Submissions
The Leveller welcomes submissions by all writers, regardless of their level of experience or publication history. We will consider pitches and queries, but are unlikely to consider articles that have already been completed as it makes it harder for editors to work with you.
We do not guarantee that we will accept all proposals, but we will consider each of them and prioritize content over a potentially imperfect form. The criteria for evaluation and publication are outlined in our editorial policy, while our submission guidelines are as follows:
Culture:
- Critical writing on new movies, TV shows, videogames and books. Reviews are welcome, but they must be written within the framework of our editorial policy – example
- Essays about wider trends and processes in popular culture, especially ones that consider the social and political issues that they relate to – example
- Creative experiments on videogames, the more unusual the better – example
Investigation:
- Frontline coverage of activism, e.g. protests, marches, direct action – example
- Investigations of public and private institutions, authorities, and other entities – example
- Political and social overviews of a specific city or region – example
- Frontline coverage of societal events and processes at work – example
Opinion
- Arguments for or against a particular current policy proposal or direction of policy – example
- Personal accounts relating to wider social and political issues – example
- Arguing from a position of authority on particular political or social issue – example
Editorial Policy
To provide an accessible platform for radical thought, anti-racist struggles, postcolonial analysis, feminist frameworks, queer ideas, austerity-breaking plots, resistance to the surveillance state, and critical debate for social justice.
To encourage young/beginning/underrepresented writers to publish and contribute by spreading their ideas and amplifying their voices.
To ensure our editorial line prioritizes journalistic ethics, intellectual integrity, anti-oppression politics, and contributes to the empowerment of others.
We recommend all prospective writers thinking of contributing to the Leveller familiarize themselves with online defamation liability. Writers are encouraged not to submit investigative articles that editorialize or posit allegations from the writer herself, and instead should conduct on-the-record interviews to quote sources directly.
Suggested article length: 900-2000 words. We also accept long-form journalism, but more for investigations or cultural essays than op-eds. A good example to follow is Zachary Gallant’s article about the abuses of the Johns Hopkins system.
For consistency, we publish all articles using American rather British spelling (e.g. ‘color’ not ‘colour’).
Please include with your pitch a short bio telling us who you are.
We will ignore all emails that send us a CV/resume and ask to be given a task.
The Leveller can only accept pro bono work at present due to a shortage of funds, but have begun fundraising for our author payment scheme and intend to implement it before the end of summer 2016.
Send submissions to: submissions@theleveller.org
