SUBMISSIONS
Would you like to write for us? Or record a podcast or vlog? We are looking for work that is innovative, creative and challenging, which interprets how aspects of our culture shape the way that we think. Here, you have a chance to explore new ideas and you don’t have to think like everybody else. We are showcasing a new kind of on-line essay which we punctuate with images and videos or sound.
WRITING POLICY
Email us a 500 word synopsis of your proposal and write ‘ Proposal’ in the title.
We are looking for work offering interesting and insightful interpretations of the culture we live in. Culture could include ARTS AND CULTURE – films, popular culture, TV, the media, the internet, (blogs and vlogs) music, the visual arts, or CULTURAL ISSUES – current social and political issues. You may also want to submit interviews or reviews.
Ultimately, we want our writers to submit work to us that inspires them. We want our contributors and readers to feel as though CULTURE ON THE OFFENSIVE is a platform for expressing and exploring new, maybe controversial, but definately thought provoking ideas that allow people to understand contemporary culture in new ways. We also want the writing to be easily readable and discussion generating. We are not fans of dogmatic types of thinking. Nor are we interested in overly angry, snarky pieces that read like paragraphs of twitter abuse.
We chose not to publish pieces embedded in left-wing ‘identity’ politics, or right-wing racism and xenophobia. Both involve prejudices against individuals by virtue of particular demographic groups they belong to. To be clear, that means we don’t assume people have the same attributes by virtue of their race, gender, sexuality, class, religious or political background. We encourage people to be treated as individuals, judged by the content of their character, particular ideological beliefs, and actions. We may not agree with them, but regardless of whether we do, we support their free speech, right to dissent, religious freedom, and ability to retain the same rights as everyone else.
Our content encourages ”The Art of Thinking’ with empathy, clarity and courage. The content is more in-depth and nuanced than your average web chatter. It’s less black and white than some op-ed journalism.
It is important to note that we want to foster and grow new perspectives, and so want a space where people who want to write outside academic conventions and popular political etiquette feel comfortable. We want everyone to feel free to say potentially controversial things without being subjected to threats or intimidation. However, we are not into being controversial or shocking just for they sake of it. If we find a controversial idea ridiculous, we don’t publish it just because it’s controversial. There’s plenty of other places on the web to publish controversial ideas like that. We’re interested in the controversial ideas we think should be part of the mainstream.
Finally, we are happy to accept already finished work, but may want to workshop pieces and perhaps make some improvements with your help. While we aim to publish intellectually challenging material, if any idea is worth it’s salt, it should be explainable in language any intelligent person who doesn’t have a background in an academic subject can understand. We do not want the writing to be embedded in pre-existing theories. You don’t need a theory to make any good idea respectable. All you need is insight.
Word length for written pieces – The word count is negotiable but we usually look for articles around 2000 – 7000 words.
NB Legal and Financial
Any later re-publication of your work published in CULTURE ON THE OFFENSIVE should be done after dialogue with our editors and should credit CULTURE ON THE OFFENSIVE as the original source.
If you would like to re-publish any articles please contact gregscorzo@gregscorzo.com
We are a new Social Enterprise company. At the moment, as this is the beginning of things, we are all working on this as an unpaid collaboration. So, we generally do not pay. However as we move forward with our subscriptions and donations this will change. Our regular contributors will be given the chance to become members of the co-operative consortium, have a say in the direction of the magazine, with the ultimate aim being to pay contributors a good rate for their work.
Meanwhile we offer a good platform for your work to be seen, and some of our writers have been offered paid work from other magazines after their work was seen in CULTURE ON THE OFFENSIVE.
We accept contributions locally, nationally and internationally. If your proposal is accepted all contributions must be written in English and written to a high standard and submitted as an email attachment in Microsoft Word with formatted end footnotes inserted as necessary. We expect them to have been carefully proof-read. Please attach suggested images with notes as to where they go in text if that is relevant. If you are unsure about this, feel free to get in touch.
Most importantly, we want you to feel free to express your thoughts, opinions, feelings, general musings and ideas with our audience and ourselves. Remember, when you write for us, you aren’t just a writer. You are also the audience.
You know you want to!
Submissions for Illustrations /Visual Art – CULTURE ON THE OFFENSIVE
We are dedicated to showcasing emerging illustrators/ artists to punctuate, reflect or jar the writing content of the website. We are in the long term hoping to build a team of regular paid illustrators as our Social Enterprise develops.
We are also interested in developing our ‘Things to look at,’ category. Send us some examples of your work or links to your website if you would like the opportunity to showcase your work. We are interested in illustration, visual art, comic strips, video art, photography, and what we wear to express who we are. We do not have any criteria for inclusion, except that it be in someway insightful and thought provoking.
We are all working voluntarily at the moment but, but we are committed to paying Visual Artists as our income streams grow.
Email: submissions@gregscorzo.com and write ‘Things to look at,’ in the title.