrated the goods and customs from their colonies deep into their own cultures. British have seamlessly adopted tea into their culture, and Vietnamese have baguettes and la vache quiri cheese in every supermarket.” Possible topics include: What is the role of education in post-colonial relations?; Are the US and Australia, in fact, a European lab experiment?; How has European architecture influenced cities worldwide?; and Can we “thank” colonialism for food and fashion?
Details here and here.

Architect: Urbanism

This is the journal of The American Institute of Architects. They do not have writers’ guidelines, but give the editor’s email address where writers can send pitches. For their August 2020 issue, their special coverage topic is ‘Urbanism’. They also have other focus topics for that issue: building type – public; technology – building envelope; products – roof; and residential feature – addition. They have several other themes listed. Details here and here.

We The Women: Wake and Rebirth

This is a call by a performing arts collective for women’s voices – the call is for female-identifying artists and writers. They are commissioning a series of multimedia responses inspired by We The Women’s Wake and Rebirth concepts, which focus on the cycle of loss and the re-emergence of life. They will accept personal essays, writing/sketch, song, poetry, or movement which the writers can perform themselves, if they like. The Wake eulogizes anything that has been left behind or lost, while Rebirth focuses on what we are gaining or growing from. Their guidelines say, “What are you mourning at this time, what has been left behind with the “new normal” we are living in? (Wake)” and “What is developing, growing, and coming to life for you, at this time? (Rebirth).” The pay is $150, and the deadline is 17 April 2020. Details here (Instagram page; includes call), here (call guidelines shared on Twitter) and here (journal contacts page).

Skirt Magazine: Explorers

This is a women’s magazine. They want Charleston-area freelance writers to contribute to their monthly print magazine – experienced writers who can accept assignments for short features and profiles, as well as writers who can pitch story ideas about topics related to women and women’s interests. They also accept pitches for personal essays. They also accept monthly posts for their website, but these are unpaid. For their July issue, the theme is ‘Explorers’ and the deadline for submissions is 20 May 2020. They have other themes listed also. Details here.

The Boston Globe Magazine: Four themes

This magazine is published weekly inside The Boston Sunday Globe. The best places for new writers to start with the magazine are the Perspective column, an opinionated 800-word essay on a timely local news topic, and Connections, a 650-word first-person essay on relationships of any kind (romantic as well as those between friends, siblings, and parents and children), according to their writers’ guidelines. There are some sections that are not open to freelancers (see guidelines). Stories are assigned weeks or months in advance of publication. According to their calendar for advertisers, they have several themes coming up, including: Summer Arts Preview (17 May), Summer Entertainment (7 June), and Multigenerational Travel (26 July). They also have an advertorial coming up, Salute to Nurses (10 May 2020). Expenses must be approved by an editor beforehand. Fees vary depending on the story length and the column for which the piece will be used. Details here and here.

Streetsblog: Transportation-related reporting/essays from Massachusetts

This is a blog that “connects people to information about how to reduce dependence on cars and improve conditions for walking, biking, and transit. …our reporters have broken important stories about efforts to prevent pedestrian injuries and deaths, build out bicycle networks, and make transit more useful. Our writing raises the profile of these issues with policy makers and makes arcane topics like parking requirements and induced traffic accessible to a broad audience.” Also, “Streetsblog USA, New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, California, Chicago, and Denver  produce original reporting and commentary that aims to change the cars-first status quo on their cities’ streets. We also work with regional partners in St. Louis, Ohio, Texas, and the southeast to provide updates and insights into local transportation policy issues.” They recently had a callout on Twitter for transportation-related reporting and essays from Massachusetts writers. Pay is $0.50/word for reported pieces, and $0.25/word for opinion and essays. Details here and here.

Northern Woodlands: Autumn

Their audience consists of conservation-minded people with an interest in all aspects of the forests of the Northeast. Their articles and columns range in scope, and may include subjects such as woodlot management, wildlife species, woodworking, and reflections on natural landscapes. They publish book reviews, various columns (see guidelines), poems, and features. Pay is $0.10/word features, for writers new to the magazine. For their ‘Autumn’ issue, stories are contracted by 1 May and the copy deadline is 1 June 2020. Details here.

The Counter: How Covid-19 is changing the way we eat

The Counter was previously called The New Food Economy, and they are based in New York. Usually, they “cover the how—not the what—of food. Don’t tell us something is happening (vertical farming! insect protein!) Tell us why it is or isn’t working, what problems it aims to fix (or better, what problems it inadvertently causes) or how it can get readers to think about food in a new way”, according to their pitch guidelines (also see their code of ethics). Currently, they are looking for short essays on how Covid-19 is changing the way we eat. “How has this ongoing public crisis affected you at mealtime, and how has your altered emotional, logistical, or financial landscape become visible through food? We invite you to tell us in a short essay ranging between 350 and 500 words. We’re looking for pieces that are deeply personal, evocative, and rooted in specifics of day-to-day life, and we’re paying a competitive per-word rate.” Details here.    

American Journal of Nursing: Reflections

This nursing journal accepts personal essays. On their guidelines page, click on the Reflections link on the right to download guidelines for that section (also see links to guidelines for other departments, including Viewpoint – opinion pieces by nurses, patients, physicians, public health professionals, politicians, AJN staffers, or others as deemed appropriate). For Reflections they want “personal stories exploring any aspect of nursing, health, or health care. While many are accounts of memorable nursing experiences, we also welcome the patient perspective, as well as that of other health care professionals. … Avoid generalizations and clichés in favor of specific details and real immersion in a place, an event, a moment, a character. Anecdotes meant to illustrate cozy lessons usually aren’t what we’re looking for; we prefer the messiness and ambivalence of real life, the nuance and uncertainty of many of our hardest decisions, the ways we change our minds about things”, according to their guidelines. Essays should be 800-850 words, and they pay $150. Details here.

Author Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She is the author of 182 Short Fiction Publishers. She can be reached here.